Kimryn Rathmell, MD, PhD, MMHC, the Hugh Jackson Professor of Medicine and chair of the Department of Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), will be appointed Director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

Through this upcoming appointment, Rathmell will become the NCI’s 17th director and only the second woman to hold this position leading the nation’s fight against cancer. She was chosen to serve in this role by President Biden.

“I am thrilled with Dr. Rathmell’s appointment as our nation’s leader in the war on cancer — a tremendous honor for her and for Vanderbilt,” said Jeff Balser, MD, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer of VUMC and Dean of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. “Her contributions have been extraordinary, advancing cancer research with her colleagues in the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center and through leadership as the chair of our Department of Medicine. I am confident Dr. Rathmell will have an enormous impact on the NCI and on the lives of millions who are fighting to survive cancer.”

Jane Freedman, MD, professor of Medicine and director of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, has been named to serve as interim chair for the Department of Medicine and physician-in-chief for VUMC. Her appointment is effective Dec. 1.

Freedman, who is also the Gladys Parkinson Stahlman Professor of Cardiovascular Research and physician-in-chief for the Vanderbilt Heart and Vascular Institute, joined VUMC in 2021 and oversees the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine’s research activities, clinical program and fellowship training. She is the first woman to lead the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine.

Since her arrival at VUMC, Freedman has overseen growth in National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding, philanthropy, clinical volume, and the establishment of dynamic new programs.

Rathmell, as director of the NCI, will lead the National Cancer Program and the NIH’s efforts to dramatically reduce the prevalence of cancer and improve the lives of cancer patients and their families through research into prevention and cancer biology, the development of new interventions, and the training and mentoring of new researchers. With a fiscal year budget of $7.3 billion and comprised of approximately 3,500 employees the NCI is the largest funder of cancer research in the world.

“As an oncologist and cancer researcher, the opportunities for cancer right now are incredible. The technology is at a place where we can do more to understand cancer in a way we never, ever could before. The advances, while they may seem slow to some people, are happening at a break-neck pace and continue to go faster. And to have a president who is supportive of cancer research and making a real impact on the burden of cancer, it’s like the stars have aligned,” Rathmell said. “We need more funding for cancer research, but I’m very enthusiastic about what we can do.”

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