Our Science – Niederhuber Website

John E. Niederhuber, M.D.

Cell and Cancer Biology Branch Adjunct Investigator National Cancer Institute Building 31, Room 11A48 31 Center Drive Bethesda, MD 20892 Phone:   301-496-5615 Fax:   301-402-0338 E-Mail:   niederj@mail.nih.gov

Biography

John E. Niederhuber, M.D., is the Director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI). A nationally renowned surgeon and researcher, 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, grant reviewer, and laboratory investigator supported by NCI and the National Institutes of Health.

Prior to his current appointment as Director of the NCI, Dr. Niederhuber served as 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 (NCAB). He resigned that position in order to become NCI's Deputy Director.

In addition to his management of NCI, Dr. Niederhuber remains involved in research, through his laboratory on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) campus. Under his leadership, the Tumor and Stem Cell Biology Section, which is a part of the Cell and Cancer Biology Branch of NCI's Center for Cancer Research, is studying tissue stem cells as the cell-of-origin for cancer.

Dr. Niederhuber also holds a clinical appointment on the NIH Clinical Center Medical Staff.

As a surgeon, Dr. Niederhuber's clinical emphasis is on gastrointestinal cancer, hepatobiliary (liver, bile duct, and gall bladder) cancer, and breast cancer. He is recognized for his pioneering work in hepatic artery infusion chemotherapy and was the first to demonstrate the feasibility of totally implantable vascular access devices.

To view a more detailed biography of Dr. Niederhuber, click here.

Research

The Tumor and Stem Cell Biology Section studies tissue stem cells as the cell-of-origin for cancer. Our laboratory is working to identify, fully characterize, and isolate this population of cells, with the hypothesis that they might become a therapeutic target. We are also studying the complex relationship between tumor cells and their microenvironment. Studies focus on how normal stroma (connective tissue) is changed during tumor progression and on strategies for preventing the development of tumors by manipulating the microenvironment.

This page was last updated on 8/25/2008.