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St. Jude CEO James Downing to step down this year, move to faculty role

By WREG.com  
   February 20, 2026

James Downing, MD, president and CEO of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, announced Thursday he will step down later this year as part of a planned leadership transition. Downing will move into a faculty role in the Department of Global Pediatric Medicine, which he helped establish in 2018. He will continue his current role as the St. Jude Board of Governors conducts a global search for the institution's next leader. Downing has led St. Jude as president and CEO since 2014, overseeing the largest strategic expansion in the institution's history.

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