President Joe Biden chose Kimryn Rathmell, MD, PhD, MMHC, the Hugh Jackson Professor of Medicine and chair of the Department of Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), to become the next director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI).
An internationally recognized expert in kidney cancer, Rathmell will become the NCI’s 17th director and only the second woman to hold this position leading the nation’s fight against cancer.
"Her translational research laboratory focuses on the molecular biology of kidney cancer," said Monica M. Bertagnolli, M.D., director of the National Institutes of Health, in an announcement on Nov. 17. "This groundbreaking work has yielded better ways to detect and treat cancer using molecular biomarkers."
“I am thrilled with Dr. Rathmell’s appointment as our nation’s leader in the war on cancer—a tremendous honor for her and for Vanderbilt,” said Jeff Balser, MD, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer of VUMC and Dean of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. “Her contributions have been extraordinary, advancing cancer research with her colleagues in the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center and through leadership as the chair of our Department of Medicine. I am confident Dr. Rathmell will have an enormous impact on the NCI and on the lives of millions who are fighting to survive cancer.”
Learn more about Dr. Rathmall's appointment in this article from the VUMC Reporter.
