Dr. Monica Bertagnolli Nominated to Lead NIH

On May 15, the White House announced the nomination of Dr. Monica Bertagnolli as the next Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). If confirmed, Bertagnolli would replace the current Acting Director, Dr. Lawrence Tabak, who has been serving since the departure of Francis Collins in 2021.

President Biden stated, “Dr. Bertagnolli has spent her career pioneering scientific discovery and pushing the boundaries of what is possible to improve cancer prevention and treatment for patients, and ensuring that patients in every community have access to quality care… Dr. Bertagnolli is a world-class physician-scientist whose vision and leadership will ensure NIH continues to be an engine of innovation to improve the health of the American people.”

Currently, Bertagnolli is the Director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and previously served as the Richard E. Wilson Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School and as a surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Bertagnolli holds a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from Princeton University and received her medical degree from the University of Utah.

Bertagnolli’s nomination requires Senate confirmation and will face questions in upcoming hearings.