Biden to Nominate Monica Bertagnolli as Next NIH Director

WASHINGTON — President Biden intends to nominate Monica Bertagnolli, MD, as the next NIH director, the White House announced Monday.

Bertagnolli, 64, is currently director of the National Cancer Institute. If her nomination is approved by the Senate, she would succeed Francis Collins, MD, PhD, as director. Lawrence Tabak, DDS, PhD, has been serving as acting director of the NIH since Collins retired in December 2021.

“Dr. Bertagnolli has spent her career pioneering scientific discovery and pushing the boundaries of what is possible to improve cancer prevention and treatment for patients, and ensuring that patients in every community have access to quality care,” Biden said in a statement. “As director of the National Cancer Institute, Dr. Bertagnolli has advanced my Cancer Moonshot to end cancer as we know it. She has brought together partners and resources from different sectors to launch groundbreaking efforts in cancer prevention and early detection, a national navigation program for childhood cancers, and additional programs to bring clinical trials to more Americans.”

“Dr. Bertagnolli is a world-class physician-scientist whose vision and leadership will ensure NIH continues to be an engine of innovation to improve the health of the American people,” he concluded.

HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra also praised Bertagnolli. “Her storied scientific career has advanced our nation’s understanding of diseases such as cancer and established her as one of the top scientists in the world,” he said in a statement. “She is one of the most powerful voices in the country for cancer patients, particularly for those in rural and remote communities … I have no doubt she will further advance the Biden-Harris administration’s priorities of promoting scientific integrity, pursuing pioneering scientific research, and exploring new treatments for diseases. I look forward to working with her and I urge the Senate to move quickly to confirm her nomination.”

Healthcare groups were quick to weigh in on the announcement. “ACS [the American Cancer Society] and ACS CAN [Cancer Action Network] strongly support this choice as the next NIH director,” Karen Knudsen, PhD, CEO of both organizations, said in a statement.

“Dr. Bertagnolli is not only an exceptional surgical oncologist, innovative scientist, and leader with a strong track record of transforming organizations, she also has firsthand knowledge of the patient perspective as well,” Knudsen said, referring to Bertagnolli’s recent breast cancer diagnosis. “Dr. Bertagnolli understands not only the importance of advancing discovery but the criticality of ensuring that innovation is accessible to all. A fierce advocate for addressing healthcare disparities, particularly in underserved and rural communities, she played a key role in helping to advance ACS CAN’s work on Medicaid expansion.”

The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) is “delighted” with the choice, according to ASCO CEO Clifford Hudis, MD. “Her experience in all aspects of medical research, clinical care, and commitment to advancing science, as well as her own experience as a patient, make her an ideal leader for the nation’s top federal medical research agency at this exciting time in science,” Hudis said in a statement. “Her role shepherding the ambitious Cancer Moonshot initiative, including the recent launch of the National Cancer Plan, clearly demonstrates her ability to take an inspiring vision and create real and meaningful action.”

Prior to her position at the National Cancer Institute, Bertagnolli, who hails from Wyoming, was a professor of surgical oncology at Harvard Medical School, a surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and a member of the Gastrointestinal Cancer Treatment and Sarcoma Centers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, all in Boston. She graduated from Princeton University with a BS in engineering and received her MD from the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. She trained in surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and was a research fellow in tumor immunology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.