I, too, was curious about the timing. On Sep 24, 2008, at 1:36 PM, Dewey, Robin wrote: > How does this position get filled? Is it appointed by the > president, like a cabinet position? Or do they interview candidates? > > Just curious about the timing…so close to the end of the Bush era > and such short notice. > > From: Research Administration List [mailto:xxxxxx@hrinet.org] On > Behalf Of Theresa Defino > Sent: Wednesday, September 24, 2008 11:58 AM > To: xxxxxx@hrinet.org > Subject: [RESADM-L] zerhouni to leave end of october > > U.S. Department of Health and Human Services NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF > HEALTH NIH News NIH Office of the Director (OD) <http://www.nih.gov/ > icd/od/>For Immediate Release: Wednesday, September 24, 2008 > CONTACT: NIH News Media Branch, NIH OCPL, 301-496-5787, <e-mail: > xxxxxx@mail.nih.gov> NIH NEWS ADVISORY ELIAS A. ZERHOUNI TO END > TENURE AS DIRECTOR OF THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH Bethesda, > Md, September 24, 2008 -- Elias A. Zerhouni, M.D., the director of > the National Institutes of Health, today announced his plans to > step down at the end of October 2008 to pursue writing projects and > explore other professional opportunities. Dr. Zerhouni, a physician > scientist and world-renowned leader in radiology research, has > served as NIH director since May 2002. He led the agency through a > challenging period that required innovative solutions to transform > basic and clinical research into tangible benefits for patients and > their families. One of the hallmarks of his tenure is the NIH > Roadmap for Medical Research, launched in 2003, after extensive > consultations with the scientific community. The NIH Roadmap > brought together all of the NIH 27 Institutes and Centers to fund > compelling research initiatives that could have a major impact on > science, but that no single institute could tackle alone. > Additional information about the NIH Roadmap can be found at > <www.nihroadmap.nih.gov>. Dr. Zerhouni also launched new programs > to encourage high-risk innovative research, such as the Director's > Pioneer Awards and New Innovator Awards, and focused especially on > the need to support new investigators and foster their > independence. During his tenure, Zerhouni worked to lower barriers > between disciplines of science and encourage trans-NIH > collaborations. For example, he inspired significant > interdisciplinary efforts such as the NIH Strategic Plan for > Obesity Research and the Neuroscience Blueprint. Zerhouni also > led a major reform of the translational and clinical research > system in the United States. He also worked to improve public > access to scientific information. These efforts, along with his > continual advocacy for the public's investment in the NIH, greatly > contributed to Congress passing the NIH Reform Act of 2006, which > was a sign of renewed confidence in the NIH. (For more detailed > information, see a listing of key accomplishments attached to this > release.) "I have had the privilege of leading one of the greatest > institutions in the world for six and a half years," Dr. Zerhouni > said. "NIH's strength comes from the extraordinary commitment and > excellence of its people in serving a noble mission. It also comes > from the nation's scientific community, whose discoveries alleviate > the suffering of patients throughout the world. Over the past six > years, we experienced a revolution in the biomedical sciences and I > feel fortunate to have been part of it. I will miss the NIH and > all my colleagues, not only for their friendship and support > through 'thick and thin,' but also for their essential role in the > progress we made in advancing innovative research, fostering > scientific collaboration, supporting young scientists, and > enhancing basic, translational, and clinical research, despite > great challenges." "Elias has been a powerful voice for the > medical research community as head of the NIH. His tenure has been > marked by the spirit of collaboration, good management and > transformation. The Roadmap for Medical Research that he developed > and implemented will benefit the health of this nation for many > years to come," said Secretary of Health and Human Services Michael > O. Leavitt. "His many achievements include promotion of genetic > research, support for advances of biodefense research and helping > raise awareness of women's heart disease. I want to thank Elias > for his leadership and wish him the best of luck as he begins this > new chapter." NIH is part of the U.S. Department of Health and > Human Services (HHS), and is the nation's premiere biomedical > research agency. The agency has more than 18,000 employees and a > fiscal year 2008 budget of $29.5 billion. It supports more than > 325,000 researcher personnel at