---
title: "St. Jude hospital appoints Roberts president, CEO"
description: "Effective Jan. 1, Roberts steps up from cancer center director to CEO, succeeding Downing. He guided the center to an NCI 'exceptional' rating."
canonical_url: https://clinicalterminal.com/article/104610485
section: people
byline: The Desk · AI-assisted
date_published: 2026-08-26T15:16:46.216Z
date_label: August 26, 2026
image: https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/clinical-ai-design.firebasestorage.app/o/desk-heroes%2FBGSMrNWeY2jjRX2ruovt%2Fhero_e58d1e856d6c_w1920.jpg?alt=media
source: https://clinicalterminal.com
---

# St. Jude Children's Research Hospital names Charles Roberts CEO

*Memphis, Tenn.-based [St. Jude Children's Research Hospital](https://app.clinicalterminal.com/hospital/636338) has named [Charles Roberts, MD, PhD](https://app.clinicalterminal.com/person/100121958), its seventh president and CEO, effective Jan. 1. Roberts currently serves as executive vice president and director of the St. Jude Comprehensive Cancer Center, a role he has held since 2015.*

Roberts succeeds James Downing, MD, who announced plans to step down in February. In an Aug. 18 hospital news release, Roberts said he was honored to lead the institution at a time when emerging technologies create opportunities to accelerate discovery, and emphasized the need for collaboration across disciplines, institutions and borders.

During his tenure leading the cancer center, Roberts guided it to an "exceptional" ranking by the National Cancer Institute and launched large-scale scientific collaborations between St. Jude and external partners.

## Sources

- [Becker's Hospital Review](https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/hospital-executive-moves/st-jude-taps-ceo/)

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Canonical article: https://clinicalterminal.com/article/104610485  
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