Director's Update Archive

• 05/05/2009 - Enabling the Evolution of Oncology
  Radio transcripts from the 1960s reveal how a relatively new technology, the computer, had begun to alter research and the practice of medicine. "We have made extensive use [of computers] so far, but I think much more lies in the future," said then NCI Director Dr. Carl G. Baker during one such interview. "Massive amounts of information accumulate very rapidly."
• 04/21/2009 - The Extraordinary Challenges and Opportunities Facing Cancer Research
  The following is an abridged version of the remarks delivered by NCI Director Dr. John E. Niederhuber on Monday, April 20, at the 100th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in Denver.
  
  We come together at a time that is truly like no other. The United States, and in fact the world, is struggling to right a financial system in turmoil, and far, far too many of our fellow citizens are unemployed or underemployed. The number of those around us who lack health insurance may now have reached 50 million. Even comparatively wealthy communities in the United States are struggling to support those in need. In Montgomery County, MD, for example, the home of NIH, food stamp requests have grown 16 percent since last year. All of the family shelter beds are full, and more than 50 additional families are currently housed in motels.
• 04/07/2009 - New Resources for a Bright Future
  The Obama administration's economic stimulus package, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, is a prime topic of discussion in official Washington and, one would certainly expect, at dinner tables across America, as well. Commonly referred to as ARRA, the $787 billion stimulus plan aims to create and protect jobs and help stabilize our nation's economy. It is also a commitment to American ingenuity. When he signed ARRA into law February 17, President Obama said, "I hope this investment will ignite our imagination once more, spurring new discoveries and breakthroughs in science, in medicine, in energy, to make our economy stronger and our nation more secure and our planet safer for our children."
• 03/24/2009 - Making Connections between Stem Cells and Cancer
  The striking similarities between stem cells in normal tissue that are responsible for continuously replacing adult tissues and a very small subset of cells found in growing tumors have sparked considerable interest in the research community. As a result, there is perhaps no better time for cancer biologists to draw on the considerable knowledge of our colleagues in embryology and developmental biology to explore questions about the initiation and progression of cancer—and potentially to understand how it develops resistance to therapies and how it metastasizes.
• 03/10/2009 - Collaborative Initiative Will Tackle Obesity among Youth
  “We’re fighting a losing battle,” a pediatrician in Watsonville, CA, recently told the Santa Cruz Sentinel. Her blunt statement reflects a startling reality: Nearly 1 in 3 children aged 8 and younger in the city are obese. Another 23 percent are overweight. The majority of the children in Watsonville—which, ironically, is in the heart of one of the most prolific vegetable and fruit growing regions of California—are Hispanic.
• 02/24/2009 - Moving Ahead with the Stimulus Funds
  With President Barack Obama’s signing of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) on February 17, 2009, came newfound hope in many circles that our economy can start down the road to recovery. As the President himself has said, it will not be easy. This recovery package is just the first step and, undoubtedly, just one of many interventions.
• 02/10/2009 - Budget Proposal Highlights Progress and Opportunities in Cancer Research
  Last week NCI released The Nation's Investment in Cancer Research, an annual report intended to directly inform the President about the progress and opportunities in our continuing efforts against cancer and to justify the administration's budget request to Congress for an additional $2.1 billion to fund the Nation's battle against cancer.
• 01/27/2009 - Prelude to a New Chapter in the National Cancer Program
  One week ago today the country inaugurated Barack Obama as our new president, an occasion accompanied by the excitement associated with such a historic election. This election and this transition in government will one day generate many books, in part because of the economic crisis that in many ways rivals that of the 1930s and the fighting of two wars. With the election of the first African American president, it's impossible not to draw the connection between President Lincoln's second inauguration and this inauguration and the tremendous progress our democracy has made possible. For many of us, there were certainly memories of the 1961 inauguration of the young and energetic President Kennedy as well.
• 01/13/2009 - Resource Digs Deep into NCI's Research Funding
  It is critically important that scientific investments made by NCI be transparent, ensuring accountability of the Institute and providing essential information to the entire cancer community who tirelessly advocate on behalf of patients. Since its creation in 1937, NCI has been tracking its research portfolio and over time has developed a robust system for coding each research project the Institute supports. NCI uses highly trained, experienced indexers who carefully review each grant to ensure that a given project's contributions are adequately captured, allowing the dollars associated with the project to be assigned to specific categories.