135 cancer center leadership moves in 2026

From chief financial officers to division chiefs, here are 135 cancer center leadership moves Becker’s has covered in 2026:

1. New York City-based Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center appointed Zsofia Stadler, MD, chief of the clinical genetics service. 
   
   
2. Los Angeles-based Cedars-Sinai named Andrew Hendifar, MD, interim director of Cedars-Sinai Cancer. Former interim director Robert Figlin, MD, was named associate dean of Cedars-Sinai Cancer Care.
   
   
3. Boston-based Dana-Farber Cancer Institute named Seth Karp, MD,  chair of surgery, and Gavin Dunn, MD, PhD, neurosurgeon-in-chief.
   
   
4. Philadelphia-based Wistar Institute, a National Cancer Institute-designated basic laboratory cancer center, named Ronny Drapkin, MD, PhD, its next president and CEO.
   
   
5. Seattle-based Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center tapped Shawn Stapleton as its inaugural chief AI and innovation officer, and Jessie Minton as vice president and chief digital and information officer.
   
   
6. Lexington-based University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center appointed Julie Lang, MD, section chief of breast surgery. Dr. Lang was also named medical director of the UK Markey Comprehensive Breast Care Center.
   
   
7. Charlotte, N.C.-based Advocate Health named Sigrun Hallmeyer, MD, enterprise physician lead for breast cancer.
   
   
8. City of Hope Atlanta, part of the Duarte, Calif.-based City of Hope network, appointed Melissa Childress as president. 
   
   
9. Salt Lake City-based Huntsman Cancer Institute named Theresa Werner, MD, chief of the division of oncology in the department of internal medicine at the University of Utah’s Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine, also in Salt Lake City.
   
   
10. Detroit-based Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute tapped Stefan Grant, MD, as associate center director and medical director of the Karmanos Cancer Network. Dr. Grant will also serve as vice chair of clinical operations, co-leader of the Thoracic Oncology Multidisciplinary Team and a member of the Phase I Clinical Trials Multidisciplinary Team.
    
    
11. Ascension Sacred Heart, which operates hospitals in Florida’s Pensacola, Panama City and Destin regions, tapped Nikki Ireland as vice president of oncology.
    
    
12. Omaha, Neb.-based Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center appointed Kelsey Klute, MD, vice chair of its protocol review and monitoring committee.
    
    
13. Cleveland Clinic London tapped Heather Shaw, MD, as oncology vice chief. Dr. Shaw previously served as deputy medical director at Mount Vernon Cancer Centre in Northwood, England, and currently leads the medical oncology skin cancer service at University College London Hospital.
    
    
14. Boston-based Dana-Farber Cancer Institute named Eliezer Van Allen, MD, its inaugural chief AI officer.
    
    
15. Knoxville, Tenn.-based Covenant Health tapped Matt Sturm as senior vice president of oncology services. Mr. Sturm will oversee long-term oncology strategy systemwide and the expansion of Covenant Health Cancer Care.
    
    
16. New York City-based NYU Langone Perlmutter Cancer Center named Rutika Mehta, MD, director of upper GI medical oncology.
    
    
17. Atlanta-based Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University named Maria Russell, MD, chief of the division of surgical oncology. 
    
    
18. UChicago Medicine named James LaBelle, MD, PhD, chief of pediatric hematology-oncology, transplant and cellular therapy. Dr. LaBelle was also named service line chief of pediatric cancer and blood diseases for the Chicagoland Children’s Health Alliance. 
    
    
19. Pittsburgh-based Allegheny Health Network tapped Matthew Holtzman, MD, as chief surgical officer for its Western region.
    
    
20. The Wilmot Cancer Institute at University of Rochester (N.Y.) Medicine tapped Naoko Takebe, MD, PhD, as associate director for clinical research and director of the Early Phase Therapy Clinic. Dr. Takebe will also lead a new research initiative for developmental therapeutics at Wilmot.
    
    
21. Aurora-based University of Colorado Anschutz Cancer Center named Wells Messersmith, MD, its next director.
    
    
22. UChicago Medicine named Kimyatta Washington COO of the AbbVie Foundation Cancer Pavilion. Ms. Washington will continue to serve as vice president and chief administrative officer of cancer services, roles she has held since joining the health system in 2024.
    
    
23. New Hyde Park, N.Y.-based Northwell Health appointed Kalil Abdullah, MD, system director of central nervous system cancer. Dr. Abdullah was also named executive vice chair of the department of neurosurgery.
    
