Robert W. Carlson

Robert W. Carlson, MD, is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN). He joined NCCN as CEO in January 2013 following an esteemed history of leadership positions within the organization including, most notably, Representative to the NCCN Board of Directors, Chair of the Breast Cancer Guidelines Panel, Member and Founding Chair of the Breast Cancer Risk Reduction Guidelines Panel, and Chair of the Survivorship Guidelines Panel.

Prior to his appointment as CEO at NCCN, Dr. Carlson served as Professor of Medicine in the Division of Oncology and Stanford Medical Informatics at Stanford University Medical Center, as well as Medical Director of inpatient oncology and hematology at Stanford Cancer Institute in Stanford, California.

Dr. Carlson is a graduate of Stanford University Medical School, and he completed his internship and junior residency in internal medicine at Barnes Hospital Group in St. Louis, Missouri before returning to Stanford University to complete his senior residency. He earned a Bachelor of Science with distinction from Stanford University, specializing in biological sciences. Dr. Carlson is board certified in Medical Oncology and Internal Medicine.

Dr. Carlson is a member of several medical societies, including the American College of Physicians (ACP), the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), and the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). Dr. Carlson lectures extensively and has authored or co-authored more than 140 articles, abstracts, and book chapters, which have appeared in publications such as Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Journal of Clinical Oncology, and The Breast Journal. He has served as Associate Editor of Oncology and JNCCN — Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network.

From 2001 to 2012, Dr. Carlson was selected by America’s Top Doctors; from 1994 to 2011, he was selected by Best Doctors in America; in 2008, he was presented with the National Physician of the Year Award for Clinical Excellence by Castle Connolly Medical, Ltd.; and in 2010, Dr. Carlson was given the Founding Collaborator Award by the Breast Health Global Initiative (BHGI).