On December 18, W. Kimryn Rathmell, MD, PhD, began her work as the 17th Director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Dr. Rathmell was selected by President Biden to succeed Monica M. Bertagnolli, MD, FACS, FASCO, who left NCI to become the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on November 9.
W. Kimryn Rathmell, MD, PhD
Background
Dr. Rathmell earned Bachelor's degrees in Biology and Chemistry from the University of Northern Iowa and received a PhD in Biophysics and an MD from Stanford University. She completed an internal medicine internship at the University of Chicago and a residency and fellowship in medical oncology at the University of Pennsylvania. In 2022, she completed a Master of Management in Health Care from Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management.
Dr. Rathmell comes to the NCI from the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where she served as the Hugh Jackson Morgan Chair in Medicine, Chair of the Department of Medicine, and Physician-in-Chief. Before joining Vanderbilt University, she was on the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
A renowned expert in renal cancer as well as an accomplished physician-scientist and influential leader in cancer research and patient care, Dr. Rathmell has dedicated her career to treating patients with renal cancer and conducting research to advance the understanding of the molecular and genetic drivers of the disease.
Dr. Rathmell has served on the NCI’s Board of Scientific Advisors since 2018 and was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2022 and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2023. She previously served as President of the American Society for Clinical Investigation in 2019.
“I want to officially welcome Dr. Rathmell to the [NCI] on her first day as director,” stated Xavier Becerra, JD, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. “Dr. Rathmell begins her new role at an important time. The President and First Lady reignited the Biden Cancer Moonshot to dramatically accelerate progress in the fight against cancer—and [the] NCI is helping to lead the charge. Dr. Rathmell brings decades of experience helping to advance research and drive innovation to improve care for patients. She joins an extraordinary team already doing great work to prevent, detect, and treat cancer to make sure Americans are living longer, healthier lives. I look forward to working closely with Dr. Rathmell in the months and years ahead to help end cancer as we know it,” he emphasized.
Contributions and Research
As a member of The Cancer Genome Atlas—a joint effort of the NCI and NIH’s National Human Genome Research Institute to catalog gene mutations in cancer—she has contributed to the discovery that mutations in mitochondrial DNA may in part be responsible for the development of a rare form of renal cancer called chromophobe renal cell carcinoma. More recently, her genomic studies have led to the identification of novel molecular biomarkers to help detect and treat renal cancers earlier.
Dr. Rathmell is also an advocate for research into rare forms of renal cancer, including renal medullary carcinoma (RMC)—a rare type of renal cancer predominantly affecting young adult and adolescent patients of African ancestry who carry one copy of the sickle cell hemoglobin gene. She co-founded the nonprofit RMC Alliance to support patients with renal medullary carcinoma.
In addition to publishing hundreds of scientific articles on her research, Dr. Rathmell has published on ethical issues such as cancer drug shortages and conflicts of interest in scientific publishing. Beyond her research interests, she is committed to mentoring and developing the next generation of physician-scientists.
Conclusions
Dr. Rathmell hopes to lead the NCI in pursuing the goals of President Biden’s Cancer Moonshot initiative.
With Dr. Rathmell’s arrival, Douglas R. Lowy, MD, who has been serving as Acting Director of the NCI, will resume his role as Principal Deputy Director of the NCI and Chief of the Laboratory of Cellular Oncology at the Center for Cancer Research.
“I am thrilled to welcome Dr. Rathmell to [the] NIH, and I know she is the right leader at the right time for [the] NCI,” highlighted Dr. Bertagnolli. “She is a fantastic combination of researcher and clinician, who deeply understands the process of translating lab research into effective cancer treatments. [The] NCI is in great hands to actualize the brighter future we all want for people with cancer,” she added.
“I have held [the] NCI in the highest regard throughout my experience as a cancer researcher, translational investigator, practicing clinician, and educator. This opportunity to help the institute achieve greater heights for progress against cancer is an incredible honor,” Dr. Rathmell underscored. “With all of today’s advances in technology and science, and the truly talented and committed people at [the] NCI and across the cancer research and care community, I believe it is possible to end cancer as we know it in our lifetime. We must empower early-career and established scientists from diverse backgrounds so they can work together and break down barriers to deliver the biggest, boldest science possible and produce advances that benefit everyone who faces cancer. We have an extraordinarily talented and committed workforce, and I know we are up to the challenge,” she concluded.
