Oberholtzer and Mackall Named CCR Chiefs
Dr. J. Carl Oberholtzer has been named chief of the Laboratory of Pathology in NCI's Center for Cancer Research (CCR). He is an internationally respected pathologist and is board certified in anatomic pathology with expertise in neuropathology. Dr. Oberholtzer came to NCI in 2006 as associate director for training.

Dr. Crystal Mackall has been appointed the chief of CCR's Pediatric Oncology Branch. She has served as acting chief since August 2005. Dr. Mackall is an international leader in pediatric oncology translational research, with a primary focus on development of effective immune response therapies for pediatric cancer and immune reconstitution.

NCI at ONS Be sure to visit the NCI exhibit booth during the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) 33rd Annual Congress May 15-18 in Philadelphia, PA. The NCI exhibit will be located in booth #349.

NIH Seeks New Ideas for Roadmap Initiatives
NIH has issued a Request for Information (RFI) seeking input from the scientific community, health professionals, patient advocates, and the general public on innovative and cross-cutting initiatives to be supported through the Common Fund as part of the NIH Roadmap for Medical Research. Responses will be accepted through June 2, 2008.

The Common Fund/NIH Roadmap supports trans-NIH programs that address gaps in fundamental knowledge, develop transformative tools and technologies, and foster innovative approaches to complex problems. The Roadmap programs are expected to have exceptionally high impact and transform the way research is conducted. This collection of ideas is an initial step in the process of identifying a new cohort of NIH Roadmap programs for fiscal year 2011.

PLCO EEMS Seeks Applicants
The Etiologic and Early Marker Studies (EEMS) is a component of the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial. By collecting biologic materials and risk factor information from trial participants before the diagnosis of disease, EEMS provides a resource for cancer research, focused on cancer etiology and early markers. Etiologic studies investigate the environmental, biochemical, and genetic risk factors for cancer. Early detection studies aim to develop reproducible, diagnostics-ready biomarkers of early disease.

PLCO data and biospecimens are available to qualified researchers through a peer review process. The EEMS program accepts proposals for access to PLCO biospecimens twice a year in June and December. Proposals will be accepted for the EEMS summer review cycle starting June 1, 2008. Applications will be accepted until June 30, 2008, at 5:00 p.m. ET. Details of the review process and application materials are available at http://www.parplco.org. Questions may be directed to plco-eems@westat.com or 240-314-5896.

PHS Releases New Tobacco Cessation Guidelines
An updated clinical practice guideline was released last week by the U.S. Public Health Service to assist health care providers who are trying to help their patients quit or never start smoking. Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence: 2008 Update was developed by a 24-member panel of leading national tobacco treatment experts, who reviewed more than 8,700 research articles published between 1975 and 2007.

The resource, co-authored by Dr. Glen Morgan of NCI's Tobacco Control Research Branch, includes information about new medications, advances in counseling methods, and treatments that are proven to be effective for adolescent smokers. Of particular note are findings that counseling significantly improves the effectiveness of tobacco cessation medications, that quitline counseling is effective and broad reaching, and that counseling increases abstinence from smoking among adolescents.

The updated resource can be accessed online at http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/tobacco/default.htm and copies can be ordered through the national tobacco quitline, 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669), which connects people with their local, state-based quitline service.