WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 15, 2026) — The George Washington University (GW) School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) is pleased to announce that Monica M. Bertagnolli, MD, will be the keynote speaker for the 2026 GW MD Graduation Celebration and Diploma Ceremony on May 17, 2026, in Lisner Auditorium.
Bertagnolli is a world-renowned surgical oncologist and physician-scientist with a distinguished career dedicated to advancing biomedical research and clinical care. She is widely recognized for her visionary leadership of the nation’s premier medical research institutions and her commitment to transforming data infrastructure to improve patient outcomes.
Previously, she served as the 17th Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) from 2023 to 2025. In this role, she made history as the first surgeon and the second woman to lead the agency, overseeing the work of the largest funder of biomedical and behavioral research in the world.
As NIH Director, Bertagnolli championed collaborative initiatives to modernize the data infrastructure for clinical research to meet the promise of AI. Her tenure was marked by an emphasis on increasing the reach of clinical trials and ensuring that the fruits of scientific discovery are accessible to all populations.
Prior to her leadership at the NIH, Bertagnolli served as the 16th Director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Her career in academic medicine includes serving as the Richard E. Wilson Professor of Surgery in surgical oncology at Harvard Medical School and as a surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. She also held leadership roles at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, including serving as the Chief of the Division of Surgical Oncology.
A pioneer in clinical oncology, Bertagnolli’s research has focused on the genetic drivers of gastrointestinal cancer and the role of inflammation in cancer growth. From 2011 to 2022, she served as group chair of the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology, leading translational science initiatives within the NCI’s National Clinical Trials Network.
In 2021, Bertagnolli was elected to the National Academy of Medicine (NAM). This year, she has been named president-elect of NAM and will begin a 6-year term in July. She is a past president and chair of the board of directors of the American Society of Clinical Oncology and has served on the boards of the American Cancer Society and the Prevent Cancer Foundation.
She graduated from Princeton University with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering and earned her Doctor of Medicine from the University of Utah. Bertagnolli completed her residency training in surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and was a research fellow in tumor immunology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
For more information about the GW SMHS Graduation Celebrations, visit the Commencement website.
