Houston -- Dr. John Mendelsohn was selected Thursday to become president of The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

Dr. Mendelsohn, chairman of the Department of Medicine at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, was named unanimously by the U.T. System Board of Regents to succeed President Charles A. LeMaistre when he retires Sept. 1. An advisory committee recommended Dr. Mendelsohn and three other finalists for the position in April.

"The Board of Regents is delighted that Dr. Mendelsohn has accepted the M.D. Anderson presidency, a position of vital importance within the U.T. System and within the nation's efforts to combat cancer," said Bernard Rapoport, chairman of the regents.

"Dr. Mendelsohn is eminently qualified for this leadership role. He is distinguished as a medical oncologist, a researcher, a teacher and an administrator, and he has the breadth of experience and the keen vision necessary for leading M.D. Anderson into the 21st century."

Dr. Mendelsohn is nationally recognized for integrating basic biomedical research with clinical studies, for organizing collaborative programs between industry and academic institutions, and for research on how growth factors regulate cell proliferation. A native of Cincinnati, Dr. Mendelsohn earned his medical degree cum laude from Harvard Medical School in 1963. After serving as a research associate at the National Institutes of Health and a faculty member at Washington University in St. Louis, Dr. Mendelsohn was on the faculty of the University of California at San Diego from 1970 to 1985. He founded that university's Cancer Center and was its director from 1976 until he moved to Sloan-Kettering in 1985.

"Dr. Mendelsohn will continue the long tradition of excellence at M.D. Anderson. He will provide inspiring and energetic leadership for the institution during this continuing period of rapid change in health care delivery and dramatic progress in cancer research and treatment," said U.T. System Chancellor William H. Cunningham.

Dr. Charles B. Mullins, the U.T. System's executive vice chancellor for health affairs and chairman of the advisory committee that recommended the finalists, said: "Dr. Mendelsohn deeply impressed the committee and the campus and community representatives because of his clinical experience, his accomplishments in research and education, and his formidable talents as an administrator."

M.D. Anderson ranks as one of the world's largest and most influential centers devoted to cancer patient care, research, education and prevention. This year alone, the institution will care for more than 52,000 patients, conduct basic and clinical cancer research with more than $104 million in grant funds, and train nearly 2,000 scientists, cancer specialists and health professionals.

For the past four years, an annual physician survey by U.S. News and World Report has ranked M.D. Anderson as one of the best 10 to 15 hospitals in the nation, regardless of specialty. M.D. Anderson was one of the first three federally designated comprehensive cancer care centers.

Dr. Mendelsohn will be only the third full-time president in M.D. Anderson's 55-year history. Dr. LeMaistre has served for 18 years and was preceded by Dr. R. Lee Clark, who was director, then president, from 1946 to 1978. Dr. Ernst W. Bertner, a Houston gynecologist, was part-time director from 1942 until Dr. Clark's arrival four years later.