Dr. Monica Bertagnolli Is Elected President of National Academy of Medicine

Monica M. Bertagnolli, MD, FACS, a renowned surgical oncologist and cancer researcher who served as the 17th Director of the National Institutes of Health and the 16th Director National Cancer Institute (NCI), last week was elected president of the National Academy of Medicine (NAM). She begins her 6-year term in July.

“The Academy has a critically important role and mission as a trusted, nonpartisan adviser and is uniquely positioned to bring science, clinical expertise, and community experience together to improve health for everyone. I look forward to working with members, partners, and the public to advance a health system that truly serves everyone,” Dr. Bertagnolli said.

Dr. Bertagnolli’s election is notable as she will be the first woman to serve as president of NAM since its establishment as the Institute of Medicine in 1970—as well as the first surgeon and first ACS Fellow to take the role.

Her previous positions include serving as 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, all in Boston, Massachusetts.

Dr. Bertagnolli, who also received the 2023 ACS Owen H. Wangensteen Scientific Forum Award, was a dedicated cancer researcher throughout her career. She received her first research grant from the NCI while at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and secured further NIH awards for cancer research on her return to Harvard. Dr. Bertagnolli maintained NIH funding and other funding for 25 years and generated several findings that have impacted cancer care.