    
24. The University of Arizona College of Medicine Phoenix appointed Julie Bauman, MD, the inaugural chair for the department of interdisciplinary oncology. Dr. Bauman was also appointed senior medical director of oncology research at Phoenix-based Banner Health.
    
    
25. Hollywood, Fla.-based Memorial Healthcare System named Atif Hussein, MD, chief of the Memorial Cancer Institute. Dr. Hussein will also lead collaboration between Memorial Healthcare System and Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Broward Health as part of the organizations’ efforts to expand access to specialized cancer care throughout Broward County.
    
    
26. Rochester, N.Y.-based Wilmot Cancer Institute appointed Michael Brady, PhD, interim associate director for administration. 
    
    
27. Lebanon, N.H.-based Dartmouth Cancer Center named Konstantin Dragnev, MD, section chief of hematology and medical oncology. Dr. Dragnev will also serve as deputy director of clinical affairs.
    
    
28. Los Angeles-based UCLA Health named Amir Iravani, MD, director of the theranostics program. Dr. Iravani will also serve as vice chair of clinical research in the department of nuclear medicine and theranostics. 
    
    
29. Columbus-based Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center-James Cancer Hospital & Solove Research Institute appointed Neil Hayes, MD, deputy director. Dr. Hayes was also appointed director of the Institute for Precision Cancer Medicine.
    
    
30. Coral Gables, Fla.-based Baptist Health Herbert Wertheim Cancer Institute named Matthew Hall, MD, the Endowed Chair in Pediatric Radiation Oncology.
    
    
31. Durham, N.C.-based Duke Health named David Tuveson, MD, PhD, executive director of the Duke Cancer Institute.
    
    
32. Peter Pisters, MD, retired Sept. 30 from Houston-based The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center after nine years as president. Jeffrey Lee, MD, was named interim president. Dr. Lee previously served as executive vice president, chief physician executive and chief cancer network officer at MD Anderson. 
    
    
33. New Hyde Park, N.Y.-based Northwell Cancer Institute named Tobias Janowitz, MD, PhD, director of translational cancer research and the Robert and Janet Perro Professor in Cancer Research. Dr. Janowitz was also appointed director of the Institute of Cancer Research at Northwell’s Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research.
    
    
34. Galveston-based University of Texas Medical Branch tapped Raghu Kalluri, MD, PhD, as chief scientific officer and senior vice president. Dr. Kalluri will also serve as executive director of the UTMB Cancer Center.
    
    
35. Morgantown, W.Va.-based WVU Medicine Golisano Children’s named Julia Meade, MD, executive director of the hospital’s Blood Disorders and Cancer Center.
    
    
36. Gainesville-based University of Florida appointed Duane Mitchell, MD, PhD, as director of the UF Health Cancer Institute.
    
    
37. Seattle-based Fred Hutch Cancer Center named two oncology leaders to endowed chair positions: Heather Cheng, MD, PhD, was named the inaugural Marty Lazarus Weiden Family Endowed Chair, and Andrew Hsieh, MD, was named the inaugural Larry and Virginia Gordon Endowed Chair in Prostate and Bladder Cancer Research.
    
    
38. UT Health San Antonio tapped Georg Aue, MD, PhD, as director of the Mays Cancer Center’s Stem Cell Transplant and Cellular Therapy Program. Dr. Aue will also serve as chief of the section of cellular therapies, co-director of the Cellular Therapy Research Center and inaugural director of the Mary and Bill Henrich Stem Cell Transplant and Cellular Therapy Unit at UT Health San Antonio Multispecialty and Research Hospital.
    
    
39. Boston-based Dana-Farber Cancer Institute tapped Sonal Gandhi as senior vice president of campus operations and infrastructure. 
    
    
40. St. Louis-based WashU Medicine named Andres Bur, MD, chief of the division of head and neck surgery in the department of otolaryngology. Dr. Bur was also appointed co-director of the Robert Ebert and Greg Stubblefield Head and Neck Tumor Center at the system’s Siteman Cancer Center. 
    
    
41. Cleveland-based Case Western Reserve University named Damian Junk, PhD, associate director of administration for Case Comprehensive Cancer Center.
    
    
42. Charles Roberts, MD, PhD, executive vice president and director of Memphis, Tenn.-based St. Jude Comprehensive Cancer Center, was named president and CEO of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, also in Memphis.
    
    
43. West Orange, N.J.-based RWJBarnabas Health and RWJBarnabas Health Medical Group named Andrew Evans, DO, senior vice president and chief medical officer for oncology services. 
    
    
44. Somerville, Mass.-based Mass General Brigham named Tom Roberts, MD, clinical director and interim program director of head and neck medical oncology within the Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute.
    
