It was a pleasure to welcome Congressional dignitaries from Maryland to NIH’s National Cancer Institute (NCI) at Frederick, MD. They took part in a roundtable discussion highlighting research at NCI Frederick in support of the Cancer Moonshot initiative. Afterwards, they visited a lab to see patient-derived models of cancer under a microscope. In this photo from the July 22 visit, I have my hand raised and standing to my left are (l-r): Senator Chris Van Hollen, Congressman David Trone, and Senator Ben Cardin. To my right is Doug Lowy, Acting NCI director. Doug and Xavier Becerra, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, also greeted these Congressional leaders and helped to direct the roundtable discussion. Credit: NIH
I took part in the July 15 meeting of the NIH Clinical Center’s Research Hospital Board (CCRHRB). The board helps to ensure that the Clinical Center meets or exceeds its standards of excellence. The meeting was also a real special one, bringing the departures of two outstanding board members: Ruth Williams-Brinkley, president of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Mid-Atlantic States, Inc.; and Laura Forese, executive vice president and COO of New York-Presbyterian Hospital.
Laura will be especially missed. She has presided over the CCRHRB with distinction from its first inception in July 2016. Afterwards, photos were taken to mark the occasion. That includes this one showing (l-r) Tara Schwetz, NIH’s Acting Principal Deputy Director; James Gilman, CEO of the Clinical Center; Laura Forese; and me. Credit: NIH
On June 22, NIH was visited by Admiral Rachel L. Levine, the Assistant Secretary for Health of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and head of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. The Admiral was accompanied by several other HHS dignitaries.
It was my pleasure to greet the HHS contingent in the atrium of the NIH Clinical Center. While there, James Gilman (far left), the Clinical Center’s chief executive office, offered a brief overview of the facility to Admiral Levine (middle) and Rear Admiral Denise Hinton (right), Deputy U.S. Surgeon General. I’m standing behind Admiral Levine and next to Jill Rothschild, chief of the Clinical Center’s Pediatric Consult Service. Admiral Levine, a pediatrician, then toured the Clinical Center’s pediatric clinic and later met with NIH’s senior leadership. Afterwards, Admiral Levine joined me in Building One to speak at NIH’s Pride Event. The session included a diverse panel discussion titled “Together Toward Discovery: How intersecting identities impact our NIH work.” Admiral Levine is the first openly transgender four-star officer in the nation’s eight uniformed services. Credit: NIH
It was great to take part in the ribbon-cutting ceremony and officially open the NIH Clinical Center Pharmacy. The fully renovated, 10,000-square-foot facility, located on the first floor of the building’s southeast wing, consists of three parts: the outpatient pharmacy, which dispenses medications to patients who visit the clinical center for periodic checkups or treatment as part of a clinical study; the unit-dose pharmacy, which prepares medications in small doses for patients while staying at the Clinical Center; and the intravenous admixture unit (IVAU), which formulates sterile products, as needed, for patients at the Clinical Center. The Clinical Center Pharmacy will perform all of the above with the help of state-of-the-art automation, including a robotic medication management system.
I’m third from the left in the ribbon-cutting line. To my right, scissors in hand, (l-r) are Richard DeCederfelt, the Clinical Center’s Acting Pharmacy Chief, and James Gilman, CEO of the Clinical Center. Cutting the ribbon to my left (l-r) are Alfred Johnson, NIH’s Deputy Director for Management, and Marilyn Farinre, the Clinical Center’s Pharmacy Operations Chief. Looking on just behind them (l-r) are Tara Schwetz, NIH’s Acting Principal Deputy Director, and Michael Gottesman, NIH’s Deputy Director for Intramural Research. The ribbon-cutting ceremony took place on May 18 in the Outpatient Pharmacy Waiting Room. Credit: NIH
It was an honor to testify on the President’s FY 2023 NIH budget before the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Committee. Also testifying from NIH were five institute directors: Richard Hodes, National Institute on Aging; Nora Volkow, National Institute on Drug Abuse; Gary Gibbons, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; Tony Fauci, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; and Josh Gordon, National Institute of Mental Health. The hearing took place on May 17, 2022 in the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C.
On May 11, I was pleased to appear before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies to discuss NIH’s budget request for Fiscal Year 2023. Joining me (left to right) were leaders of several NIH institutes: Nora Volkow, National Institute on Drug Abuse; Tony Fauci, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; Diana Bianchi, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development; Doug Lowy, National Cancer Institute; and Gary Gibbons, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
I enjoyed taking part in a fireside chat with Nora Volkow (middle), director of NIH’s National Institute on Drug Abuse, and Rebecca Baker (right), director of NIH’s Helping to End Addiction Long-term® Initiative. Our wide-ranging conversation was part of the 11th annual Rx and Illicit Drug Summit, which concludes today. The fireside chat format provided lots of give-and-take on the stage, while we shared with our stakeholders, from federal to family, the latest progress and the continued challenges in NIH’s efforts to discover viable solutions to the nation’s opioid crisis. The conversation took place on the evening of April 19 in the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. Credit: Pierce Harman for Rx and Illicit Drug Summit.
On March 18, President Biden signed the John Lewis National Institute of Minority Health Disparities (NIMHD) Research Endowment Revitalization Act of 2021. It was my honor to be present in the Oval Office for the signing. I’m standing at the far left along with (from l – r): Congresswoman Nanette Diaz Barragán of California; Xavier Becerra, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Congressman Frank Pallone of New Jersey; Congresswoman Nikema Williams of Georgia; and Eliseo Pérez-Stable, NIMHD director. The Act expands eligibility to help institutions build research infrastructure and recruit, train, and maintain a diverse student body and faculty. Credit: The White House
It was an honor to represent NIH on April 13 at the White House’s landmark Maternal Health Cabinet Meeting, chaired by Vice President Kamala Harris (head of the table). The meeting, held in the Ceremonial Room of the White House, focused on discussing the draft White House Blueprint for Addressing the Maternal Health Crisis. During my time with the Vice President and my colleagues, I (seated at the bottom right) highlighted NIH’s actions to improve the amount of research on maternal health, as well as the diversity of researchers conducting this important work. Credit: The White House
On December 2, President Joe Biden visited NIH for a briefing on the importance of vaccines and booster shots. They remain vital this holiday season to slowing the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, the cause of COVID-19, and saving lives. It was my honor to greet the President, though with a careful fist bump, and I got to speak with him briefly before he delivered his remarks about the White House’s strategy for fighting COVID-19 this winter. Credit: NIH
