President Biden Chooses Monica M. Bertagnolli, MD, to Lead the NIH

Abstract

Cancer research: Cancer researchPresident Joe Biden announced his intention to nominate Monica M. Bertagnolli, MD, currently Director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), to serve as Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Her nomination requires Senate confirmation. The NIH has been without a permanent head since longtime NIH Director Francis Collins, MD, PhD, left his post in 2021. If confirmed, Bertagnolli would be the second woman to lead the NIH, following the late Bernadine Healy, MD, a cardiologist who led the agency in the 1990s. Healy was known for launching a large government clinical trial—the Women's Health Initiative. Bertagnolli, the first woman to head NCI, was previously the Richard E. Wilson Professor of Surgery in 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. She is a breast cancer survivor.Monica M. Bertagnolli, MD: Monica M. Bertagnolli, MDBiden called NIH the world's preeminent biomedical research organization; it is the lead U.S. federal agency for conducting and supporting medical research. Its institutes include the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), whose longtime director, Anthony Fauci, MD, recently resigned after playing a key role in the nation's battle against the COVID-19 pandemic. NIH institutes span the spectrum of ailments, including arthritis and musculoskeletal diseases; deafness and communication disorders; eye diseases; diabetes, digestive, and kidney diseases; heart, lung, and blood diseases; neurological disorders and stroke; mental health; and alcohol abuse and alcoholism. In addition to awarding grants to off-site research institutions, the NIH campus has its own on-site Warren Grant Magnuson Clinical Center, a research hospital where patients in clinical trials come to be treated. “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,” said Biden, 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.” As previously reported by Oncology Times, Bertagnolli as NCI Director recently released a sweeping new eight-point National Cancer Plan developed by NCI whose goal is to support the aims of the Cancer Moonshot launched in 2016 by then President Obama, who named then-Vice President Biden to lead the Cancer Moonshot. In 2022, the President and First Lady Jill Biden reinvigorated the Cancer Moonshot and called for a national whole-government approach to “end cancer as we know it today.” That initiative sets a benchmark of reducing cancer mortality by at least 50 percent over the next 25 years. The new National Cancer Plan, which updates and expands the U.S. commitment to cancer research and treatment made in the National Cancer Act of 1971, offers a glimpse into Bertagnolli's management style—one she is likely to use if confirmed as NIH director. She emphasized that the new cancer plan is designed to facilitate collaboration, communication, outreach, and partnerships in the cancer research and care community. In a commentary for the Association of American Cancer Institutes (AACI), Bertagnolli noted, “As we develop new ways to meet the goals of the Cancer Moonshot, we are committed to ensuring that anyone with cancer or at risk of cancer who wishes to participate in research has the opportunity to do so. We are also dedicated to achieving access to care—at all levels—for everyone in our country. This work presents a great challenge, but meeting it will yield tremendous benefits by creating a fairer, healthier society.” In the AACI commentary, Bertagnolli stressed that “we must alleviate disparities that contribute to worse outcomes for some populations.” The AACI review posed general questions for leaders in cancer institutes, questions that could also often apply to researchers in disease areas other than cancer. Bertagnolli noted, “My questions to you: Could you achieve even more through new collaborations—sharing resources and data, and aligning activities? Are there scientific questions or challenges faced by people in your catchment areas that you have been hoping to address, if only you had the right partners? Are there opportunities you have not yet considered that would allow your expertise and experience to advance the work of others? Could a fresh perspective reveal potential collaborations that have not occurred to you before?” The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) praised President Biden's choice for the head of the NIH and urged the Senate to confirm her quickly. “Dr. Bertagnolli is a gifted surgeon and trailblazing research leader whose personal and professional experience positions her to lead NIH at a critical time,” said APLU President Mark P. Becker, PhD. “Collaborating with public research universities and others, NIH plays an instrumental role in driving discoveries that prevent disease, improve quality of life, and save lives.” The Friends of Cancer Research (Friends), which works to accelerate policy change and deliver effective new therapies to patients quickly and safely, also praised President Biden's nomination of Bertagnolli to head the NIH. “At this critical time for innovation at the NIH, Dr. Bertagnolli will be the visionary leader we need. [She] is a physician-scientist and a patient herself, and deeply understands the intricacies and personal impact of biomedical research,” said Ellen Sigal, PhD, Chair and Founder of the Friends. “In a short period of time, she has proven her leadership at the NCI, and I have no doubt she will do the same at the helm of NIH.” As previously reported by Oncology Times, the Friends praised NCI's new eight-point National Cancer Plan, calling it “a bold new vision.” The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) also praised the new National Cancer Plan. Lisa M. Coussens, PhD, FAACR, FAIO, AACR President, said the plan is what is needed to achieve the goals linked to the Cancer Moonshot, especially reducing cancer mortality by at least 50 percent over the next 25 years. But, as previously reported by Oncology Times, Coussens warned that “the current circumstances on Capitol Hill are creating a challenging funding outlook for the National Institutes of Health and NCI for fiscal year 2024.” She said inadequate funding could weaken NIH and NCI “during a time of great promise and abundant opportunity to change the future for the millions of Americans who are touched by cancer and other diseases.” President Biden noted that, throughout her career, Bertagnolli has supported collaborative initiatives to transform the data infrastructure for clinical cancer research. She served as group chair of the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology, a National Clinical Trials Network member organization, and was the Chief Executive Officer of Alliance Foundation Trials, LLC, a not-for-profit corporation that conducts international cancer clinical trials and focuses on the inclusion of rural communities in clinical trials. Bertagnolli is a Past President and Chair of the Board of Directors of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, and a member of the National Academy of Medicine. She also has served on the Board of Directors of the American Cancer Society and the Prevent Cancer Foundation. She is the daughter of first-generation Italian and French Basque immigrants and grew up on a ranch in southwestern Wyoming. She holds a BS in engineering from Princeton University, attended medical school at the University of Utah, trained in surgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital, and was a research fellow in tumor immunology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Peggy Eastman is a contributing writer.