"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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