John Mendelsohn, MD, co-director of the Institute for Personalized Cancer Therapy at University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, is retiring, according to the Houston Chronicle. Dr. Mendelsohn served as president of MD Anderson from 1996 to 2011, and he will become president emeritus Aug. 31.
Dr. Mendelsohn has worked at MD Anderson for 22 years. In addition to serving as co-director of the Institute for Personalized Cancer Therapy, he is the L.E. & Virginia Simmons Senior Fellow in the health and technology policy division at Rice University's James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy in Houston. He is also a professor in the genomic medicine department at MD Anderson.
In an email to members of the Institute for Personalized Cancer Therapy, he said, "My time at MD Anderson has been the capstone of my career. It is bittersweet to step away, but it is the right decision for my family and me," the Chronicle reports.
Over the course of his career, Dr. Mendelsohn has received numerous awards, including the Bristol-Myers Squibb Cancer Research Award, a Medal of Honor from the American Cancer Society and the Award of Excellence from Hope Funds for Cancer Research.
In fall 2017, Dr. Mendelsohn was diagnosed with glioblastoma, a form of brain cancer. Neither Dr. Mendelsohn's email nor the organizationwide email sent by current MD Anderson President Peter Pisters, MD, mentioned Dr. Mendelsohn's diagnosis or treatment, the Chronicle reports.