Austin-based University of Texas System appointed Marshall E. Hicks, MD, interim president of UT MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, effective March 21, 2017.
Here are eight notes:
1. Dr. Hicks currently serves as division head of diagnostic imaging at MD Anderson, a role he has held since 2010.
2. He will appoint an interim diagnostic imaging division head while he fulfills the duties of president.
3. Trained in interventional radiology, Dr. Hicks is a past president of the Society of Interventional Radiology.
4. He has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed scientific articles.
5. He replaces Ronald DePinho, MD, who announced his resignation in early March via a video statement.
6. MD Anderson Cancer Center has faced financial turmoil over the past year. The center reported an operating loss exceeding $111 million for the combined months of September, October and November in 2016.
7. The center is trying to turn its financial situation around using a number of strategies, including planning to remove 1,000 jobs and putting its collaboration with IBM Watson on hold.
8. The University of Texas System board will launch a search for a permanent successor to Dr. DePinho soon. The search will focus on identifying "an established leader with proven skills in managing a large and complex health care organization, ideally with both clinical and research expertise," said UT System Executive Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs Raymond Greenberg, MD, PhD, in a statement.