    
45. HCA Florida Kendall Hospital in Miami, part of Davie-based HCA Florida Healthcare, appointed Omar Llaguna, MD, medical director of surgical oncology. 
    
    
46. Cleveland-based MetroHealth named Natalie Joseph, MD, its department chair of surgery. Dr. Joseph previously served as interim executive director of the cancer institute, director of the division of surgical oncology and director of the Center for Breast Health at MetroHealth.
    
    
47. Princeton (W.Va.) Community Hospital, part of Morgantown, W.Va.-based WVU Medicine, appointed Mohammed Abdulhaleem, MD, director of medical oncology. 
    
    
48. Omaha-based University of Nebraska Medical Center named Matthew Lunning, DO, chief of the division of hematology, and Nicole Shonka, MD, chief of the division of medical oncology.
    
    
49. Indianapolis-based Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center named Alastair Thompson, MD, director of the Vera Bradley Foundation Center for Breast Cancer Research.
    
    
50. Morgantown-based West Virginia University School of Medicine named Brian Boone, MD, division chief of surgical oncology. 
    
    
51. Baltimore-based University of Maryland School of Medicine named Nirali Shah, MD, director of the pediatric/adolescent and young adult cell and gene therapy program.
    
    
52. Cincinnati Children’s named Daniel Starczynowski, PhD, director of the division of experimental hematology and cancer biology, scientific and innovation director of the Cancer and Blood Diseases Institute, and research deputy director of the University of Cincinnati Cancer Center.
    
    
53. The National Cancer Institute appointed Senthil Muthuswamy, PhD, director of the Center for Cancer Research. 
    
    
54. Hartford (Conn.) HealthCare tapped Adam Boruchov, MD, as physician-in-chief of the Hartford HealthCare Cancer Institute. 
    
    
55. Richmond, Va.-based VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center named Monica Baskin, PhD, director of the cancer center. 
    
    
56. The National Cancer Institute tapped Paul Pearlman, PhD, as acting chief of the Imaging Technology Development Branch in the Cancer Imaging Program.
    
    
57. The University of Alabama at Birmingham tapped Teviah Sachs, MD, as director for the division of surgical oncology. 
    
    
58. Durham, N.C.-based Duke University School of Medicine appointed Michael Lidsky, MD, chief of the section of hepatopancreatobiliary surgery within the division of surgical oncology. 
    
    
59. Orange, Calif.-based UCI Health and the University of California Irvine School of Medicine appointed Frances Chow, MD, chief of the division of neuro-oncology and medical director of the health system’s Comprehensive Brain Tumor Program.
    
    
60. Aurora-based University of Colorado Anschutz Cancer Center named Bradley Corr, MD, deputy associate medical director of the Cancer Clinical Trials Office. 
    
    
61. Columbus-based Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center-James Cancer Hospital & Solove Research Institute named Ann-Kathrin Eisfeld, MD, director of precision genomics clinical transformation.
    
    
62. Washington, D.C.-based Children’s National named Andrew Dauber, MD, director of the Center for Precision Medicine and Genomics Research. 
    
    
63. South Bend, Ind.-based Beacon Health System tapped Anas Al-Janadi, MD, to serve as the system’s first chief of oncology. 
    
    
64. New Haven, Conn.-based Yale Cancer Center and Smilow Cancer Hospital appointed Ian Krop, MD, PhD, section chief of medical oncology and hematology, and deputy director for clinical affairs.
    
    
65. Kansas City, Mo.-based Children’s Mercy appointed Yong Li, PhD, inaugural division director of the newly established Molecular Oncology and Cellular Therapeutics program.
    
    
66. Houston Methodist tapped Malcolm Brenner, MD, PhD, as the inaugural leader of the Houston Methodist Center for Cell and Gene Therapy. 
    
    
67. City of Hope Cancer Center Chicago appointed David Stewart, MD, chief of surgery.
    
    
68. Columbus-based Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center-James Cancer Hospital & Solove Research Institute appointed Kami Maddocks, MD, chief medical officer.
    
    
69. Statesville, N.C.-based Iredell Health System named Jeff McDaniels, MSN, RN, director of the 1 North oncology unit at Iredell Memorial Hospital, also in Statesville.
    
    
70. New York City-based Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center appointed Martin Weiser, MD, chair of the department of surgery.
    
    
71. Seattle-based Fred Hutch Cancer Center appointed Nida Shekhani executive vice president and chief strategy and clinical growth officer. 
    
    
72. Miami-based Baptist Health Herbert Wertheim Cancer Institute named Alia Abdulla, DO, chief of breast surgical oncology in Plantation, Fla.
    
