NCI director to step down March 31

Harold Varmus, MD, who has served as director of the NCI for the past 5 years, will step down at the end of this month.

“I take this step with a mixture of regret and anticipation,” Varmus wrote in a letter to his NCI colleagues. “Regret, because I will miss this job and my working relationships with so many dedicated and talented people. Anticipation, because I look forward to new opportunities to pursue scientific work in the city, New York, that I continue to call home.”

Varmus became director of the NCI in June 2010. During his term as director, Varmus established the Provocative Questions initiative, oversaw the creation of the NCI’s Center for Global Health and also worked to transform and revitalize the cooperative clinical trials system.

“Dr. Varmus established valuable initiatives that will help transform cancer research for the 21st century and improve cancer care on a global level,” Richard L. Schilsky, MD, FACP, FASCO, said in a press release. “He accomplished these tasks during a period when the NCI faced unprecedented financial instability. … Dr. Varmus drew on his deep knowledge of cancer biology and the nation's biomedical research enterprise to focus the efforts of the cancer community on identifying and tackling the most vexing problems in cancer research and care.”

Douglas Lowy, MD, who currently serves as the NCI’s deputy director, will become acting director effective April 1.

“[Lowy] made many of NCI’s recent accomplishments possible,” Varmus wrote in his letter. “[He] is a distinguished scientist … and is a remarkably congenial person to work with. The NCI will be in excellent hands.”