Dartmouth Cancer Center names internationally renowned cancer research pioneer Roy Herbst, MD, PhD, as its next leader

Dartmouth Cancer Center (DCC) has appointed Roy S. Herbst, MD, PhD, as the center’s sixth director. Herbst will lead integrated efforts to help strengthen cancer research, education, and collaboration across Dartmouth and Dartmouth Health, expand access to advanced treatments and clinical trials, and continue to elevate cancer care in southern New Hampshire, throughout New England, and beyond.

"As a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center, one of only three in New England and the only center not located in a major urban hub, Dartmouth Cancer Center is one of our crown jewels at Dartmouth Health,” said Joanne M. Conroy, MD, CEO and president of Dartmouth Health. “It is a source of great pride and privilege to offer our patients and communities the most advanced treatments and best care for a disease that touches all of us in some way. With Dr. Herbst at the helm of our Cancer Center, we are poised to grow our reach and capabilities to greater heights than ever before, as our clinicians and researchers continue their mission toward a world without cancer. I am thrilled and eager to welcome him when he joins us this summer."

"Dartmouth Cancer Center plays a critical role both in advancing research and meeting the needs of rural communities in northern New England," said Dartmouth President Sian Leah Beilock. "As an innovator in cancer research and a nationally recognized physician and scholar, Roy Herbst is ideally suited to lead the DCC in a promising era for medical breakthroughs."

DCC brings together cancer care, research and education across the Dartmouth Health system and Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine. DCC connects academic activities across all five schools of Dartmouth and clinical activities across 14 Dartmouth Health hospitals, clinics, and care teams—translating discovery into better prevention, diagnosis, and treatment for patients close to home, while advancing cancer research that benefits people and communities globally.

Herbst joins DCC from Yale, where he serves as deputy director and chief of medical oncology and hematology at Yale Cancer Center and Smilow Cancer Hospital in New Haven, Connecticut. In these roles, he has led major clinical and research programs, built strong partnerships across academia and industry, and expanded access to innovative therapies through large-scale clinical trials.

"I am honored to lead Dartmouth Cancer Center at this defining moment and to join a nationally recognized team at the forefront of cancer care, research, and education," Herbst said. "Building on this strong foundation, I am committed to bold, collaborative leadership that drives transformative innovation, expands equitable access to world-class care, and accelerates the translation of scientific discovery into meaningful improvements for our patients. Together with Dartmouth, Geisel, Dartmouth Health, and our partners, we will continue to elevate Dartmouth Cancer Center’s impact as a national leader, shaping the future of cancer care and delivering lasting advances for our communities and beyond."

"Dr. Herbst is an internationally recognized expert who understands both basic science and clinical cancer research," said Konstantin H. Dragnev, MD, interim director of Dartmouth Cancer Center. "He will strengthen collaborative relationships and will expand our oncology services in the region, as he did successfully at Yale. Ultimately, he will take our cancer center to a higher level nationally."

Herbst has helped shape modern cancer research as the founding principal investigator of the National Cancer Institute-funded Yale SPORE in Lung Cancer, while also creating innovative trial designs such as the BATTLE study and the development of the Lung Master Protocol (Lung-MAP), which uses biomarkers to match patients with the treatments most likely to benefit them. His work has contributed to the approval of multiple therapies that are now the standard of care, and he continues to advance research focused on earlier detection and treatment.

"Dr. Herbst is a physician-scientist whose career exemplifies the power of translational medicine, and I am delighted that he will lead the Dartmouth Cancer Center," said Steven D. Leach, MD interim dean of Geisel. "He has consistently built bridges between laboratory discovery, clinical trials, and patient care, and his experience guiding large-scale, biomarker-driven research efforts will help propel our cancer research enterprise and foster the collaborative innovation that drives progress against cancer."

In addition to his research and clinical leadership, Herbst is a dedicated educator and mentor. He has authored more than 500 publications in leading journals and has helped train the next generation of clinicians and scientists. He has been a major proponent of efforts to promote tobacco control and regulation (including e-cigarettes), authoring multiple policy statements and leading frequent Capitol Hill briefings. His professional and scholarly contributions have been recognized with numerous national and international awards.

Herbst attended medical school at Cornell University and earned a PhD in molecular cell biology at The Rockefeller University. He also earned master’s degrees in molecular biophysics and biochemistry, and clinical translational research, at Yale and Harvard, respectively. He is fellowship-trained in medicine oncology and hematology at Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, respectively. He is the recipient of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) Paul Bunn Scientific Award for his contributions to lung cancer care and research, and the American Association for Cancer Research Distinguished Public Service Award for Exceptional Leadership in Cancer Science Policy. Herbst will begin his tenure on July 13.