more than 3,100 institutions > throughout the United States, and around the world. The Office of > the Director, the central office at NIH, is responsible for setting > policy for NIH, which includes 27 Institutes and Centers. This > involves planning, managing, and coordinating the programs and > activities of all NIH components. The Office of the Director also > includes program offices which are responsible for stimulating > specific areas of research throughout NIH. Additional information > is available at <http://www.nih.gov/icd/od/>. The National > Institutes of Health (NIH) -- The Nation's Medical Research Agency > -- includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the > U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary > federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and > translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, > treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more > information about NIH and its programs, visit <www.nih.gov>. > ---------------------KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF ELIAS A. ZERHOUNI, M.D. > As NIH Director, Dr. Zerhouni significantly advanced the NIH > mission: (1) to pursue fundamental knowledge about the nature and > behavior of living systems, and (2) to apply that knowledge to the > extension of healthy life and the reduction of the burdens of > illness and disability. Zerhouni forged new connections between > basic and clinical research, integrating the component parts of > NIH's mission to unprecedented degrees. He also led the agency to > be better prepared to meet the public health and science needs, > challenges, and opportunities of the 21st century. THE NIH > ROADMAPAs NIH director, Dr. Zerhouni launched a number of far- > reaching initiatives to address the explosion of new knowledge in > the biomedical sciences and the growing challenges in public > health. In September 2003, he with the Institute and Center > leadership initiated the NIH Roadmap for Medical Research, a vision > that helped chart the course for the future of NIH. The NIH > Roadmap focused on a short list of compelling initiatives for the > NIH to pursue that would make a profound, measurable difference in > biomedical research. The NIH Roadmap efforts stimulated new > pathways to discovery, building research teams for the future, and > re-engineering the clinical research enterprise. The NIH Roadmap > is a continuing programmatic priority at NIH and is managed by a > newly-established Office of Portfolio Analysis and Strategic > Initiatives (OPASI). The ongoing goal of the NIH Roadmap is to > ensure that NIH is nimble, dynamic, and responsive to emerging > scientific opportunities and public health needs. TRANS-NIH > COLLABORATIONSDrawing from a "common fund" of money, NIH's 27 > Institutes and Centers collaborate on initiatives that are > essential to the advancement of biomedicine, initiatives that no > single Institute or Center are able to undertake alone. The NIH > Office of Portfolio Analysis and Strategic Initiatives is organized > around three themes: "New Pathways to Discovery": "Re-engineering > the Clinical Research Enterprise," and "Research Teams of the > Future." Today, initiatives within each of these themes are making > significant contributions to the science and practice of medicine. > In 2006, Congress passed the NIH Reform Act. Only the third omnibus > reauthorization in NIH's history, the Reform Act gives the NIH > Roadmap, and the Common Fund, legislative weight and continued > support. TRANS-NIH INITIATIVES TO ADDRESS MAJOR PUBLIC HEALTH > NEEDSDr. Zerhouni also established NIH-wide research initiatives to > address major public health problems, including obesity research > and neuroscience research. Shortly after Dr. Zerhouni's arrival in > 2002, he established the NIH Obesity Research Task Force to address > one the nation's most costly and debilitating health challenges. > The task force drew representatives from 7 NIH Institutes, Centers, > and Offices and developed a strategic plan that combined new > research opportunities with the coordination of resources across > the NIH. The plan called for interdisciplinary research teams to > bridge the study of environmental and behavioral causes with the > study of genetic and biologic causes. Dr. Zerhouni also spearheaded > the NIH Neuroscience Blueprint to (1) leverage the resources of 17 > NIH Institutes and Centers, (2) tackle common scientific problems > and (3) train the future generation of neuroscientists, all in an > effort to address mental illness, neurological disorders, and a > range of behavioral disorders that together affect millions of > individuals at a yearly cost to the U.S. of more than $500 > billion. CLINICAL AND TRANSLATIONAL SCIENCE AWARDSIn October 2006, > Dr. Zerhouni launched a national