Selwyn M. Vickers, MD, FACS
Craig B. Thompson, MD
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) recently announced that Selwyn M. Vickers, MD, FACS, a pancreatic cancer surgeon and researcher, a pioneer in cancer health disparities research, and an academic medical leader, has been selected to serve as its next President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Dr. Vickers will succeed Craig B. Thompson, MD, who announced his intention to step down earlier this year. The transition will occur in September 2022.
Dr. Vickers joins MSK from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), where he currently serves as Senior Vice President for Medicine and Dean of the Heersink School of Medicine. He is also CEO of both the UAB Health System and the UAB/Ascension St. Vincent’s Alliance.
At UAB, Dr. Vickers oversees a statewide network of hospitals and a $5.8 billion health system that includes the eighth largest hospital in the United States and a research enterprise of more than $350 million in federal research funding. He is responsible for the clinical activities and scientific research of nearly 3,500 faculty members, the education and training of 800 medical students, and a total workforce of more than 17,000 personnel. Under his leadership, the Heersink School of Medicine experienced significant growth, supported by a $95 million gift that led to its naming, and benefited from transformative National Institutes of Health (NIH) research growth, adding $100 million in new NIH funding.
Professional Background
Prior to becoming Dean of the Heersink School of Medicine, Dr. Vickers completed his professional and surgical training at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Hospital, including a chief residency and surgical oncology fellowship. Dr. Vickers served on the faculty of the University of Minnesota Medical School, where for 7 years he was the Jay Phillips Professor and Chair of the Department of Surgery. He also spent 13 years as a surgeon and educator at UAB, including 6 years as John Blue Chair of the Division of Gastrointestinal Surgery. He completed two postgraduate research fellowships with the NIH and training at John Radcliffe Hospital of Oxford University. He has baccalaureate and medical degrees from the Johns Hopkins University.
Dr. Vickers continues to see patients and conduct clinical and health disparities research.
