BioCentury
ARTICLE | Finance

Sharpless edge for NCI

Public funding roundup 2Q17

July 20, 2017 10:38 PM UTC

The National Cancer Institute is poised to enter a new phase, under the leadership of Norman (Ned) Sharpless, following the June 9 announcement by the White House of the president’s choice to fill the large shoes left by Harold Varmus, who departed in March 2015, and Douglas Lowy, who will remain in the role of Acting Director until Sharpless begins.

Varmus, a pioneer of oncogenic retroviruses who had previously been NIH Director, oversaw the rollout of several new grant programs and helped launch NCI’s RAS Initiative in 2013. Due to an overall drop in NIH funding over the course of his tenure, the NCI budget decreased by $180 million (3%) from his start in 2010 to 2015...