​Dr. Christina Annunziata to join pillar July 10.

Christina Annunziata, MD, PhD, will soon join the American Cancer Society as the new senior vice president for extramural discovery science (EDS). 

In this role, Dr. Annunziata will play an essential role in the organization’s work to eliminate cancer as we know it, for everyone.  

You may know ACS is the nation’s largest private not-for-profit source of cancer research and training funds, with about $400 million in grants funded at any one time. This work sits within the EDS team. As SVP of this team, Dr. Annunziata will oversee critical relationships with top cancer researchers across the nation, leading the ACS grant review process. She will also serve as an ACS thought leader, building strong relationships within the scientific community. 

Dr. Annunziata comes to ACS most recently from the National Cancer Institute’s Center for Cancer Research, where she is the senior investigator at and directs clinical operations for the Women’s Malignancies Branch and is head of the Translational Genomics Section. She also received tenure from the NIH in 2020. Her background will help in ACS’ work to eliminate cervical cancer through vaccination/screening and prevention.

Dr. Annunziata is a prolific author, a noted public speaker, and has been acknowledged for her work with many various awards. She is an expert particularly on the molecular mechanisms of cancer, on ovarian cancer, and on cancer signaling and pathways, among other areas. She holds multiple degrees from Georgetown University, including her medical degree, and she also completed residency training in internal medicine at Georgetown.

A mentor to more than 50 students throughout her career, Dr. Annunziata is known for her commitment to mentorship as well as to diversity. Her trainees themselves have gone on to win competitive awards and funding, such as the ASCO Young Investigator Award and the NIH Bench to Bedside Award. She has trained students from every continent (except Antarctica). “I seek out and have mentored trainees in programs designed to elevate underrepresented minorities,” Dr. Annunziata says.

She lives in McClean, VA. Her first official day at ACS will be July 10. 

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