The FY22-27 St. Jude Strategic Plan is an ambitious commitment that is a call to accelerate progress for children with catastrophic diseases on a global scale.
James R. Downing, MD, is president and chief executive officer of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. He is leading a $12.9 billion commitment to accelerate progress in the research and treatment of pediatric cancer and other catastrophic diseases. This strategy includes expanding St. Jude clinical care and scientific programs in Memphis and around the globe; adding 2,300 jobs; providing $2.3 billion in new construction, renovation and capital needs; and opening new areas of research.
Dr. Downing’s laboratory work focuses on understanding the genetic basis of cancer and using that information to improve treatments. He was instrumental in launching the Pediatric Cancer Genome Project, an ambitious sequencing effort to discover why childhood cancer arises, spreads and resists treatment. This landmark project has ushered in a decade of discoveries that continues to benefit children.
Beyond research, Dr. Downing has been a driving force to take St. Jude to the world. He has championed an expansive program to raise pediatric cancer survival rates internationally. This is being accomplished in part through a global alliance of health care providers who work to ensure children everywhere have access to quality care.
Dr. Downing has received numerous honors, including election to the National Academy of Medicine and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He has received the Society of Memorial Sloan Kettering Prize, the E. Donnall Thomas Lecture and Prize from the American Society of Hematology and the Pediatric Oncology Award from the American Society of Clinical Oncology. Most recently, he was elected as a Fellow of the American Association for Cancer Research Academy Class of 2022.
Under Dr. Downing’s tenure, St. Jude has been highly rated for its organizational culture by Glassdoor and Fortune magazine. The institution has received numerous accolades as a top workplace for millennials, a best workplace for diversity and a destination workplace for women.
Education
MD – University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (1981)
Honors & Awards
2022 Elected, American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Fellow
2020 Outstanding Achievement in Pediatric Cancer Research Award, AACR-St. Baldrick’s Foundation
2019 Pediatric Oncology Award and Lecture, American Society of Clinical Oncology
