Jeffrey E. Lee, M.D., President ad interim

Jeffrey E. Lee, M.D., serves as president, ad interim, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, appointed by The UT System Board of Regents and Chancellor John M. Zerwas, M.D., effective Oct. 1, 2026. Lee leads the No. 1-ranked cancer center and more than 27,200 dedicated employees, as well as oversees annual revenues that exceed $8 billion and a research enterprise that surpasses $1.3 billion in investments. He is an internationally regarded leader in oncology, particularly within his specialty areas of pancreatic cancer, endocrine oncology, and melanoma.   

Most recently, he served as UT MD Anderson's executive vice president and chief physician executive. In this role, Lee led UT MD Anderson's clinical divisions and provided overall physician leadership for its national cancer network and relationships with international governmental and non-governmental organizations. As part of his strategic responsibility for extending the reach and value of UT MD Anderson, he led institutional initiatives to expand virtual care offerings, improve quality of care nationwide and enhance patient experience and outcomes through medical practice and technological innovations.  

Lee has spent his entire career at UT MD Anderson, first joining as a surgical oncology fellow in 1991 before joining the faculty in 1993. He achieved the rank of professor in 2003 and has held the Irving and Nadine Mansfield and Robert Levitt Cancer Research Chair endowed position since 2010. For 30 years, he led a collaborative, peer-review funded laboratory research program focused on melanoma genetics, melanoma immune and inflammatory biomarkers, and the development of novel antibody-based therapeutics for melanoma and other cancers. His work has resulted in over 600 peer-reviewed publications.   

Over his more than three decades at UT MD Anderson, Lee has held numerous leadership roles. He was medical director of the Ben Love/El Paso Corporation Melanoma and Skin Center from 1997 to 2010 and chair of Surgical Oncology from 2010 to 2021. In 2019, he became vice president for the cancer network's medical and academic affairs. In that role, he successfully championed the development of the network's quality platform, making significant contributions to the redesign of the network strategy, the creation of its academic infrastructure and the activation of two significant national partners. That year, UT MD Anderson honored him with its most prestigious recognition of leadership – an Excellence in LEADership Award.  

In 2020, Lee was appointed chief cancer network officer, overseeing the ongoing development of the institution’s community of experts united in our mission, including seven national partner health systems, international ministries of health, other international agencies and non-government organizations. In 2022, he was named vice president for clinical operations strategy execution and preparedness and deputy chief operating officer (COO). He served on the COO leadership team, as a faculty lead for the institution’s service line initiative and as co-leader of a capacity management project.  

Lee is an active member of more than 30 international, national and local professional societies. Lee earned a bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College and a medical degree from Stanford University School of Medicine, where he also completed his internship and residency in surgery, as well as a research fellowship in tumor immunology.