Ian Thompson Appointed to NCI's Board of Scientific Advisors

Ian M. Thompson Jr., MD

Ian M. Thompson Jr., MD

The American Urological Association has announced Ian M. Thompson Jr., MD, has been appointed to the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) Board of Scientific Advisors. Thompson will serve a four-year term, beginning this month.

An active member of the AUA for more than 30 years, Thompson is president of CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Medical Center Hospital and vice president of oncology. He was formerly director of the Cancer Therapy and Research Center University of Texas Health Science Center. He has served as principal investigator of several seminal cancer treatment trials and has authored more than 600 scientific papers. He also is past president of the American Board of Urology.

According to a release from the AUA, Thompson is the first urologic surgeon-scientist to serve on either of the 2 prominent NCI advisory board since 2012.

“Dr. Thompson’s appointment is a true testament to his knowledge, reputation and accomplishments within the urologic research community,” said Aria F. Olumi, MD, AUA Chair of Research. “Having an advocate for urologic research on the NCI Board of Scientific Advisors is critical to addressing new NCI research priorities and funding opportunities that emphasize urologic research.”

The NCI supports both investigator-initiated research and large, directed interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research programs aimed at designing interventions to prevent, detect, diagnose and treat cancer and predict patient response to therapy, according to the release. The role of the NCI Board of Scientific Advisors is to provide scientific advice on the progress and future direction of the NCI's research programs, as well as oversight on current NCI extramural funding.