Director, Sloan Kettering Institute

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) invites inquiries, nominations, and applications for the Director of the Sloan Kettering Institute (SKI). Founded eight decades ago, SKI has been instrumental in establishing cancer biology as a rigorous and impactful scientific discipline. SKI investigators have led foundational discoveries across DNA damage and repair, oncogenic signaling, cellular metabolism, immunology, and structural biology—contributions that have reshaped the field and enabled multiple therapeutic modalities now central to standard cancer care. This enduring commitment to curiosity-driven, hypothesis-led science remains core to SKI’s identity and underpins its standing among the world’s premier biomedical research institutes.

Today, SKI operates within a uniquely data-rich and clinically proximate environment that few basic science institutes can replicate. Direct access to longitudinal patient cohorts, molecular profiling at scale, and deep collaboration with clinician-scientists allow SKI laboratories to interrogate human cancer biology in real time while preserving independence of inquiry. This combination of fundamental depth and clinical immediacy positions SKI not only as a generator of discovery but as a strategic differentiator for MSK—accelerating the translation of insight into innovative, durable patient impact.

MSK seeks an inspirational scientist leader to serve as the next Director of the Sloan Kettering Institute. The SKI Director will guide one of the world’s premier basic research institutes through a period of extraordinary scientific opportunity and institutional inflection. The Director will define and implement a bold and coherent scientific vision, set programmatic priorities, and recruit exceptional faculty to ensure the Institute remains at the forefront of cancer discovery. The role offers a rare opportunity to shape the future of basic and translational cancer research within one of the most sophisticated clinical cancer enterprises.

Reporting directly to Selwyn M. Vickers, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer of MSK, the Director will guide a community of approximately 95 laboratories and more than 900 predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees across contiguous research programs spanning molecular biology, immunology, structural biology, computational and systems biology, and related disciplines. The successful candidate will be a scientist of international stature with the credibility to recruit and engage top tier faculty, the strategic acumen to navigate evolving funding and technology landscapes, and the leadership presence to represent SKI externally with funders, partners, and peers.

Nomination and Application Procedure: Additional information about the Sloan Kettering Institute can be found at https://www.mskcc.org/research/ski. Russell Reynolds Associates (RRA) can also provide a full position specification. Interested individuals should electronically submit a Curriculum Vitae and a letter of interest to RRA. The letter of interest is a two-page cover letter, primarily detailing your experience, qualifications, and key achievements related to this position specification and briefly expressing your interest in this Director position. Letters should be addressed to the Search Committee and submitted electronically to RRA at this email:

Carrie Carpenter and Sarah Brooks, Consultants to the Search Committee
Russell Reynolds Associates
carrie.carpenter@russellreynolds.com