50 Most Influential Clinical Executives - 2023

At the helm of St. Jude since 2014, Downing is spearheading the largest expansion in its six-decade history. The organization announced in 2022 it would deepen its investment in clinical and research programs worldwide, support 2,300 new jobs and budget $2.3 billion for construction and renovation projects as part of a six-year plan. Downing has spent more than three decades at St. Jude. He played an instrumental part in launching the Pediatric Cancer Genome Project, in which researchers sequenced the complete genomes of hundreds of pediatric cancer patients to better understand the disease’s genetic origins.