    
73. Boston-based Dana-Farber Cancer Institute appointed Andrew Lane, MD, PhD, chief of the division of hematologic neoplasia and named Kathleen Keavany senior vice president of ambulatory care.
    
    
74. The Medical College of Georgia at Augusta (Ga.) University appointed David Munn, MD, director of the Georgia Cancer Center.
    
    
75. Nashville, Tenn.-based Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center appointed Fabien Maldonado, MD, and Evan Osmundson, MD, PhD, as co-leaders of its thoracic oncology program.
    
    
76. City of Hope Cancer Center Chicago appointed Monica Malec, MD, chief of supportive care and integrative oncology.
    
    
77. Madison, Wis.-based UW Health Carbone Cancer Center appointed Christian Capitini, MD, as director.
    
    
78. Boston-based Dana-Farber Cancer Institute appointed Ivan Samstein executive vice president and chief finance and business strategy officer.
    
    
79. Dario Altieri, MD, president and CEO of Philadelphia-based Wistar Institute, a National Cancer Institute-designated basic laboratory cancer center, will join Philadelphia-based Thomas Jefferson University’s Sidney Kimmel Medical College as a special advisor to the director of Jefferson Health’s Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, also in Philadelphia.
    
    
80. New York City-based Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center appointed Shakeeb Akhter as chief digital officer.
    
    
81. Houston-based University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center appointed Albert Koong, MD, PhD, chief scientific officer.
    
    
82. Seattle-based Fred Hutch Cancer Center appointed Chris Li, MD, PhD, senior vice president and director of its public health sciences division.
    
    
83. Wilmington, Del.-based ChristianaCare appointed Deepak Vadehra, DO, chief of gastrointestinal oncology. 
    
    Dr. Vadehra was also appointed director of clinical trials and director of clinical research for solid tumors at ChristianaCare’s Helen F. Graham Cancer Center and Research Institute.
    
    
84. New Orleans-based LCMC Health named Amelia Jernigan, MD, director of the cancer service line.
    
    
85. David Strickland was named regional CIO of Duarte, Calif.-based City of Hope.
    
    
86. Houston-based University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center appointed Kim Slusser, PhD, RN, inaugural chief nurse executive. 
    
    
87. Tampa, Fla.-based Moffitt Cancer Center named Jon Vineyard vice president of payer strategies.
    
    
88. Seth Karp, MD, system surgeon-in-chief and chair of the section of surgical sciences for Nashville, Tenn.-based Vanderbilt Health, will step down Oct. 15 to join Boston-based Dana-Farber Cancer Institute as surgeon-in-chief.
    
    Dr. Karp was also appointed chair of the Roberta and Stephen R. Weiner Department of Surgery at Boston-based Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
    
    
89. New Hyde Park, N.Y.-based Northwell Health and the Northwell Cancer Institute tapped Miguel Materin, MD, as system head of ocular oncology.
    
    
90. New York City-based Montefiore Health System named Ulrich Steidl, MD, PhD, director of the Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center.
    
    
91. Jacksonville, Fla.-based Nemours Children’s Health appointed David Dickens, MD, as division chief of hematology/oncology for Nemours Children’s Hospital Florida.
    
    
92. Seattle-based Fred Hutch launched a division of surgical oncology and appointed John Gore, MD, as the inaugural division director. 
    
    
93. Madison, Wis.-based UW Health and the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health named Christian Capitini, MD, director of the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center.
    
    
94. New York City-based NYU Langone appointed Lisa Roth, MD, as director of the division of pediatric hematology-oncology at Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital, also in New York City. 
    
    
95. Lebanon, N.H.-based Dartmouth Health and Hanover, N.H.-based Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine named Roy Herbst, MD, PhD, director of the Dartmouth Cancer Center. 
    
    
96. New York City-based Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center appointed Steve Glass as executive vice president and chief financial officer.
    
    
97. Omaha-based Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center, part of the University of Nebraska Medical Center, tapped Kathleen Moore, MD, as deputy director. 
    
    
98. Philadelphia-based Temple University Health System appointed Robert Winn, MD, as director of the Fox Chase Cancer Center. 
    
    
99. Richmond, Va.-based VCU Health Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center named Monica Baskin, PhD, as interim director. 
    
    
100. Seattle-based Fred Hutch Cancer Center appointed Mazyar Shadman, MD, and Vyshak Alva Venur, MD, as deputy chief medical officers. 
     
