University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
MD Anderson was created by an act of the Texas Legislature in 1941, making it a part of The University of Texas System and was established by the National Cancer Act of 1971. Today it is one of 49 Comprehensive Cancer Centers designated by the National Cancer Institute. The cancer center provided care for more than 137,000 patients in Fiscal Year 2017 and employs more than 20,000 people.
Norman B. Anderson
In 1988, Anderson was elected president of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, becoming the first African-American to hold the position. He was the founding associate director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), where he was in charge of social and behavioral science, and was the first director of the NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR). While at NIH, Anderson facilitated behavioral and social sciences research across all of its Institutes and Centers. Research in the behavioral and social research was under his purview in areas such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, children's health, mental health, minority health, aging, and oral health. His special focus at NIH was in sociocultural determinants of health, and in advancing an integrated, trans-disciplinary, bio-psycho-social approach to health science, health promotion, prevention, and health care.