Deborah E. Citrin, M.D.

Dr. Citrin’s clinical and laboratory research focus on two main themes: 1) predicting which tumors are resistant to killing by radiation, and in turn, targeting these tumors more effectively with novel drug radiation combinations, and 2) understanding the mechanisms of normal tissue injury from radiation. Dr. Citrin is particularly interested in developing strategies to enhance the capacity of radiation to kill tumor cells while protecting normal tissue from the side effects of radiation treatment. Much of her laboratory work has focused on aging in tissue exposed to radiation through stem cell senescence.

Dr. Citrin received an M.D. from Duke University, where she also participated in the Howard Hughes Medical Student Research Fellow Program. She completed an internship in Internal Medicine at Washington Hospital Center and completed her residency training at the National Cancer Institute. She is board certified in Radiation Oncology by the American Board of Radiology.

Her career trajectory at NCI involved roles as a staff clinician, as CCR’s first Assistant Clinical Investigator, and as a Tenure-Track Investigator. She joined the Radiation Oncology Branch in 2005 as a staff clinician, became a tenure track investigator in 2007, and received NIH tenure in 2015. In addition to her service as a CCR Deputy Director, Dr. Citrin has held many leadership roles over her career including as an NIH and CCR Women Scientist Advisor, Chair of the CCR Clinical Promotion Review Panel and Vice Chair of the CCR Tenure Review Panel. Among her many accomplishments, she has received the NCI Director’s Emerging Leader Award (2018), the NIH Director’s Alan S. Rabson Award for Clinical Care (2016), and the NIH Director’s Ruth L. Kirschstein Mentoring Award (2023).

Dr. Citrin was named Scientific Director for Clinical Research in CCR in 2024.