WASHINGTON — The Council of the National Academy of Medicine has approved the nomination of Monica Bertagnolli, 17th director of the National Institutes of Health, for election as the Academy’s next president. A committee chaired by Claire Brindis, distinguished professor, Institute for Health Policy Studies, University of California, San Francisco, selected Bertagnolli as its recommended candidate after a yearlong search process. Following a vote by the Academy membership to confirm her election, Bertagnolli will succeed Victor J. Dzau when his second and final term as president ends on June 30, 2026.
A renowned surgical oncologist and physician-scientist specializing in gastrointestinal cancers and soft-tissue sarcomas, Bertagnolli’s research has contributed to a deeper understanding of the role of genetics and inflammation in the development of cancer. She served as director of the National Cancer Institute before becoming director of the NIH. Prior to government service, she was the Richard E. Wilson Professor of Surgery in the Field of Surgical Oncology at Harvard Medical School/Brigham and Women’s Hospital; and chief of the Division of Surgical Oncology at the Dana-Farber Brigham Cancer Center. Bertagnolli is a past president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology and served on the board of directors of the American Cancer Society and the Prevent Cancer Foundation. Currently, she is serving as a fellow in health care policy at the Harvard Kennedy School.
Over the past decade, Bertagnolli has championed collaborative initiatives to enable a learning health care system by transforming the data infrastructure for clinical research. She spearheaded the mCODE initiative to standardize data elements for oncology, enabling seamless sharing across electronic health records and cancer practices to improve patient care. This effort provided the foundation for CodeX, a multidisciplinary effort to eradicate data silos across medicine. Bertagnolli also led translational science initiatives within the NCI-funded National Clinical Trials Network and served as chair of the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology, a network member organization. She is a strong proponent for increasing the representativeness and applicability of clinical trial participants, particularly the inclusion of rural and remote communities.
Born on a ranch in Wyoming, Bertagnolli earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Princeton University and a medical degree from the University of Utah.
Bertagnolli was elected as a member of the National Academy of Medicine in 2021. She is a longtime participant in the National Academies’ National Cancer Policy Forum and is co-chair of the NAM Leadership Consortium. Following a vote by NAM members to ratify her nomination, she will be the first woman to serve as president of the NAM.
Bertagnolli’s name will be presented to the Academy’s full membership for formal ratification later this year on a ballot that will also include candidates for the home secretary and five positions on the governing Council.
Founded in 1970 as the Institute of Medicine, the National Academy of Medicine is an independent, nonpartisan institution and one of three academies that make up the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The National Academies are private, nonprofit institutions that work outside government to provide objective advice on matters of science, technology, and health. The NAM has over 2,400 members elected in recognition of outstanding professional achievement, more than 80 of whom have received the Nobel Prize.
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