ACS Fellow Is Expected to Make History as NCI Director

President Biden is poised to appoint Monica M. Bertagnolli, MD, FACS, as the first woman and first chair of a clinical trials oncology group to serve as director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Dr. Bertagnolli is professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA, as well as former division chief of surgical oncology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

She has decades of experience in clinical research and executive leadership in oncology and cancer policy, including her role as chair of the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology, a clinical trials cooperative group funded through NCI’s National Clinical Trials Network.

“I cannot imagine a person more qualified than Dr. Bertagnolli to lead the National Cancer Institute. This is a great decision made by the Biden Administration,” said Heidi Nelson, MD, FACS, Medical Director of the ACS Cancer Programs. “Dr. Bertagnolli has played a transformative role as scientist, surgeon, and leader in the cancer community for decades, and she will bring great knowledge and experience to this new leadership role. We know her vision for cancer research and her contributions at this national level will be significant, impactful, and sustainable, and we look forward to supporting her leadership and vision.”

Senate confirmation for Dr. Bertagnolli is not required; the NCI Director has been a presidential appointee since passage of the National Cancer Act of 1971. She would replace Norman E. Sharpless, MD, who stepped down from the position on April 29.

An ACS Fellow since 1996, Dr. Bertagnolli is a past-president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology and delivered the Commission on Cancer Oncology Lecture at Clinical Congress 2011.