Varmus Discusses Grant Policy, Changes in Congress, & Ebola

The Directors: UPMC’s Byrd and Jefferson’s Chapman speak about avoiding catastrophism and using bridge funding to keep labs open
“There’s a tightening of the belt, and when the belt gets tightened, it has downstream effects.”

In recent months, several directors of cancer centers, appearing on The Directors, a segment of The Cancer Letter Podcast, mentioned that their institutions are increasingly providing small grants—typically in the range of $50,000—to scientists to enable them to keep their labs open.

April 24, 2026

Vol.52 No.16

By Claire Marie Porter and Paul Goldberg

NCI

At AACR, Letai announces prevention and screening project for southern Appalachia, describes a future without paylines
There’s “clear evidence that funding is moving and the system is working.”

Tucked in at the end of a 20-minute talk that covered paylines, promising young investigators, and precision medicine, NCI Director Anthony G. Letai beefed up the alliteration with two more words that begin with a “p”: prevention and pilot.

Problem: Misinformation and stigma prevent uptake of HPV vaccines and screening. Solution: A comic book

In theory, cervical cancer could be almost entirely eliminated with prevention and screening efforts, thanks to a quirk of the disease’s histology: Virtually all cases are caused by high-risk human papillomavirus, for which there is both a vaccine and an effective screening test.

Directing the narrative of your survival: How The Remission Film Festival centers survivorship stories

Cancer survivorship in the United States now tops 18 million people. That is a lot of people walking around with a shared experience, and yet somehow we barely talk about what surviving cancer actually does to you.

April 24, 2026

Vol.52 No.16

By Edward Miskie

Guest Editorial

Forty years after Chernobyl: Little evidence to show that radiation released from the accident increased cancers globally

On April 28, 1986, when a radioactive plume reached Sweden, the world discovered that there had been a huge accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power facility in Ukraine. The accident had occurred two days earlier, and the details were hidden by Soviet authorities.

Kennedy hints at intended USPSTF reforms at Senate Finance Committee hearing

At the Senate Finance Committee hearing on April 22, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. hinted at how he intends to reform the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, a highly respected, independent organization that weighs evidence to make recommendations on screening for diseases.

April 24, 2026

Vol.52 No.16

By Claire Marie Porter

Varmus Discusses Grant Policy, Changes in Congress, & Ebola

YOU MAY BE INTERESTED IN

The Directors: UPMC’s Byrd and Jefferson’s Chapman speak about avoiding catastrophism and using bridge funding to keep labs open
“There’s a tightening of the belt, and when the belt gets tightened, it has downstream effects.”

At AACR, Letai announces prevention and screening project for southern Appalachia, describes a future without paylines
There’s “clear evidence that funding is moving and the system is working.”

Problem: Misinformation and stigma prevent uptake of HPV vaccines and screening. Solution: A comic book

Directing the narrative of your survival: How The Remission Film Festival centers survivorship stories

Forty years after Chernobyl: Little evidence to show that radiation released from the accident increased cancers globally

Kennedy hints at intended USPSTF reforms at Senate Finance Committee hearing

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Varmus Discusses Grant Policy, Changes in Congress, & Ebola

YOU MAY BE INTERESTED IN

The Directors: UPMC’s Byrd and Jefferson’s Chapman speak about avoiding catastrophism and using bridge funding to keep labs open“There’s a tightening of the belt, and when the belt gets tightened, it has downstream effects.”

At AACR, Letai announces prevention and screening project for southern Appalachia, describes a future without paylinesThere’s “clear evidence that funding is moving and the system is working.”

Problem: Misinformation and stigma prevent uptake of HPV vaccines and screening. Solution: A comic book

Directing the narrative of your survival: How The Remission Film Festival centers survivorship stories

Forty years after Chernobyl: Little evidence to show that radiation released from the accident increased cancers globally

Kennedy hints at intended USPSTF reforms at Senate Finance Committee hearing

Never miss an issue!

Login

The Directors: UPMC’s Byrd and Jefferson’s Chapman speak about avoiding catastrophism and using bridge funding to keep labs open
“There’s a tightening of the belt, and when the belt gets tightened, it has downstream effects.”

At AACR, Letai announces prevention and screening project for southern Appalachia, describes a future without paylines
There’s “clear evidence that funding is moving and the system is working.”