Caryn Lerman, PhD, director of the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, named president of the Association of American Cancer Institutes

LOS ANGELES — Caryn Lerman, PhD, director of the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of Keck Medicine of USC, has been named president of the Association of American Cancer Institutes (AACI).

Lerman joined the AACI Board of Directors in 2019 and was elected vice president/president-elect in 2020. 

“This is a time of rapid change in not only cancer research, education and patient care, but also in terms of social justice issues that we must tackle as we elevate the national cancer program to the next level,” said Lerman, who also serves as associate dean for cancer programs and the H. Leslie and Elaine S. Hoffman Chair in Cancer Research at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. “I am looking forward to collaborating with AACI cancer centers to embrace change and address issues that matter most to them, including cancer equity and the diversification of the nation’s oncology leadership pipeline.”

Lerman will formally announce her presidential initiatives at the 2021 AACI annual meeting held October 19-21.

An elected member of the National Academy of Medicine, Lerman has served as a member of the National Cancer Institute Board of Scientific Advisors, the National Human Genome Research Advisory Council and the National Institutes on Drug Abuse Advisory Council. A cancer population scientist, she has received numerous awards for her work, including the American Cancer Society Cancer Control Award, the American Society of Preventive Oncology Joseph Cullen Award, the Alton Ochsner Award Relating Smoking and Health and the National Institutes of Health Matilda White Riley Award.

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