New St. Jude CEO Dr. Charles Roberts says childhood cancer treatments
are at 'the dawn of a new era'
[August 19, 2026]
By GLENN GAMBOA
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital named Dr. Charles W. M. Roberts
its new president and chief executive officer Tuesday, replacing Dr.
James R. Downing, who led the nonprofit for 12 years.
Roberts, who has been director of St. Jude’s Comprehensive Cancer Center
and an executive vice president, will begin his new job on Jan. 1, as
Downing moves into a faculty role in the hospital’s Global Pediatric
Medicine department.
When actor and philanthropist Danny Thomas founded St. Jude in Memphis,
Tennessee, in 1962, the survival rate for childhood cancer patients was
around 20%. Today, it is more than 80% and Roberts says the hope is for
all childhood cancers to be easily treatable someday, with major strides
toward that goal are within reach.
“I’m really excited because I think we are at the dawn of a new era,”
Roberts told The Associated Press in an interview. “In the next several
years, I believe we have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to achieve
much more of Danny’s dream than ever before. And I’m excited to take us
there.”
The opportunity comes through a convergence of technological advances
that are creating treatments that kill childhood cancers more
effectively, while also reducing the impact on the patient, Roberts
said. Technology is also helping create treatments for more catastrophic
childhood diseases beyond cancer.
Judy Habib, chair of the St. Jude Board of Governors, said Roberts’
emphasis on new treatment discoveries played a significant role in
convincing the board to choose him as the hospital’s next leader after a
global search.
“He combines the rigor of a researcher, the care of a clinician, and
passion for our mission, making him the perfect person to lead one of
the most accomplished pediatric research institutions in the world,”
Habib said in a statement.
Roberts plans to continue his research as CEO
When he takes on his new role as St. Jude CEO, Roberts said he plans to
continue his research, which has included confirming that certain genes
suppress the growth of tumors.
“Keeping my hand in that is really important to make sure that I’m still
at the cutting edge of understanding where the field is, what the
opportunities are,” he said. “Working with other researchers is very
useful input to me in helping steer our priorities. I’m a big believer
in learning and growing and having input from others.”
Downing, who recruited Roberts from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in
2015 to head St. Jude’s Comprehensive Cancer Center, said Roberts has
built the center into a “national treasure,” according to the National
Cancer Institute.
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St. Jude Children's Medical Research Center CEO Dr. Charles Roberts'
lab coat is seen on Monday, Aug. 17, 2026, in the Danny Thomas
Research Center in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Kevin Wurm)
 “Charlie represents a unique
combination of physician, researcher and leader,” Downing said in a
statement to The Associated Press, adding that Roberts is “the right
person at the right moment to lead this institution into the
future.”
Donations offset St. Jude's financial constraints, but not
completely
Part of that future will require dealing with the financial
constraints of treating childhood cancers, which receive less
research investment from pharmaceutical companies that focus more on
adult cancers, as well as federal cuts to scientific research
funding. Roberts said St. Jude will maintain its policy of providing
treatment at no cost to patients or their families. The hospital
also plans to expand its services to make treatment available to
more children around the world.
He said St. Jude is able to continue this work with philanthropic
support from ALSAC, the hospital’s fundraising arm. According to an
analysis by The Chronicle of Philanthropy, ALSAC raised an average
of $2.3 billion a year in donations between 2021 and 2023, making it
the second-largest fundraiser in the United States, behind only
United Way.
“We can’t go all the way and completely replace what pharma does,”
Roberts said. “But (donations) will for sure help us get more things
to be successful.”
Ike Anand, president and CEO of ALSAC, said he welcomes Roberts’
partnership in their shared mission.
“Few people embody the promise of St. Jude quite like Charlie
Roberts,” Anand said. “He understands the urgency that patients and
families feel, the extraordinary possibilities emerging at the
intersection of science and technology, and the trust that donors
place in this mission every day.”
Marlo Thomas, St. Jude’s national outreach director and daughter of
founder Danny Thomas, said Roberts embodies the hospital’s mission.
“We are closer than ever before to realizing my father’s dream that
no child should die in the dawn of life, thanks in large part to the
work of Charlie Roberts over the past decade,” she said in a
statement. “I wish my father were here for this remarkable passing
of the torch.”
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