Dr. John E. Niederhuber, head of federal government’s $5 billion cancer effort, discusses advances in cancer research and potential impacts of federal stimulus package
Grand Rapids, Mich. (March 18, 2009) – National Cancer Institute (NCI) Director John E. Niederhuber, M.D., spoke today at Van Andel Institute as part of a visit to the Institute to discuss advances in cancer research and potential impacts of the federal stimulus package. Dr. Niederhuber presented a lecture entitled: “Cancer as an Organ System: The Tumor Microenvironment,” and took questions from staff and media afterward.
“It is a privilege not only to host a scientist of Dr. Niederhuber’s stature at Van Andel Institute, but also to welcome the director of the federal government’s principal agency for cancer research and training,” said Van Andel Research Institute Director and President Dr. Jeffrey Trent. “The NCI represents a critical national investment in the ability to research, prevent, diagnose and treat cancer.”
The NCI is the federal government's principal agency for cancer research and training. With a current budget of nearly $5 billion, the NCI coordinates the National Cancer Program, which conducts and supports research, training, health information dissemination, and other programs with respect to the cause, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of cancer, rehabilitation from cancer, and the continuing care of cancer patients and the families of cancer patients.
"The investment in cancer research is extremely important," said Dr. Niederhuber, who was appointed to the post of NCI director by President George W. Bush in 2006. "It is not just an investment in cancer as a disease. The basic information the research has provided has literally informed our understanding of every disease."
Responding to questions from reporters, Dr. Neiderhuber said that increased funding for the NCI from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 would “increase pay lines” in grants, fund more young investigator awards, provide opportunities for increased training and potentially help universities to recruit new faculty based on the hope of funding more research.
Dr. Niederhuber has dedicated his four-decade career to the treatment and study of cancer - as a professor, cancer center director, National Cancer Advisory Board chair, external advisor to the NCI, and laboratory investigator. In addition to his role as NCI director, Dr. Niederhuber holds a clinical appointment on the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center Medical Staff.
Prior to his current appointment, Dr. Niederhuber was NCI's Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Director for Translational and Clinical Sciences, a position he assumed in September 2005. In June 2002, President Bush appointed Dr. Niederhuber as Chair of the National Cancer Advisory Board. He resigned that position in order to become NCI's Deputy Director.
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About Van Andel Institute
Established by Jay and Betty Van Andel in 1996, Van Andel Institute (VAI) is an independent research and educational organization based in Grand Rapids, Mich., dedicated to preserving, enhancing and expanding the frontiers of medical science, and to achieving excellence in education by probing fundamental issues of education and the learning process. VARI, the research arm of VAI, is dedicated to probing the genetic, cellular and molecular origins of cancer, Parkinson and other diseases and working to translate those findings into effective therapies. This is accomplished through the work of over 200 researchers in 18 on-site laboratories, in laboratories in Singapore and Nanjing, and in collaborative partnerships that span the globe.
