Jonathan D. Licht, M.D., became the President and Chief Scientific Officer of the Van Andel Institute, one of the nation's leading independet biomedical resarch institutions in February 2026.  He completed a decade of service as Director of the University of Florida Health Cancer Center, and Professor of Medicine and Biochemistry & Molecular Biology leading the Center to achieve National Cancer Institute designation in 2023.  Prior to his service at the University of Florida, Dr. Licht held senior leadership positions at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, including service as Chief of Hematology/Oncology at both institutions and Associate Director for Clinical Sciences at the Northwestern Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center.

A medical oncologist and physician-scientist, Dr. Licht’s research focuses on aberrant gene regulation and epigenetic mechanisms in cancer, spanning leukemia, lymphoma, multiple myeloma, and therapy resistance in melanoma. His research program continuous funded by the National Cancer Institute for over 30 years program is supported by multiple R01 awards, along with major foundation funding, including a Specialized Center of Research grant from Blood Cancer United (Formerly the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society), now in its 18^th year of funding, and a multi-PI grant from the Myeloma Solutions Fund. These projects investigate transcription factors, chromatin regulators, histone-modifying enzymes and alterations in histones as drivers of tumor initiation, progression, and treatment response. Clinically, he has treated patients with blood malignancies including acute leukemia and multiple myeloma.

Mentorship and training have been central to Dr. Licht’s academic leadership. He has directed and supported trainees across the continuum—undergraduates, graduate students, MD/PhD students, postdoctoral fellows, hematology/oncology fellows, and junior faculty. His mentees have earned competitive awards and fellowships, progressed to independent research programs, joined clinical and translational faculty roles, and advanced into scientific leadership positions in academia, health systems, and industry. His mentorship and leadership has been recognized by being named the 2015 Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine Mentor of the Year, the 2021 American Society of Hematology Basic Science Mentor Award,  2024 Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Scientific Service award and 2026 Columbia U Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons Gold Medal Alumni Award for Medical Research. 

Licht is the inaugural Editor-in-Chief of Blood Neoplasia and has served editorial roles for leading journals, including Blood, Leukemia, Cancer Research, Clinical Cancer Research, Cancer Cell, Oncogene, and Cancer Discovery. Professional recognitions include election to the American Society for Clinical Investigation, the Association of American Physicians, and as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Dr. Licht earned a BS from The State University of New York at Stony Brook and an MD from Columbia University; he completed Internal Medicine residency at Beth Israel Hospital/Harvard Medical School and trained in Medical Oncology and eukaryotic transcription at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.