Varmus to lead NCI?

The rumor mill surrounding Nobel Laureate linkurl:Harold Varmus;https://www.mskcc.org/mskcc/html/515.cfm is cranking up again, enlivened by a recent linkurl:report;https://cancerletter.com/tcl-blog/copy130_of_whats-going-on-with-nih in __The Cancer Letter__ that the biologist will be tapped by the White House to lead the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Image: Public Library of Science"Multiple sources in the federal government and outside it confirmed that the announcement appears imminent," the

Written byBob Grant

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Image: Public Library of Science

"Multiple sources in the federal government and outside it confirmed that the announcement appears imminent," the story in the newsletter read, adding that Varmus is expected to be named the NCI's new director later this week or early next week. Varmus, who was director of the National Institutes of Health from 1993-1999, is preparing to step down from his position as president of New York City's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center as soon as the institution finds a successor. Varmus has played an active role in U.S. President Barack Obama's administration thus far, serving as co-chair of the Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, the president's inner circle of science experts. If Varmus is indeed picked to head the NCI, he would be both the first Nobel Prize winner and the first former-NIH director to get the job. Rumors began circulating last week that Varmus may be the Obama administration's pick for the next NCI director. Varmus sought to quiet those rumors linkurl:in an email;https://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2010/03/varmus-dispels-cancer-institute.html to the __Science__Insider. "I have no idea where you are getting such rumors but I can tell you that no one from the only reputable source, the White House, has contacted me!" Varmus wrote. "However, I've just renewed my R01 [NIH research grant] and am purchasing a new apartment on the West Side. Draw your own conclusions!" In response to a call requesting comment from Varmus, Kathy Lewis, Sloan-Kettering's vice president of public affairs, said that he is not responding to rumors at the moment.
**__Related stories:__***linkurl:Varmus to quit as Sloan-Kettering head;https://www.the-scientist.com/blog/display/56268/
[12th January 2010]*linkurl:Varmus, Lubchenco top Obama team;https://www.the-scientist.com/blog/display/55317/
[22nd December 2008]*linkurl:Varmus votes - how will you?;https://www.the-scientist.com/blog/display/54278/
[4th February 2008]

Meet the Author

Bob Grant

From 2017 to 2022, Bob Grant was Editor in Chief of The Scientist, where he started in 2007 as a Staff Writer. Before joining the team, he worked as a reporter at Audubon and earned a master’s degree in science journalism from New York University. In his previous life, he pursued a career in science, getting a bachelor’s degree in wildlife biology from Montana State University and a master’s degree in marine biology from the College of Charleston in South Carolina. Bob edited Reading Frames and other sections of the magazine.

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