The MEETING THE MOMENT FOR PUBLIC HEALTH AWARD recognizes an individual or organization that has been a “clear voice,” playing a key role in communicating important public health information to the public and rising to the challenge of the day. This award is part of the suite of Outstanding Achievement in Public Health Awards, generously supported by Johnson & Johnson.

Dr. Monica Bertagnolli is the 17th director of the National Institutes of Health, the first surgeon and the second woman to hold the position. She previously served as the director of the National Cancer Institute. Before that, she was a surgical oncologist at Harvard Medical School. Throughout her career, she has been at the forefront of the field of clinical oncology. Her laboratory focused on understanding the genetic drivers of gastrointestinal cancer development and the role of inflammation as a promoter of cancer growth. She has been a leader of clinical trials and trial networks and has championed collaborative initiatives to transform the data infrastructure for clinical research. The daughter of Italian and French Basque immigrants, Dr. Bertagnolli grew up on a ranch in Wyoming. She received a B.S. in Engineering from Princeton, attended medical school at the University of Utah, and trained in surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and was a research fellow in tumor oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.