HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. named Anthony Letai, MD, PhD, director of the National Cancer Institute.
Dr. Letai most recently served as a medical oncologist at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, both based in Boston, according to a Sept. 29 agency news release. He has spent decades studying cell death in cancer, developing treatments and identifying predictive biomarkers. He was central to bringing venetoclax, a BCL-2 inhibitor, from the laboratory to the clinic and advancing other cellular immunotherapy treatments.
“Dr. Letai has been immersed in the relevant science for decades and has been on the cutting edge of how we think about cancer treatment,” NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya said in the release. “His drive, integrity and expertise make him the right leader to harness the resources and talent at NCI to reverse America’s cancer crisis.”
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