Henry Ford + MSU Cancer Center Director

Henry Ford Health and Michigan State University (MSU) have joined forces as Henry Ford Health + Michigan State University Health Sciences (Henry Ford + MSU) in a strategic, enduring partnership to create an integrated academic health enterprise anchored in Detroit with a reach across the state of Michigan and beyond. Established in 2021, Henry Ford + MSU brings together the research strength of a premier public, land-grant university with $992 million in research expenditures and the clinical scale of a $13 billion academic health system that includes 13 acute-care hospitals and 550 clinical sites to advance a new standard of health. The partnership accelerates discovery and innovation across the spectrum of biomedical and population health research, while training the next generation of healthcare providers and scientists. Our shared vision centers on improved health for urban and rural communities. 

The Henry Ford + MSU partnership is further distinguished by its commitment to building a comprehensive cancer research enterprise that spans discovery, clinical, and population-based science. As primary partners in cancer, Henry Ford + MSU aligns the collective resources of both institutions, including Henry Ford Cancer, which includes the Brigitte Harris Cancer Pavilion, and MSU’s leading cancer research and academic capabilities. This breadth of scientific and clinical expertise provides the foundation for innovative models of cancer care across Michigan and beyond and for pursuit of National Cancer Institute (NCI) designation. By integrating leading-edge research with clinical excellence, we aim to advance cancer prevention, expand access to novel therapies, improve outcomes, and enhance the quality of life for patients and their families. 

To advance our strategic priorities, Korn Ferry has been engaged to conduct a national search for a distinguished executive leader in cancer research, with a national reputation in scientific discovery and deep understanding of new paradigms of oncology care, to serve as the Director of Henry Ford + MSU Cancer Center. The Director will be a strategic builder, accomplished integrator, and visionary leader who can imagine the next-generation cancer center. 

The incoming Director will join Henry Ford + MSU at a defining moment of opportunity, as part of the $3 billion Future of Health Detroit investment by Henry Ford Health, Tom Gores and the Detroit Pistons, and Henry Ford Health + Michigan State University Health Sciences to build a brighter, healthier future for Detroit. The Future of Health Detroit is anchored by a 20-story, 1.2 million sq. ft. academic hospital patient tower opening in 2029; a state-of-the-art 335,000 sq. ft. biomedical research building, the Henry Ford + MSU Research Center, opening spring 2027; and a mixed-use residential, commercial, and retail development. 

Leading the Henry Ford + MSU Cancer Center at a pivotal inflection point, the Director will have a unique opportunity to build a highly integrated, next-generation cancer program. Leveraging strong, foundational basic and translational research programs, a cancer care network of 21 treatment sites, and the new Henry Ford + MSU Research Center, this leader will advance an integrated cancer ecosystem that accelerates translational research, expands clinical trials, strengthens faculty development, and broadens access across the state. The Director will provide strategic and operational direction across the Center’s academic, clinical, and research missions; foster deep collaboration across the institutions and disciplines; and recruit and develop exceptional faculty/senior staff to drive sustained impact. 

As our top leader for cancer research, the Director will develop a unifying vision for cancer across Henry Ford Health and MSU and cultivate a culture of shared purpose, innovation, accountability, and belonging. Providing steadfast leadership, the Director will steward and have authority over our journey toward a best-in-class cancer center and National Cancer Institute (NCI) cancer center designation, shaping the foundation and evolution of the Henry Ford + MSU Cancer Center. This includes strengthening and expanding research programs, shared resources and core facilities, clinical trial infrastructure dedicated to cancer, community outreach and engagement as well as coordination of cancer training and education. The Director will lead and have authority over cancer scientific programming of the new Henry Ford + MSU Research Center, with approximately 69,000 NSF assigned to cancer laboratory-based research with additional dry research proximal to the Research Center. The Director will be responsible for the recruitment of up to 30 faculty. As a member of the cancer service line executive team, the Director will also play an important leadership role regarding clinical programmatic development and recruitment of clinical leaders for those programs. Furthermore, a priority for the Director will be to increase clinical trial accruals and expand our clinical trial portfolio, particularly Phase I and investigator-initiated trials. Additional faculty recruitment and resources will be considered commensurate with the success and growth of the Henry Ford + MSU Cancer Center. 

