Andrew von Eschenbach Named Director of the National Cancer Institute
President Bush announced today that Andrew C. von Eschenbach, M.D., will head
the National Cancer Institute (NCI) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
in Bethesda, Md.
"Dr. von Eschenbach is one of the nation's leaders in the battle against
cancer," said HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson. "I am extremely pleased to
welcome his leadership at the NCI. I am confident that he will guide NCI to
successes in the pursuit of discoveries in the biology, treatment, and
prevention of cancer as well as continued progress in reducing the burden of
this disease."
Von Eschenbach comes to NCI from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer
Center in Houston where he was director of the Genitourinary Cancer Center and
director of the Prostate Cancer Research Program. He has also served as vice
president for academic affairs at M.D. Anderson and as executive vice president
and chief academic officer, leading a faculty of almost 1,000 cancer
researchers and clinicians.
A native of Philadelphia, von Eschenbach earned his medical degree from
Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. in 1967. He completed residencies in
general surgery and urology at Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia, then was
an instructor in urology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.
He served as a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy Medical Corps. Von
Eschenbach went to M.D. Anderson for a fellowship in urologic oncology in 1976
and was invited to join the faculty the following year.
Von Eschenbach has contributed more than 200 articles, books, and chapters to
the scientific literature. He is an editorial board member of four leading
journals and serves on the board for the National Coalition for Cancer
Research. He was a founding member and leader of the National Dialogue on
Cancer and, prior to his appointment as NCI director, was president-elect of
the American Cancer Society.
Von Eschenbach is the 12th NCI director since the creation of the NCI in 1938.
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Former NCI Directors:
1938-1943: Carl Voegtlin, Ph.D.
1943-1947: Roscoe Roy Spencer, M.D.
1947-1948: Leonard Andrew Scheele, M.D.
1948-1960: John Roderick Heller, M.D.
1960-1969: Kenneth Milo Endicott, M.D.
1970-1972: Carl Gwin Baker, M.D.
1972-1976: Frank Joseph Rauscher Jr., Ph.D.
1977-1979: Arthur Canfield Upton, M.D.
1980-1988: Vincent T. DeVita Jr., M.D.
1988-1995: Samuel Broder, M.D
1995-2001: Richard D. Klausner, M.D. To view a photo of Dr. von Eschenbach, go to
http://cancer.gov/newscenter/benchmarks-vol2-issue1
The National Cancer Institute is the nation's principal federal agency for
cancer research. Its mission is to stimulate and support scientific discovery
and its application to achieve a future when all cancers are uncommon and
easily treated.
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