Preeminent cancer researcher Jennifer Pietenpol ’86 will give 2026 Carleton commencement address
Pietenpol will also receive an honorary degree at the ceremony.
Dr. Jennifer Pietenpol ’86, an internationally recognized cancer researcher, will give the commencement address for Carleton College’s 152nd Commencement. The ceremony will take place outdoors on the Bald Spot on Saturday, June 13, 2026.
Currently serving as chief scientific and strategy officer and executive vice president for research at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Pietenpol oversees one of the country’s largest academic health system research enterprises. She also holds the Brock Family Directorship in Career Development, and serves as Ingram Professor of Cancer Research and professor of biochemistry and otolaryngology.
“I am honored to return to Carleton College to deliver the commencement address and to receive an honorary degree from the institution that profoundly shaped my intellectual and personal journey,” Pietenpol said. “Carleton instilled in me a lifelong commitment to curiosity, rigor, and service; values that have guided my career in science and in mentoring the next generation of scientists and leaders across disciplines. I remain deeply grateful for the foundation this college provided and look forward to celebrating the Class of 2026 as they begin their own paths of discovery, leadership, and impact.”
Pietenpol will also be awarded an honorary degree during the ceremony in recognition of her important work on breast cancer research. With its honorary degrees, Carleton seeks to honor those who have achieved eminence in their own profession or who have rendered distinguished service to society.
Pietenpol’s research focuses on breast cancer and the p53 family signaling network. She has integrated her research expertise in tumor suppressor genes and molecular genetics with bioinformatic analysis of high dimensional genomic data sets to subtype difficult-to-treat, triple-negative breast cancer. Her research has impacted many areas of science and medicine, and she has brought her discoveries to clinical impact for breast cancer patients. The National Cancer Institute, Susan G. Komen, and the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Program fund her research.
“Jennifer Pietenpol’s distinguished career exemplifies all the qualities Carleton hopes to instill in its graduates: curiosity, creativity, discipline, and a profound commitment to using her talents to help others,” President Alison Byerly said. “We are honored — and I am personally delighted — to have Jennifer Pietenpol serve as Commencement speaker for Carleton’s Class of 2026.”
Pietenpol is deeply committed to the next generation, as evidenced by her receipt of numerous awards recognizing her leadership in training and career development. She has trained more than 60 undergraduates, graduate students, and postdoctoral and clinical fellows, and directly mentored more than 40 early-career faculty members.
Pietenpol’s breadth of basic and clinical research expertise and knowledge of science policy issues make her a valuable contributor to numerous public and private advisory boards. She serves as chief scientific advisor to the Susan G. Komen Foundation for breast cancer, and she is a past member of the National Cancer Policy Forum and American Association for Cancer Research Board of Directors. In 2008, President George W. Bush appointed her to a six-year term on the National Cancer Advisory Board. She also served as a member of the Blue Ribbon Panel, advising then-Vice President Joe Biden’s National Cancer Moonshot. Currently, she serves on the advisory boards for many NCI Comprehensive Cancer Centers, as well as on the Carleton Board of Trustees.
In 1997, Pietenpol received the Burroughs Wellcome New Investigator Award in Toxicology. In 2004, she was honored with the Excellence in Teaching Award at Vanderbilt for her mentoring of graduate and medical students, and she was inducted into the Johns Hopkins Society of Scholars in 2009. She received the Carleton College Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award in 2011, and was the recipient of the Harvey Branscomb Distinguished Professor Award at Vanderbilt in 2022 and the Science of Oncology Award from the American Society of Clinical Oncology in 2024. She is an elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Association for Cancer Research Academy. She has served as an associate editor for numerous biomedical research journals and authored over 160 articles in the peer-reviewed scientific literature.
After graduating from Carleton as a member of Sigma Xi and with honors in biology, Pietenpol earned a PhD in cell biology at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in 1990. She continued her postgraduate training at Johns Hopkins Oncology Center before returning to Vanderbilt in 1995 as an assistant professor of biochemistry. She achieved the rank of full professor in 2002.
Carleton’s 2026 Commencement ceremony will be live streamed and archived so family and friends of graduates can share in the experience wherever they are in the world. For further information about Commencement, including disability accommodations, contact Noel Ponder at 507-222-4309 or nponder@carleton.edu.
Erica Helgerud ’20 is the news and social media manager for Carleton College.