The Director serves in a highly visible and public-facing role, fostering strong community engagement and trust across stakeholders as well as inspiring philanthropic investment for sustainable growth and impact. 

Due to the scope and significance of the role (equivalent to a Dean at MSU and academic department chair/executive leader at Henry Ford Health), the Henry Ford + MSU Cancer Center Director will have dual, equal reporting relationships to the Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs of Michigan State University and President, Clinical Enterprise & Chief Physician Executive of Henry Ford Health. The Director will have the flexibility and authority to build out their leadership team and establish the necessary governance and oversight structures required of NCI-designated cancer centers. The ideal Director brings energy, innovation, calculated risk taking, and a demonstrated ability to integrate complex organizations and build sustainable, high performing teams and programs. 

The ideal candidate will be an internationally recognized cancer scientist and/or translational research clinician with leadership experience and expertise appropriate for establishing a vision for the Center, advancing scientific goals, and managing a complex organization. 

Preferably, the Director will have firsthand experience with leadership and administration of an NCI CCSG and the P30 application process. They will bring a deep understanding of translational science, building distinguished programs, outstanding leadership, and a passion for mentoring the next generation of oncology leaders. The Director should possess exceptional interpersonal skills, superior emotional intelligence, and a mindset of persistent execution and accountability. They will have experience managing and leading in a complex academic or healthcare organization with demonstrated effectiveness in using institutionally designated authorities to build and lead a significant program(s) and successfully achieve its objectives. Demonstrated experience recruiting and retaining faculty as well as being an accomplished fundraiser is required.

Henry Ford Health 

Henry Ford Health partners with millions of people on their health journey, across Michigan and around the world. Henry Ford Health offers a full continuum of services – from primary and preventative care to complex and specialty care, health insurance, a full suite of home health offerings, virtual care, pharmacy, eye care and other health care retail. With former Ascension southeast Michigan and Flint region locations now part of our team, Henry Ford’s care is available in 13 hospitals and hundreds of ambulatory care locations. Based in Detroit, Henry Ford is one of the nation’s most respected academic medical centers and is leading the Future of Health: Detroit, a $3 billion investment anchored by a reimagined Henry Ford academic healthcare campus. Henry Ford’s highlights include: 

• Footprint spanning 550 sites of care with 13 acute care hospitals and 4,900 licensed beds
• 50,000 team members
• One of the nation’s most respected physician group practices, with over 3,500 physicians, scientists, and APPs, including MSU Health Care providers in an HFMG clinical partner category
• Flagship campus in Detroit is an 881-licensed bed tertiary quaternary care hospital with Level 1 Trauma, Magnet designation and plans underway for a $2.2 billion expansion
• Insurance plan with 50,000 provider partners and over 500,000 members 

Michigan State University 

Michigan State is the nation’s premier land-grant university and one of the top research universities in the world. As a member of both the Association of American Universities (AAU) and the Big Ten Academic Alliance, MSU is nationally recognized for its academic excellence, impactful research, and global outreach. It is also known for its Spartan grit and resilience. MSU is stronger because of its community, which includes more than 51,000 students, 5,600 faculty and staff, and a network of over half a million living alumni.

MSU is advancing a bold vision for the future of health sciences through the One Team, One Health initiative. As health care and education evolve, MSU sees the growing value of adopting a One Health approach that recognizes the interconnected health of people, animals, and the environment. By harnessing Michigan State's land-grant mission, the institution is uniquely positioned to address the world’s biggest challenges through this integrated approach. By leveraging their strengths in biobehavioral research, their statewide Extension network, and their partnership with Henry Ford Health, MSU has a unique opportunity to build a healthier future. MSU highlights include:

• $992M total research expenditures in 2025
• Presence in all 83 counties in the state of Michigan
• Over 50,000 undergraduate and graduate students
• Ranked No. 9 among public universities and No. 47 in U.S. News & World Report’s America’s Best Colleges 2025
• Ranked in the top 50 research universities for 2024 by Washington Monthly
• Over 100 research institutes and centers