consortium designed to transform > clinical and translational research. Called the Clinical and > Translational Science Awards (CTSAs), the program represented the > first systematic change in the agency's approach to clinical > research in 50 years. The consortium got underway in with 12 > sites; more were added each year with the plan of supporting 60 > such institutions by 2012. NIH began to see the transformative > effects of the program as changes occurred and new partnerships at > institutions were forged. The CTSA initiative grew out of the NIH > commitment to re-engineer the clinical research enterprise, one of > the key objectives of the NIH Roadmap for Medical Research. > MOLECULAR LIBRARIESThe NIH Roadmap identified one key "new > pathway": the need for molecular libraries. The Molecular > Libraries initiative resulted in development of a nationwide > consortium of 10 small molecule screening centers; including NIH; a > database, PubChem; and new tools and technologies to better serve > investigative needs. PubChem provides free access to discoveries > about the chemical structures and biological activities of small > molecules. The program was designed to provide investigators with a > comprehensive set of small molecule modulators of a majority of the > genes and functions of humans and other organisms. The Molecular > Libraries initiative is also aimed at producing innovative chemical > tools for use in biological research and drug development. The > Molecular Small Molecule Repository currently contains over 300,000 > small molecules, and the network of centers has entered the second > phase of its research agenda, focusing on small molecule probes. > SUPPORT FOR HIGH RISK/HIGH IMPACT RESEARCHDuring his tenure, Dr. > Zerhouni also addressed the agency's continued support of high risk/ > high impact research, innovation in research, and funding for early- > career investigators. NIH DIRECTOR'S PIONEER AWARDSDr. Zerhouni > launched the NIH Director's Pioneer Award Program in 2004 as a high- > risk research initiative. The awards are designed to support > individual scientists of exceptional creativity who propose > pioneering-and possibly transforming approaches-to major challenges > in biomedical and behavioral research. "Pioneering" refers to > highly innovative approaches with the potential of producing an > unusually high impact on a broad area of biomedical or behavioral > research. Awards may include grants for conducting research as > opposed to recognizing past achievement. PATHWAY TO INDEPENDENCE > AWARDSIn January 2006, Dr. Zerhouni announced the NIH Pathway to > Independence Award program, which targeted promising postdoctoral > scientists for receipt of mentored and independent research > support, both from the same award. The program is among several > initiated by Dr. Zerhouni to support scientists at the early part > of their careers while maintaining the agency's "pipeline" of > future-generation researchers. With the program's debut, Dr. > Zerhouni said, "Encouraging independent inquiry by promising new > investigators is a major goal for NIH. We must invest in the > future of our new scientists today if we expect to meet the > nation's health challenges of tomorrow. New investigators who > successfully cross the bridge from research dependence to research > independence bring fresh ideas and innovative perspectives to the > research enterprise." NIH NEW INNOVATOR AWARDSIn March 2007, Dr. > Zerhouni announced the New Innovator Awards Program, designed to > cultivate new investigators, support innovative ideas, and > encourage and reward creativity. Under the program, New Innovator > Awardees propose bold and highly innovative research approaches > that have the potential to produce solutions for broad, important > problems in biomedical and behavioral research. The program > complements other NIH efforts to fund new investigators through R01 > grants, the original and historically oldest grant mechanism used > by NIH, and the one that continues to be the major source of NIH > support for new investigators. In 2007, thirty new investigators > were provided New Innovator Awards under the NIH Roadmap to > initiate their own new five-year research programs. The awards > provide brilliant emerging scientists with the resources, time, and > freedom to pursue creative ideas. TRANSFORMATIVE R01 PROGRAM Dr. > Zerhouni launched the Transformative R01 (TR01) program in > September 2008 to provide support for individual scientists or > collaborative investigative teams who propose transformative > approaches to major contemporary challenges. The primary objective > of the T-R01 initiative is to create a program that is specifically > designed to support exceptionally innovative, high risk, original > and/or unconventional research with the potential to create new