Monica Bertagnolli, director of the National Cancer Institute, has been chosen by President Joe Biden as a potential nominee to the directorship of the National Institutes of Health.
President Biden expressed his plan to nominate Bertagnolli on account of her contributions to improving cancer prevention and treatment, as well as her efforts to expand access to quality care, the White House said Monday.
Bertagnolli’s career has maintained a longstanding focus on oncology, beginning at the Strang Cancer Prevention Center where she was an associate surgeon. She was also an attending surgeon at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital–Cornell, and later chief of surgical oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
She was appointed as CEO of the nonprofit Alliance Foundation Trials, which is distinguished for its inclusion of rural communities in international cancer clinical trials.
As the first female NCI director, Bertagnolli oversaw the Cancer Moonshot program, which was revived by Biden in 2022 to improve the lives of cancer survivors and their families, and reduce the mortality rate from the illness by at least 50 percent in the next 25 years.
“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,” Biden said.