The Biden administration is expected to appoint Monica Bertagnolli, MD, as the new director of the National Cancer Institute, the American Society of Clinical Oncology said in a July 21 news release.
Dr. Bertagnolli is a professor of surgical oncology at Harvard Medical School in Boston. She is also chief of the division of surgical oncology at Brigham and Womens' Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, also in Boston.
Dr. Bertagnolli is a former ASCO president. The medical association applauded the president's pick in a statement.
"An accomplished cancer surgeon and researcher with deep expertise in community-based cancer research, Dr. Bertagnolli has the knowledge, passion and skillset to successfully lead the nation's top federal cancer research agency and the wider U.S. cancer research. We enthusiastically endorse her selection," ASCO's statement said.
The National Cancer Institute supports the nation's 71 NCI-designated cancer centers in leading research. It funds nearly $7 billion of research each year.