NIH Director Zerhouni Announces Resignation, Plans To Leave Office at End of October
NIH Director Elias Zerhouni on Wednesday announced that he will resign at the end of October, The Hill reports (Young, The Hill, 9/24). Zerhouni said he expects Raynard Kington, the agency's current deputy director, to fill his position until the end of President Bush's term in office, CongressDaily reports (CongressDaily, 9/24).Zerhouni said he decided to leave NIH before the presidential election "so there is a clear sense that whoever wins the election, NIH has to be a clear priority in their mind" (Harris, New York Times, 9/25). He also said that he plans "to pursue writing projects and explore other professional opportunities" (Reichard, CQ HealthBeat, 9/24).
According to the AP/Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Zerhouni, who was appointed by Bush in 2002, directed a significant reorganization of the $29.5 billion agency that involved focusing on fast-tracking basic scientific ideas into treatments and fostering creative research ideas. In addition, Zerhouni encouraged NIH-funded scientists to release their research findings publicly and supported requests that the Bush administration change a policy that restricted taxpayer-funded studies of "potentially rejuvenating" embryonic stem cells, the AP/Post-Intelligencer reports (Neergaard, AP/Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 9/24). According to the New York Times, the "most controversial part" of Zerhouni's tenure was his 2005 decision to ban agency scientists from consulting for pharmaceutical and medical device companies, which agency scientists said would make it difficult to recruit top researchers. The Times reports that an increasing number of medical schools and groups are limiting the outside consulting positions into which their faculty and staff can enter.
Zerhouni gained prominence as a radiologist at Johns Hopkins University, where he invented numerous radiology devices. He said, "I know there's speculation that I'm going back to Johns Hopkins," adding, "That's not been decided by me at all. I want to finish here, take a few weeks, maybe write a bit and evaluate what I want to do next" (New York Times, 9/25). This is part of the Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.