After eight years, Laurie Glimcher will step down as president and CEO of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston’s famed oncology research center.
Replacing her on Oct. 1 is Benjamin Ebert, chair of the institute’s Department of Medical Oncology. The news Tuesday marks one of the more notable changes of the guard in the scientific research world, especially in cancer care.
It’s unclear what Glimcher will do next. Over the last several years, there has been talk that she might lead the National Institutes of Health. She was also reportedly a top candidate to lead the FDA after Joe Biden became president, though she shot down that speculation. Glimcher, 73, has previously served on the boards of GSK and Bristol Myers Squibb.
Glimcher, the first woman to ever lead the institute, has overseen a nearly 150% increase in its revenue, from $1.3 billion in the tax year before she arrived to almost $3.4 billion in the most recent filing. During her tenure, the number of regional facilities almost doubled, patient volume increased 51%, and grant- and industry-backed research funding increased 62%. In the 2023 fiscal year, it was involved in more than 1,100 clinical trials.
By turning to Ebert as its next leader, the institution is betting an in-house candidate can continue the momentum. The medical oncology unit includes more than 300 faculty members and more than 80 research labs, according to the institute.
“His leadership and experience will be extremely beneficial as we plan for the proposed new cancer hospital and clinical collaboration,” Dana-Farber chair Josh Bekenstein said in a statement.
The hospital is a collaboration with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, another mainstay in the Boston-area healthcare ecosystem, and is a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School.