St. Jude Appoints Dr. Charles Roberts as CEO to Succeed James Downing After 12-Year Tenure
Cancer center chief steps up as nonprofit raises $2.3 billion annually to fund free pediatric care
Following a 12-year tenure under Dr. James R. Downing, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital announced Tuesday that executive vice president Dr. Charles W. M. Roberts will take over as president and chief executive officer.
Roberts, who currently directs the institution’s Comprehensive Cancer Center while serving as executive vice president, is set to assume the leadership post on Jan. 1, while Downing transitions into a faculty role within the hospital’s Global Pediatric Medicine department.
Since actor and philanthropist Danny Thomas established the Memphis, Tennessee, institution in 1962, pediatric cancer survival rates have climbed from approximately 20% to over 80%, with Roberts noting that significant progress toward making every childhood cancer manageable remains within reach.
“I’m really excited because I think we are at the dawn of a new era,” Roberts said during an interview with The Associated Press. “In the next several years, I believe we have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to achieve much more of Danny’s dream than ever before. And I’m excited to take us there.”
That momentum stems from advancing technologies that enable more targeted cancer treatments while minimizing side effects on young patients, according to Roberts, who added that technological tools are also driving therapeutic breakthroughs for other severe pediatric illnesses.
St. Jude Board of Governors Chair Judy Habib noted that Roberts’ commitment to advancing therapeutic innovation was pivotal in the board’s decision to select him following an international executive search.
“He combines the rigor of a researcher, the care of a clinician, and passion for our mission, making him the perfect person to lead one of the most accomplished pediatric research institutions in the world,” Habib said in a statement.
Roberts plans to continue his research as CEO
Upon stepping into the chief executive role, Roberts intends to maintain his active research agenda, which has previously focused on identifying key tumor-suppressor genes.
“Keeping my hand in that is really important to make sure that I’m still at the cutting edge of understanding where the field is, what the opportunities are,” Roberts explained. “Working with other researchers is very useful input to me in helping steer our priorities. I’m a big believer in learning and growing and having input from others.”
Downing, who brought Roberts over from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in 2015 to direct the Comprehensive Cancer Center, observed that Roberts transformed the center into what the National Cancer Institute has designated a “national treasure.”
“Charlie represents a unique combination of physician, researcher and leader,” Downing said in a statement provided to The Associated Press, characterizing Roberts as “the right person at the right moment to lead this institution into the future.”
Donations offset St. Jude’s financial constraints, but not completely
Navigating that future will involve addressing structural funding hurdles in pediatric oncology, where commercial drug developers direct fewer resources compared to adult cancers, alongside broader reductions in federal science appropriations. Roberts emphasized that St. Jude will preserve its founding pledge never to bill patients or families for care, while working to scale its clinical reach globally.
Pediatric cancers represent less than 1% of all cancer diagnoses annually in the United States, creating limited financial incentives for private pharmaceutical firms to develop specialized therapies. Consequently, nonprofit research centers like St. Jude bear a primary responsibility for conducting early-stage clinical trials and translating biological discoveries into pediatric treatments.
The institution sustains its operational model primarily through philanthropic support driven by ALSAC, its dedicated fundraising organization. A report by The Chronicle of Philanthropy shows ALSAC secured an average of $2.3 billion annually in charitable contributions between 2021 and 2023, ranking second among U.S. fundraising operations behind only United Way.
“We can’t go all the way and completely replace what pharma does,” Roberts acknowledged. “But (donations) will for sure help us get more things to be successful.”
ALSAC President and CEO Ike Anand stated that he looks forward to collaborating closely with Roberts across their common objectives.
“Few people embody the promise of St. Jude quite like Charlie Roberts,” Anand said. “He understands the urgency that patients and families feel, the extraordinary possibilities emerging at the intersection of science and technology, and the trust that donors place in this mission every day.”
Highlighting the institution’s historical continuity, national outreach director Marlo Thomas, daughter of founder Danny Thomas, pointed to Roberts as a steward who carries forward the medical mission.
“We are closer than ever before to realizing my father’s dream that no child should die in the dawn of life, thanks in large part to the work of Charlie Roberts over the past decade,” Thomas said in a statement marking the leadership shift. “I wish my father were here for this remarkable passing of the torch.”
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