John C. Ruckdeschel, M.D.
Director and CEO, Nevada Cancer Institute
Murren Family Distinguished Director’s Chair
John C. Ruckdeschel, M.D., director and CEO of Nevada Cancer Institute, is one of the preeminent clinical leaders in the oncology world and a distinguished lung cancer physician scientist. Dr. Ruckdeschel has an impeccable track record of leading cancer institutes to achieve dramatic and significant milestones under his direction.
Prior to his hiring at NVCI, Dr. Ruckdeschel served as president and chief executive officer of the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute and Cancer Center, as well as associate dean of cancer affairs at Wayne State University’s School of Medicine. The Karmanos Cancer Institute is among 41 comprehensive cancer centers in the United States designated by the National Cancer Institute (NCI).
In his six years at Karmanos, Dr. Ruckdeschel strengthened and reorganized Karmanos’ clinical and research programs as well as its administrative structure. In 2004, this led to the best site visit score in its 26-year history as an NCI-designated center and resulted in a five-year renewal of the prestigious comprehensive designation as well as a four-fold increase in yearly NCI funding. In 2005, Dr. Ruckdeschel completed negotiations enabling the Institute to acquire the patient care facilities that it had co-managed for more than a decade. The Institute assumed independent ownership and operation of its clinical programs and facilities on in December 2005 - the most significant clinical development in the Institute's 65-year history.
Before his tenure at Karmanos, Dr. Ruckdeschel served as director, president and CEO at the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida. Under his leadership, Moffitt became a National Cancer Institute (NCI) Comprehensive Cancer Center in 2001 – one of the youngest Centers in the country to achieve this prestigious designation. In 2006, the NCI renewed Moffitt’s Cancer Center Support Grant for another five years.
Dr. Ruckdeschel is an internationally recognized lung cancer physician and researcher who is consistently placed on the America's Top Doctors and Best Doctors lists; he earned a B.S. in Biology from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York and in 1971 completed his medical degree at the Albany Medical College. Dr. Ruckdeschel interned at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, followed by a fellowship at the National Cancer Institute in Washington, D.C. He completed his residency at Boston's Beth Israel Hospital in 1976.
Board certified in internal medicine and medical oncology, Dr. Ruckdeschel is also a prolific author. He has written or co-written more than 350 publications, book chapters and abstracts and has given more than 250 invited presentations. His clinical and research interests focus on lung cancer and behavioral oncology with a focus on patient-physician communication. He is a fellow of the American College of Physicians as well as the American College of Chest Physicians and has served as a consultant to the National Cancer Institute and several university cancer centers. He chairs the external advisory boards for the Wake Forest, University of Texas at San Antonio and Penn State cancer centers.
