Caryn Lerman, PhD, director of the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, has been chosen as president-elect of the Association of American Cancer Institutes, the organization announced Monday.

Lerman, who is also the H. Leslie Hoffman and Elaine S. Hoffman Chair in Cancer Research, a professor of psychiatry and the behavioral sciences and associate dean for cancer programs at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, will begin her two-year term in October during the AACI annual meeting.

Lerman’s prior achievements include serving as senior deputy director of the Abramson Cancer Center and vice dean for strategic initiatives at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. She is recognized for cancer prevention research that bridges the fields of neuroscience, genomics, pharmacology and population science.

Lerman joined AACI’s board of directors in 2019. She is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine and has served as a member of the National Cancer Institute Board of Scientific Advisors, the National Human Genome Research Advisory Council and the National Institutes on Drug Abuse Advisory Council.

— Landon Hall