Dr. Polite is a professor of Medicine at the University of Chicago; the Deputy Section Chief for Strategy and Network Development, Executive Medical Director for Cancer Accountable Care; and a GI oncologist specializing in the treatment of patients with colorectal, anal, pancreatic, and neuroendocrine cancers. Dr. Polite is involved at the federal and local levels in developing alternative payment models for cancer care. He currently is the CO-PI of a 5-year NCI Moonshot grant, Accelerating Colorectal Cancer Screening and Follow-up through Implementation Science in Chicago (ACCSIS-Chicago), aimed at improving colorectal screening among Federally Qualified Health Centers in Chicago and Northwest Indiana. Dr. Polite is a past board member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), past-chair of the ASCO Health Disparities Committee, and a two-time chair of the ASCO Government Relations Committee. He served 5 years on the American Cancer Society Cancer Control and Prevention: Health Policy and Health Services (CPHPS) Review Committee as vice-chair and chair. He is a graduate of ASCO's Leadership Development Program, a recipient of an ASCO Career Development Award, and a Fellow of ASCO. Dr. Polite is an associate editor of the Journal of Oncology Practice and was recently chosen as a Bucksbaum Institute Senior Faculty Scholar. He has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed publications.
Dr. Polite earned his Bachelor's degree and Master's degree in Public Policy Studies from the University of Chicago and spent 4 years working on healthcare and Medicare reform policy in Washington, DC with the Department of Health and Human Services and with the Office of Senator Bill Bradley. He received his MD from Indiana University and completed his training in Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology at the University of Chicago.