Demonstrated Institutional Commitment to Cancer

Henry Ford Health and MSU are making regular and recurring investments in advancing world-class cancer research and care. This includes the new Henry Ford Brigitte Harris Cancer Pavilion, which opened in January 2021; investing in precision medicine; expanding clinical trial and central biorepository infrastructures; and stewarding significant philanthropic donations that support groundbreaking cancer research in pancreatic, lung, and brain cancers and more. Most recently, Henry Ford Health entered into a strategic partnership with BAMF Health to create a new Comprehensive Theranostics Center in downtown Detroit, combining Henry Ford's healthcare reach with BAMF's expertise in precision medicine, molecular imaging, and radiopharmaceutical therapy to offer advanced cancer and disease detection and treatment.

In addition, the research prowess and resources of Michigan State University are available to the Director and Cancer Center faculty. MSU has a long-standing commitment to maintain state-of-the-art core facilities across a breadth of technologies supported by central administration subsidies and user fees. In addition to standard biomedical cores, MSU has several unique resources, such as the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB), a world-class research and training center that hosts the most powerful rare-isotope accelerator; the GMP Radiopharmacy, which prepares diagnostic and therapeutic agents using isotopes; the MSU Drug Discovery Program, providing expertise and resources in modern drug discovery and development; Comparative Oncology housed in the College of Veterinary Medicine; and the Institute for Quantitative Health Science & Engineering, which is an interdisciplinary research institute dedicated to basic and applied research at the intersection of engineering, human medicine, and natural science. Additionally, MSU recently built a large animal imaging facility, which houses a leading-edge PET/MR scanner.

A Strong Cancer Research Foundation

The Henry Ford + MSU Cancer Center provides an outstanding opportunity for a director to grow and shape the future of cancer research, care, and prevention in Detroit, across Michigan, and the nation. The Center has more than 200 faculty with cancer-related research, 51 funded research projects, and holds $15 million in cancer-focused extramural funding, including NCI support. The integrated Henry Ford and MSU faculty produce high-impact, collaborative science that advances understanding of cancer biology, prevention, and treatment. With over 150 cancer clinical trials, the Center serves the pluralistic population of Detroit and southeast Michigan with expansion across the state, especially in rural communities affiliated with the MSU primary care and extension offices.

The Director will build on the combined strengths of its two world-class constituent institutions to differentiate the Henry Ford + MSU Cancer Center. The Director will actively engage researchers, clinicians, staff, trainees, community partners, and other key stakeholders to boldly and collaboratively realize the full potential of the Cancer Center to improve cancer prevention, diagnoses, treatment, and outcomes across Michigan and beyond. The Director will elevate the Cancer Center’s reputational achievements in research, education, and clinical care. This will occur through the following primary responsibilities and authority over:

• Establishing a strategic vision and plan that will unite and distinguish the Henry Ford + MSU Cancer Center, aligning strategy with measurable outcomes over a defined multi-year horizon and holding others accountable for achievement.
• Developing the scientific depth, operational systems and infrastructure, performance metrics, and organizational maturity necessary for eligibility for NCI designation.
• Strategically directing the substantial investments that Henry Ford Health and MSU are making through the Henry Ford + MSU partnership as well as allocating existing resources to achieve the Cancer Center’s mission and demonstrating measurable growth and impact.
• Identifying talent needs and executing on a multi-year faculty recruitment plan for up to 30 new cancer investigators.
• Leading and oversight over cancer scientific programming of the Henry Ford + MSU Research Center, including informing the central core facilities.
• Expanding transdisciplinary research programs across Henry Ford Health and MSU with strong intra- and inter-programmatic collaboration and coordination that address cancer issues relevant to the catchment area.
• Partnering with established multi-disciplinary clinical programs to facilitate translational research and clinical trials as well as develop innovative care models that promote health equity.
• Coordinating and integrating cancer training, education and career development across Henry Ford Health and MSU.
• Overseeing the development/enhancement of a community outreach and engagement program that is tailored to Michigan’s rural and urban populations.
• Ensuring that community needs and priorities inform the Cancer Center priorities.
• Positioning the Cancer Center for long-term financial and operational sustainability through a strategic combination of competitive research funding, institutional investment, and philanthropy, while boldly advancing the Cancer Center’s near-term priorities.

