Mary Hendrix, PhD, Appointed to the NIH Council of Councils

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently announced appointments to the NIH Council of Councils, naming Mary Hendrix, PhD, as liaison to the National Cancer Institute. Dr. Hendrix is president and scientific director of the Children's Memorial Research Center and professor in The Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University and at Northwestern's Feinberg School of Medicine.

The Council is made up of 27 members selected from the NIH Institute and Center (IC) advisory councils and advisory committees to the NIH Office of the Director. The Council will advise the NIH Director on cutting-edge trans-NIH priorities and matters related to the policies and activities of the Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives, established by the NIH Reform Act 2006, and the Office of Portfolio Analysis and Strategic Initiatives (OPASI). The Council also will act as an external advisory panel to the IC Directors during the concept approval stage of the review process for trans-NIH initiatives.

"My charge to the Council is to be bold and define experiments that engage the community that NIH can do and fund reasonably," said NIH Director Elias A. Zerhouni, M.D. "The Council should foster incubation of new ideas and build resources as needed, all driven by analysis of the science."

The Council of Councils and the Common Fund to support trans-NIH initiatives were authorized by the NIH Reform Act of 2006 signed into law by the President in January 2007. This act was the first omnibus reauthorization of NIH in 14 years. A major element of the Reform Act of 2006 was the new authority it gave to the NIH Director to improve program coordination, assemble accurate data, implement strategic plans based on IC-determined priorities, ensure resources are properly allocated, and further maximize investigator-initiated research.

Previous Page