Harold VarmusNCINational Cancer Institute (NCI) Director Harold Varmus is stepping down from his post at the end of this month, the agency announced yesterday (March 4). He has held the position since July 2010. Douglas Lowy, NCI’s deputy director, will become acting director of the agency beginning April 1.
“I take this step with a mixture of regret and anticipation. Regret, because I will miss this job and my working relationships with so many dedicated and talented people,” Varmus wrote in a March 4 letter to NCI staff. “Anticipation, because I look forward to new opportunities to pursue scientific work in the city, New York, that I continue to call home.”
In a March 3 letter to President Barack Obama, Varmus wrote: “The past five years have not been easy times financially for biomedical research, including cancer research, but they continue to be extraordinarily promising scientifically.”
“It has been our great fortune to have Harold at the helm of the NCI,” National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins said in a statement. “His breadth ...