     
101. Coral Gables, Fla.-based Baptist Health South Florida appointed Robert Press, MD, as clinical director of proton therapy at the Eugene M. and Christine E. Lynn Cancer Institute at Boca Raton (Fla.) Regional Hospital.
     
     
102. Mobile, Ala.-based USA Health tapped Brian Persing, MD, as director of the USA Health Mitchell Cancer Institute.
     
     
103. Irving, Texas-based Christus Health tapped Steven DiBiase, MD, as medical director of the Christus Cancer Center in Longview, Texas.
     
     
104. Duarte, Calif.-based City of Hope named Alexey Danilov, MD, PhD, as associate director for clinical sciences. 
     
     
105. Valdosta, Ga.-based SGMC Health tapped Nicole Centers to serve as director of the Pearlman Cancer Center. Ms. Centers was also appointed administrative director of oncology for the health system.
     
     
106. Stanford (Calif.) Cancer Institute tapped Vivek Subbiah, MD, as inaugural associate director for drug development and precision oncology. Dr. Subbiah was also appointed as executive medical director for cancer novel therapies and clinical trial network development at Stanford (Calif.) Health Care.
     
     
107. Houston Methodist has tapped Daniela Matei, MD, as director of the Dr. Mary and Ron Neal Cancer Center.
     
     
108. Seattle-based Fred Hutch Cancer Center named Holly Harris, PhD, the inaugural Bus Family Endowed Chair and Jonathan Bricker, PhD, as the Endowed Chair in Cancer Prevention.
     
     
109. Philadelphia-based Fox Chase Cancer Center appointed David Weinberg, MD, as vice president and physician lead of the cancer screening and prevention service line. Dr. Weinberg will also serve as the associate director of cancer screening and prevention at the Institute for Cancer Research.
     
     
110. Charlotte, N.C.-based Advocate Health tapped Stephanie Nasello as division vice president of cancer at Milwaukee-based Aurora Health Care.
     
     
111. Peoria, Ill.-based OSF HealthCare tapped Robert McWilliams, MD, as deputy director of the OSF Cancer Institute.
     
     
112. Philadelphia-based Fox Chase Cancer Center and Temple University Health tapped James Ferriss, MD, as system chief of gynecologic oncology.
     
     
113. Weston-based Cleveland Clinic Florida tapped Manpreet Bedi, MD, as division chair of radiation oncology.
     
114. The University of Cincinnati Cancer Center tapped David Gius, MD, PhD, as director. 
     
115. Duarte, Calif.-based City of Hope appointed Marwan Fakih, MD, as deputy director.
     
116. Philadelphia-based Fox Chase Cancer Center appointed Alex Khariton as COO.
     
117. Jacksonville, Fla.-based Baptist Health tapped Robert Press, MD, as clinical director of proton therapy at the Eugene M. and Christine E. Lynn Cancer Institute in Boca Raton, Fla.
     
     
118. Duarte, Calif.-based City of Hope named Gordon Groschl vice president and chief information security officer.
     
119. New York City-based NYU Langone Health appointed Anirban Maitra, MD, as director of the Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center.
     
120. The Knight Cancer Institute at Portland-based Oregon Health & Science University appointed Joel Helmke as CEO of the Knight Cancer Group. 
     
121. Tampa (Fla.) General Hospital appointed Gustavo Rivero, MD, as director of translational  research for hematologic malignancies.
     
     
122. Duarte, Calif.-based City of Hope named Vanessa Almendro Navarro, PhD, as chief commercialization officer. 
     
123. New Brunswick, N.J.-based RWJBarnabas Health and the Rutgers Cancer Institute appointed Kathie-Ann Joseph, MD, as chief of breast surgery. Dr. Joseph will also serve as co-director of the multidisciplinary breast program at the Rutgers Cancer Institute and the Jack & Sheryl Morris Cancer Center.
     
     
124. Houston-based Baylor College of Medicine appointed Will Parsons, MD, PhD, as chief of the division of hematology-oncology in the department of pediatrics. Dr. Parsons will also serve as director of Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Center.
     
     
125. Duarte, Calif.-based City of Hope named Marcee Chmait as head of emerging opportunities and ventures.
     
126. Baptist Health Miami Cancer Institute tapped Justin Dubin, MD, as director of men’s sexual health.
     
     
127. Duarte, Calif.-based City of Hope appointed Leo Wang, MD, PhD, as division chief of cell, gene and transplantation therapy in the department of pediatrics.
     
128. Richmond, Va.-based VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center appointed Dimple Patel, PhD, as associate director of innovation, leadership and professional development. Dr. Patel will also lead operations and strategy of the Executive Leadership Academy for Cancer Centers.

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