Dr. Barbara Spalholz has served as Chief of the Cancer Cell Biology Branch, Division of Cancer Biology (DCB), National Cancer Institute (NCI) since 2003.  As Branch Chief she directs an extramural research grant program directed at understanding the biological basis of cancer and provides NCI management with recommendations concerning funding needs, priorities and strategies for support of basic cancer cell biology research.  She also manages the grant portfolio on cancer cell metabolism.  Prior to becoming Branch Chief, she served as a Program Director in the Cancer Cell Biology Branch managing the grant portfolio on deregulated cell cycle control and cell death.  In addition, to her branch activities she has served on a number of recent NCI and NIH committees including the NCI OGA ARRA Implementation Working Group, the NIH Enhancing Peer Review SubGroup 1, and the NIH High Risk, High Reward Implementation Working Group.  She also served on the initial Implementation Committee for the NIH Director’s Pioneer Award, the Committee to Consider Shortening the R01 Application, the Center for Scientific Review (CSR) Molecular Oncogenesis Study Section Guidelines Committee, and the CSR Molecular Approaches to Cell Function and Interaction Committee Boundaries Team. 

 

Dr. Spalholz graduated summa cum laude from Mount Holyoke College in 1978 and earned a Ph.D. in 1984 from Yale University, Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry.  She undertook post-doctoral research training in the Laboratory of Tumor Virus Biology, NCI under the direction of Dr. Peter Howley. Her research there focused on transcriptional regulation of papillomaviruses.  She continued this research as a senior staff fellow in NCI until joining the Division of Cancer Biology in 1994.