The Director will be a highly regarded, accomplished clinician and/or scientist with significant leadership and managerial experience encompassing recruiting, management, and financial responsibilities. The Director will have national recognition in oncology, as evidenced by NIH/NCI and other relevant funding sources, as well as involvement in professional societies at national and international levels. In addition, the Search Committee seeks candidates with the following experience and abilities:

Leadership

• Appreciates and understands the value of team building – skilled at getting individuals and teams to perform at a higher level, to collaborate, and to embrace change; negotiates skillfully to achieve a fair outcome or promote a common cause; communicates a compelling vision and exercises a high level of accountability for self and others; inspires others; builds motivated, high-performing teams; adapts style to and understands what motivates different people.
• Leads from the understanding that the enterprises of healthcare and academic medicine require systems thinking and decision making that is in the best interests of the institution.
• Demonstrates in their approach an understanding of how to work most effectively in a complex environment with a matrix accountability structure.
• Adept at change management and whole-scale integrations; leads through ambiguity and complexity with sound judgment and the ability to inspire trust.
• Is recognized as collaborative and transparent in all interactions.
• Acts with honor and integrity in personal and professional actions.
• Understands the organizational landscape and is able to anticipate and articulate the critical issues, opportunities, and threats in the foreseeable future.
• Exhibits an appreciation for the need for preparation, collaboration, planning, communication, and benchmarking of results in their approach to problem solving and program building.
• Demonstrates ability to appreciate and motivate faculty, staff, and trainees.

Management

• Sets clear priorities, deliverables outcomes, and measurable metrics and holds team accountable for meeting deliverables and metrics on time and within budget.
• Participates as a leader in the management of the research and related clinical enterprise, demonstrating an understanding of the operational and financial issues involved.
• Skilled at organizing and managing human resources, including resolving conflict.
• Able to delegate effectively while maintaining focus on strategy and goals.
• Able to manage a complex organization with success measured in well-defined metrics.
• Understands the nuances of administration of educational and research activities.
• Passionately advocates for compliance with institutional and external regulations.

Mission Performance

• Has a clear vision for advancing the mission of the Cancer Center and the organization’s commitments to its community and various stakeholders.
• Demonstrates commitment to the education mission through didactic activity, participation in curriculum oversight and planning, or developing innovative approaches to education and training.
• Understands, advocates, and supports the broad research mission – basic, clinical, translational, and population – and is committed to its growth.

Personal and Interpersonal

• Exhibits a style that fosters and supports change and innovation, with an ability to delegate yet maintain overall control and sets high standards.
• Exhibits self-awareness, humility, and empathy in their interactions with others.
• Demonstrates the courage to act on convictions after adequate communication and gathering of facts and input; hold self and others accountable.
• Exhibits optimism and a high energy level.
• Demands trust, transparency, and optimism by their actions.
• Communicates clearly, frequently, and effectively.
• Demonstrates cultural sensitivity.

External Activities

• Works effectively with the leadership of Henry Ford Health and MSU, the faculty practice organization, community leaders, and other key stakeholders, as appropriate.
• Develops, encourages, and sustains open and collaborative relationships with faculty/senior staff throughout Henry Ford Health and MSU and professionals in the broader academic and medical community.
• Exhibits the ability to build productive relationships with a wide variety of stakeholders.
• Works effectively with donors and philanthropists in supporting the Cancer Center.
• Engages the community by demonstrating sensitivity to the culture, needs, and aspirations of the community through outreach.
• Serves on national boards, professional societies, study section, review panels, and other prominent roles.

Qualified candidates must hold a medical (MD/DO) or terminal (PhD) degree, or equivalent. Candidates must also possess a sustained record of peer reviewed publications and funding (preferably NCI) that is commensurate with appointment at the Professor level. Clinically active candidates must be board certified and eligible for licensure in the state of Michigan.

Henry Ford Health + Michigan State University Health Sciences offers an attractive compensation and benefits package, commensurate with the successful candidate’s background and experience.