Cancer Center Director

Tulane University School of Medicine, in partnership with Korn Ferry, invites nominations and expressions of interest for the position of Cancer Center Director. Serving as the academic and strategic leader for cancer research, clinical innovation, and community engagement, the Tulane Cancer Center is poised for a period of significant growth and impact. This is a singular opportunity to shape the next era of cancer discovery and care at one of the nation’s oldest and most storied medical schools—located in the vibrant, historic, and culturally rich city of New Orleans.

Reporting directly to Dr. Lee Hamm, Senior Vice President and Dean of the School of Medicine, the Director will guide the scientific, clinical, and operational strategy for the Tulane Cancer Center. The Director will provide visionary leadership to advance the Center’s mission of reducing the burden of cancer through exceptional research, innovative clinical programs, and community?focused initiatives. In this capacity, the Director will advance a unified, forward?looking agenda grounded in scientific rigor, multidisciplinary collaboration, and a commitment to health equity for diverse populations across the Gulf South.

A core responsibility of the role is strengthening and expanding the Cancer Center’s research enterprise. The Director will lead efforts to grow a dynamic cancer research portfolio spanning basic, translational, clinical, and population sciences; enhance investigator?initiated studies; and build competitive multi?investigator and multi?institutional programs. The Director will promote integration of lab?based discovery with clinical innovation, leveraging Tulane’s strong infrastructure—including shared research cores such as next?generation sequencing, imaging, proteomics, and biostatistics—to accelerate discovery?to?impact pipelines.

The Cancer Center’s reach and visibility are substantially amplified through the Louisiana Cancer Research Center (LCRC). As Co?Director of the LCRC Executive Committee, the Tulane Cancer Center Director will collaborate with partners across Tulane, LSU, Xavier University, and Ochsner Health to expand scientific programs, shared resources, community outreach, and cancer health equity research. This consortium model presents a unique opportunity to grow clinical trials, expand translational collaborations, and increase access to leading?edge therapies for patients across Louisiana.

The Director will serve as the Center’s principal ambassador, cultivating relationships with philanthropic supporters, government and industry partners, community organizations, and regional health systems. Strengthening partnerships and enhancing visibility will be essential to elevating the Center’s scientific profile and accelerating program growth. The Director will also play a central role in faculty recruitment, mentorship, and career development—fostering an inclusive, collaborative environment for basic scientists, clinician?investigators, trainees, and staff.

The ideal candidate will be a distinguished cancer researcher or clinician?scientist with a strong record of extramural funding, impactful scholarship, and leadership within a complex academic medical center. Candidates should bring demonstrated success advancing interdisciplinary research, managing shared resources, fostering collaborative teams, and building programs of regional or national prominence. The successful candidate will possess the strategic acumen, scientific vision, and interpersonal effectiveness needed to elevate Tulane’s cancer enterprise—while serving as a champion for innovation, equity, and community partnership.

Korn Ferry is assisting Tulane University School of Medicine with this critical recruitment. Applications should include a detailed curriculum vitae and a letter of interest. To ensure full consideration, inquiries, nominations, and applications should be submitted electronically, in confidence, to tara.vittese@kornferry.com