or > challenge existing scientific paradigms. The program is a High > Risk/High Reward Demonstration Project with support from the NIH > Common Fund. HUMAN MICROBIOME PROJECTIn December 2007, NIH launched > the Human Microbiome Project under Dr. Zerhouni. The human > microbiome is the collective genomes of all the microorganisms in > or on the human body and is largely unexplored. The project has the > potential to transform scientific understanding of human health and > to prevent, diagnose, and treat a wide range of conditions. The > project is part of the NIH Roadmap for Medical Research and was > chosen by NIH leadership as a major research opportunity that no > single Institute or Center could address alone. EPIGENOMICS > PROJECTIn January 2008, NIH announced a 5-year, $190 million > investment for the study of epigenomics: the analysis of > epigenetic changes across many genes in a cell or an entire > organism. Epigenetics focuses on the processes that regulate how > and when certain genes are turned on and turned off. "Epigenomics > will build upon our new knowledge of the human genome and help us > better understand the role of the environment in regulating genes > that protect our health or make us susceptible to disease," said > Dr. Zerhouni at the announcement of the program's start. STRUCTURAL > BIOLOGY ROADMAPThe Structural Biology Roadmap is a strategic effort > to create a comprehensive gallery of three-dimensional shapes of > proteins in the body. The program seeks to develop methods or > producing protein samples for use by scientists in determining the > three-dimensional structure or shape of a protein. During the > first phase of the Structural Biology Roadmap (FY2004-2008), the > NIH funded two Centers for Innovation in Membrane Protein > Production that enabled interdisciplinary groups of scientists to > develop innovative methods for producing large quantities of > membrane proteins. The NIH program is designed to catalyze what is > currently a hit-or-miss process into an organized, coordinated, > systematic, and streamlined routine, helping researchers clarify > the role of protein shape in health and disease. A number of small > exploratory and regular research grants were also awarded to > individual investigators to broaden the base of innovative ideas > under development. ORGANIZATIONAL REFORMS During his tenure, Dr. > Zerhouni embarked on a wide array of efforts to make NIH more > responsive to changes and challenges in the scientific landscape > and more nimble as an organization. Under Dr. Zerhouni's > leadership, NIH initiated a number of important and unprecedented > programs to improve how science is conducted and to ensure that the > agency takes full advantage of the progress made to date in > improving people's health. NIH GOVERNANCE IMPROVEMENT-STEERING > COMMITTEEIn July 2003, Dr. Zerhouni announced the formation of the > NIH Steering Committee, with a rotating membership of ten directors > derived from the 27 Institutes and Centers to provide a more > strategic direction to the agency and streamline its decision- > making process. The committee is chaired by the NIH director. As > the agency had grown in size and complexity in recent years, there > had been an increased need for a more efficient trans-NIH > coordination. The Steering Committee transformed NIH's ability to > manage and address the complex issues facing the agency. SCIENCE > MANAGEMENT REVIEW BOARDIn September 2008, Dr. Zerhouni announced > formation of the NIH Scientific Management Review Board (SMRB) as > an outgrowth of the NIH Reform Act of 2006. The SMRB brings > together NIH leaders with outside experts to examine NIH's > organizational structure and make recommendations for greater > agency flexibility and responsiveness. EFFORTS TO ENHANCE THE NIH > PEER REVIEW SYSTEMIn June 2008, Dr. Zerhouni announced major > changes to improve and enhance the NIH peer review system, marking > the end of a year-long effort to determine ways to further enrich > the traditional NIH peer review system. NIH is now implementing > the programmatic results of Dr. Zerhouni's original charge, "to > fund the best science, by the best scientists, with the least > administrative burden." The formal review process involved > consultation with and comment from internal staff, patient groups, > and the broad scientific community, as well as analysis of > thousands of comments, feedback, and opinions about the current NIH > peer review system. PUBLIC ACCESS TO NIH-FUNDED PUBLISHED > RESEARCHIn February 2005, Dr. Zerhouni announced an unprecedented > policy designed to expand and accelerate public access to published > articles resulting from NIH-funded research. The policy was the > first of its kind and called on scientists to release manuscripts > from research supported by NIH as soon as