The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced that Anthony Letai, MD, Ph.D., was sworn in on September 29 to be the director of NIH’s National Cancer Institute (NCI).
Dr. Letai is a renowned oncologist with extensive experience in cancer research. He was previously a Harvard Medical School professor and a medical oncologist at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
The American Cancer Society (ACS) expressed their excitement to work with Dr. Letai in a statement: “We look forward to working with Dr. Letai and the NCI staff toward our shared goal of ending cancer as we know it for everyone, by prioritizing effective, transparent and evidence-based cancer research infrastructure and processes, including broad access to clinical trials, that can speed up progress in the fight against cancer,” said Shane Jacobson, ACS CEO. Jacobson emphasized the importance of continuing the NCI’s work of improving patient outcomes.
Dr. Letai’s biography, according to the NIH:
“Dr. Letai’s research has been central to bringing venetoclax, a BCL-2 inhibitor, from the laboratory to the clinic. His laboratory work has led to advancements in knowledge of both liquid and solid tumors, as well as a wide range of treatments, including cellular immunotherapies. Dr. Letai is a recipient of the European Cell Death Organization Career Award, the Smith Family Prize for Outstanding Scientific Contributions, and the National Cancer Institute Outstanding Investigator Award.
After graduating from Princeton University with a Bachelor of Arts in physics, Dr. Letai received his Doctor of Medicine and Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Chicago. He completed his Ph.D. on the molecular basis of heritable blistering diseases before residency in Internal Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and a clinical fellowship in hematology and oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Dr. Letai began his studies of programmed cell death in cancer in a post-doctoral fellowship before establishing his laboratory at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute to study how apoptosis can be evaded by cancer cells.
Dr. Letai and his wife, Jean, have three children. Their daughter Julie represented Team USA in speedskating at the 2022 Winter Olympics and is a member of U.S. Speedskating’s Short Track World Tour Team as it prepares for the 2026 Games in Milan.”
