Norman “Ned” Sharpless Oct. 17 was sworn in as the 15th NCI director, succeeding Harold Varmus, who stepped down as director in March 2015, and Douglas Lowy, who has served as acting director since that time.
In the absence of the federal funding, cancer research will be leaning on private funders. But few private funders have the freedom to ask fundamental questions—questions whose answers may not have an immediate clinical impact but can dramatically advance scientific knowledge.
