The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center president is stepping down. Ronald DePinho, who has led the institution for nearly six years and was involved in managerial and financial controversies, wrote in a letter to his staff that it is “time for a change in leadership.”
As the Houston Chronicle noted, “DePinho’s [leadership] at MD Anderson was marked by change, criticism, and challenges.” In March 2013, for example, around one-third of institute employees who responded to a survey indicated dissatisfaction with his management. That May, The Cancer Letter reported that the institute spent around $1.5 million in building renovations for DePinho’s wife, Lydia Chin, chair of MD Anderson’s genomic medicine department. The institute disputed the report at the time.
In 2016, the institute reported significant operating losses. MD Anderson “was expecting to lose as much as $450 million in 2017,” STAT News reported, “though it brings in about $4 ...
