Thursday, 11:10 PM
High-Level Journal Summary: Instead of getting a summary of the last 4 days of journaling, sharing a new article from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) about the retirement of their current Overall Director.
This event rarely happens, so when it does take place, it is to be noted. My first question has to do with who is taking their place in such a short period of time. In just a bit over a month, Dr. Elias A. Zerhouni will be replaced with a senior person -- and just at election time, too.
It makes me wonder how such processes happen at a location such as NIH. Is this a political process? Is it not? Is someone else pushing so hard for this position that this is an inevitable switch? Call me naive for thinking so, but I have a sense that this spot could be made wide open for a past alumnus. As wrong as I may be, we shall see. I could be very wrong, but my guess is interesting.
Countdowns:
1.) Day 28 of 28 in Cycle 1 of the Avastin + Enzastaurin Clinical Trial at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
2.) On 10/10/08, meet with CRNP Cheryl Royce at NIH (the National Institutes of Health). Review all statistics from my day of testing today.
3.) On 10/10/08, meet with the Avastin team at NIH to get my next Avastin regimen. This will be the first time we have delivered all the medication within about 30 minutes, from start to finish. I hope that delivery goes well this time.
4.) On 10/10/08, I fly from Virginia to Florida for a family wedding. Prayerfully, this one is a good one.
2008 Seizure Activity:
1.) Last Simple Partial Seizure, or SPS, was 27 days ago.
2.) In 2008, I have had 80 SPS's in 283 days. This is an average of 1 SPS every 3.5 days.
Website Updates:
On 10/7/08, I sent an e-mail about the "Primo Fest 2008." Since that time, I was able to learn that I sent everyone to the wrong e-mail address within facebook. Here is the correct new address in facebook:
If this information does not work well for you personally, then just read the data on the Media tab. That should answer so many questions well. Note that doing it all on facebook, though, does centralize all information.
Actual Journal: Just when I was about to deliver information from calculating data over the last 4 days, I stand here corrected. It seems that whenever I go to the National Institutes of Health, I get information that is immediately worth sharing. (Plus, my Mom shared it with me, making it even more compelling.)
Here is information just published 2 days ago which needs immediate sharing, just because it is such a rare event at NIH. The current Overall Director of NIH is named Elias A. Zerhouni. He has been in this position for about 6.5 years. This is very interesting timing. I usually do not take guesses for what is going on, but I have this instinct for what may be happening for Dr. Zerhouni's retirement. I will share it after this article is posted.
Trade one for another?
News Advisory
Elias A. Zerhouni to End Tenure as Director of the National Institutes of Health
Bethesda, Md, September 24, 2008 — Elias A. Zerhouni, M.D., the director of the National Institutes of Health, today announced his plans to step down at the end of October 2008 to pursue writing projects and explore other professional opportunities.
Dr. Zerhouni, a physician scientist and world-renowned leader in radiology research, has served as NIH director since May 2002. He led the agency through a challenging period that required innovative solutions to transform basic and clinical research into tangible benefits for patients and their families. One of the hallmarks of his tenure is the NIH Roadmap for Medical Research, launched in 2003, after extensive consultations with the scientific community. The NIH Roadmap brought together all of the NIH 27 Institutes and Centers to fund compelling research initiatives that could have a major impact on science, but that no single institute could tackle alone. Additional information about the NIH Roadmap can be found at www.nihroadmap.nih.gov.
Dr. Zerhouni also launched new programs to encourage high-risk innovative research, such as the Director's Pioneer Awards and New Innovator Awards, and focused especially on the need to support new investigators and foster their independence. During his tenure, Zerhouni worked to lower barriers between disciplines of science and encourage trans-NIH collaborations. For example, he inspired significant interdisciplinary efforts such as the NIH Strategic Plan for Obesity Research and the Neuroscience Blueprint.
Zerhouni also led a major reform of the translational and clinical research system in the United States. He also worked to improve public access to scientific information. These efforts, along with his continual advocacy for the public's investment in the NIH, greatly contributed to Congress passing the NIH Reform Act of 2006, which was a sign of renewed confidence in the NIH. (For more detailed information, see a listing of key accomplishments attached to this release.)
"I have had the privilege of leading one of the greatest institutions in the world for six and a half years," Dr. Zerhouni said. "NIH's strength comes from the extraordinary commitment and excellence of its people in serving a noble mission. It also comes from the nation's scientific community, whose discoveries alleviate the suffering of patients throughout the world. Over the past six years, we experienced a revolution in the biomedical sciences and I feel fortunate to have been part of it. I will miss the NIH and all my colleagues, not only for their friendship and support through ‘thick and thin,' but also for their essential role in the progress we made in advancing innovative research, fostering scientific collaboration, supporting young scientists, and enhancing basic, translational, and clinical research, despite great challenges."
"Elias has been a powerful voice for the medical research community as head of the NIH. His tenure has been marked by the spirit of collaboration, good management and transformation. The Roadmap for Medical Research that he developed and implemented will benefit the health of this nation for many years to come," said Secretary of Health and Human Services Michael O. Leavitt. "His many achievements include promotion of genetic research, support for advances of biodefense research and helping raise awareness of women's heart disease. I want to thank Elias for his leadership and wish him the best of luck as he begins this new chapter."
NIH is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and is the nation's premiere biomedical research agency. The agency has more than 18,000 employees and a fiscal year 2008 budget of $29.5 billion. It supports more than 325,000 researcher personnel at more than 3,100 institutions throughout the United States, and around the world.
The Office of the Director, the central office at NIH, is responsible for setting policy for NIH, which includes 27 Institutes and Centers. This involves planning, managing, and coordinating the programs and activities of all NIH components. The Office of the Director also includes program offices which are responsible for stimulating specific areas of research throughout NIH. Additional information is available at http://www.nih.gov/icd/od/.
If NIH really wants to have one of their most outspoken retirees, this could be an opening for the position of Dr. Francis S. Collins, who recently retired from NIH after heading their Human Genome Project. He is seen as one of their leading scientists. When I last talked with him, he did not have things blocked into his schedule.
This response was amazingly wide open for a man in this world who is so curious about discovery. How could he go for months on end without a hard, tough project in front of him? The next steps at NIH seem to fit this bill, but Dr. Collins made it clear to me that he wants to be able to discover the net new work himself. Could this be the event that precedes such an event? Perhaps.