possible, and within 12 > months of publication. Publications are made available in a web- > based archive managed by the National Library of Medicine. At a > time when demand for such information is on a steady rise, the > online archive increases the public's access to health-related > publications. ENHANCED TRANSPARENCYNIH's responded to a call by > Congress and the public for enhanced transparency and accessibility > regarding disease funding by creating the Research, Condition, and > Disease Categorization (RCDC) system. RCDC utilizes a computer- > based tool that applies a uniform process of accounting for NIH > funding for diseases and conditions. The process produces a fully > transparent list of grants underlying and supporting the dollar > amounts for each reporting area. NIH will unveil the first RCDC > reports as part of the release of the President's 2010 budget > request. SWEEPING REFORM OF NIH ETHICSIn February 2005, Dr. > Zerhouni announced a set of ethics regulations to address outside > consulting between some NIH employees and representatives of the > pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors. Dr. Zerhouni launched > the revised rules to help NIH (1) preserve its historic role as the > primary source of unbiased scientific health information for the > country and (2) maintain the highest ethical standards, both while > sustaining the agency's ability to support and conduct the best > medical research in the world. PUBLIC TRUST INITIATIVEIn October > 2007, Dr. Zerhouni announced release of a new Request for > Applications (RFA) for the Partners in Research Program, which > supports studies of innovative ways to increase science literacy, > improve public understanding of health research, and engage the > public through community-based organizations. The program is one > of several programs initiated by NIH to maintain and enhance public > trust in medical research. REACHING OUT TO THE PUBLICUnder Dr. > Zerhouni's leadership, NIH reached to the public in an > unprecedented way with the communication of science-based health > information and scientific results. He led efforts to make the > incomparable resources of the NIH and its grantees, resources > accessible to the public. Key to these efforts are the health > education programs across the agency. With more than 2 million > visits a day to the NIH websites, including the NIH's NLM vast > collection materials available through comprehensive clearinghouses > and #800, use of new resources of podcasting, vodcasting, Research > Matters, NIH: News in Health, YouTube, and radio resources to reach > audiences who depend upon radio more than the web, materials for > people who have challenges of literacy, language or access were > also developed. He worked closely with the Council of Public > Representatives in encouraging these efforts. In two important > messages to NIH and the public, Dr. Zerhouni encouraged open > discourse about science noting: "Timely and accurate research > results and science-based health communications are an integral > part of the NIH mission." ## This NIH News Release is available > online at:<http://www.nih.gov/news/health/sep2008/od-24.htm>. To > subscribe (or unsubscribe) from this list, go to<http:// > list.nih.gov/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=nihpress&A=1>. > Kind regards, > Theresa Defino > Editor > Report on Research Compliance > 301-738-3721 > xxxxxx@aol.com > > > ====================================================================== > Instructions on how to use the RESADM-L Mailing List, including > subscription information and a web-searchable archive, are > available via our web site at http://www.hrinet.org (click on > "Listserv Lists") > ====================================================================== > > ====================================================================== > Instructions on how to use the RESADM-L Mailing List, including > subscription information and a web-searchable archive, are > available via our web site at http://www.hrinet.org (click on > "Listserv Lists") > ====================================================================== > **************************************************************** Terri Maxwell, Project Representative University of Michigan, Research Administration 3003 S. State St. Room 1040 Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1274 voice 734-764-7246, fax 734-764-8510 ***************************************************************** ====================================================================== Instructions on how to use the RESADM-L Mailing List, including subscription information and a web-searchable archive, are available via our web site at http://www.hrinet.org (click on "Listserv Lists") ======================================================================
