MD Anderson Cancer Center’s President Seeks to Get Institution Back on Course

After a trying year full of accusations of conflict of interest, MD Anderson’s President seeks to refocus and improve patient morale and patient services.

Reeve Hamilton, Texas Tribune
Ronald DePinho, the president of the MD Anderson Cancer Center, part of the Univeristy of Texas, becomes animated when he talks about his ambitious plans in leading the institute’s efforts to combat the disease.

In two weeks, Depinho plans to give a public report on the first year’s progress of MD Anderson’s “moon shots” program. An ambitious cross-disciplinary effort fashioned after the Kennedy-era space efforts, its aim is to dramatically reduce mortality rates of a group of cancers — breast, ovarian, lung and prostate cancer, multiple types of leukemia, and melanoma.

But the tenure of DePinho, who has been president since 2011 and is the fourth in the institution’s 72-year history, has been marked by distractions and growing unease as much as by lofty aspirations. Most recently, a survey of clinical faculty members found that a majority of respondents believed that the program’s demands were having an impact on patient care and MD Anderson’s clinical reputation.

With pressure mounting from University of Texas System leaders, DePinho acknowledged that his hard-charging style might have resulted in some missteps. He said he has learned from his experiences and is making changes.

“I have stumbled,” DePinho said Monday during an interview in his office. “It comes from running really fast.”
(Read the full story at Texas Tribune)

OTHER LOCAL AREA HEADLINES:

TEXAS HEADLINES:

NATION & WORLD: