NYU Langone Health tapped Alec Kimmelman to succeed Robert Grossman as its next CEO and dean of the NYU Grossman School of Medicine. Kimmelman, who directs the Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center and chairs the radiation oncology department, will begin his term in September.
The medical center’s board of trustees voted unanimously to appoint Kimmelman, concluding a 10-month search for a replacement. Grossman, who has led NYU Langone since 2007, will step down as CEO and dean of the medical school in August.
“I am humbled and excited to be the next CEO and dean of NYU Langone and appreciate the confidence the Board of Trustees and the search committee have placed in me,” Kimmelman said in the press release. “I look forward to building upon Dr. Grossman’s astonishing record of achievements that have catapulted this institution to be one of the top-ranked health systems in the nation.”
A longtime researcher at NYU Langone, Kimmelman began leading the Department of Radiation Oncology in 2016 and has since expanded the medical center’s research and clinical programs. He was honored by the hospital center with a lab dedicated to finding treatments for pancreatic cancer founded in his name, and has published more than 100 articles detailing the metabolism of pancreatic cancer in order to create and test new therapeutic solutions.
Kimmelman stepped in to lead the Perlmutter Cancer Center in November 2023, after its previous director, Benjamin Neel, was fired after making social media posts relating to the war in Gaza that some online called “racist” and “anti-Arab.” Neel, a Jewish cancer researcher, went on to sue the university for unlawful termination and religious discrimination.
Prior to working at NYU Langone, Kimmelman ran a research program at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute after obtaining his MD and Ph.D. at the former Mount Sinai Medical School and working as a clinical fellow at Harvard Medical School. His work has been recognized by Columbia University’s Department of Surgery for excellence in pancreatic cancer research, the American Society for Clinical Investigation and the Association of American Physicians among others.
The search for NYU Langone’s new leadership began in July 2024 with a search committee led by Kenneth Langone, chair of the medical center’s board of trustees, and Joseph Zuckerman, the chair of the orthopedic surgery department. At the end of the academic year, Langone will step down as chair and Grossman will take on a new role as executive vice president of the board of trustees.
“Finding Bob’s successor was a formidable task, given his countless contributions to our institution,” Langone said in the press release. “But we found such a leader in Dr. Kimmelman, who has demonstrated tremendous leadership throughout his career.”
Before Grossman was appointed CEO and dean — for which he earned over $8 million in 2023 — the hospital and medical school were known as the NYU Health System and the School of Medicine. Since then, NYU Langone has grown its revenue from $2 billion to more than $14 billion and seen an increase in research awards from $129 million to $815 million. The medical center now has more than 320 sites across Manhattan, Brooklyn and Florida, including seven inpatient facilities.
“Leading NYU Langone for the past 18 years has been the honor of a lifetime, and I could not ask for a better successor,” Grossman said in the press release. “His wealth of expertise and sharp leadership skills will serve NYU Langone exceedingly well as we continue to advance our mission.”
Contact Lekhya Kantheti at [email protected].
