Thursday National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Francis S. Collins, MD, PhD, announced the appointment of Lawrence A. Tabak, DDS, PhD, as NIH principal deputy director. Tabak assumes the position held by Raynard Kington, MD, PhD, who served as NIH deputy director since 2003, as well as acting NIH director from October 2008 to August 2009. Kington is leaving the NIH to become the president of Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa. Tabak has served as the director of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research from September 2000. He also served as acting NIH deputy director in 2009 and most recently as the acting director of the Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiative (DPCPSI).
Collins previously announced the appointment of James M. Anderson, MD, PhD, as DPCPSI director. DPCPSI’s mission includes identifying emerging scientific opportunities, rising public health challenges, and scientific knowledge gaps that merit further research. The Division plans and implements trans-NIH initiatives supported by the Common Fund and coordinates research related to AIDS, behavioral and social sciences, women’s health and disease prevention. Anderson currently is professor and chair of the Department of Cell and Molecular Physiology in the School of Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a position he has held since 2002.
