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Former NCI chief joins Weill Cornell
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Harold Varmus, MD, who served as director of the NCI for nearly 5 years, stepped down March 31 to join the faculty at Weill Cornell Medical College.
Varmus will serve as the Lewis Thomas university professor of medicine. He also will serve as senior associate core member of the New York Genome Center to promote the use of cancer genomics throughout the region.
Harold Varmus
“This is a remarkable time in cancer research,” Varmus said in a press release. “Technological advances have enabled scientists to conduct comprehensive genomic studies that are revealing detailed portraits of cancer cells, sparking new opportunities to develop next-generation therapies, diagnostics and prevention strategies. I’m excited to join Weill Cornell Medical College and the New York Genome Center as we strive to reduce the burden of cancer and enhance human health in New York and around the world.”
Varmus became director of the NCI in July 2010. During his term, 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 previously served as deputy director of the NCI, took over as acting director effective April 1.
“[Lowy] made many of NCI’s recent accomplishments possible,” Varmus wrote in a letter to his NCI colleagues announcing his resignation. “[He] is a distinguished scientist … and is a remarkably congenial person to work with. The NCI will be in excellent hands.”