Gallahan Appointed Deputy Director of DCB
Dr. Daniel Gallahan has been appointed deputy director of NCI's Division of Cancer Biology (DCB). As deputy, Dr. Gallahan will support DCB's mission of furthering cancer biology research through effective management of grants, as well as facilitation of new ideas, concepts, technologies, and opportunities while continuing to oversee the division's efforts in technology and systems biology, specifically the new Integrative Cancer Biology Program.

Prior to his appointment, Dr. Gallahan had been serving as DCB's associate director and chief of its Structural Biology and Molecular Applications Branch. He played a major role in developing and managing NCI's IMAT program, which has led to the development of new technologies for cancer research.

Current, Former NCI Grantees Win Lasker Awards
On September 17, the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation announced the winners of the 2006 Lasker Awards. Three scientists, who are current and former NCI grantees, were honored with the Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research.

Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn of the University of California, San Francisco; Dr. Carol Greider of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; and Dr. Jack Szostak of Harvard Medical School were recognized for their work in predicting and discovering telomerase, an RNA-containing enzyme that synthesizes the ends of chromosomes, protecting them and maintaining the integrity of the genome. Their work laid the foundation for studies that have connected telomerase and telomeres to human cancer and age-related conditions. Drs. Blackburn and Greider currently hold NCI grants; Dr. Szostak is a former NCI grantee.

eHealth Conference Focuses on Patient-Centered Care
Last week, nearly 200 scientists from government, academia, survey research, and public- and private-sector practitioners gathered in Bethesda, Md., for the second annual conference on "Critical Issues in eHealth Research." The meeting focused on patient-centered care and consolidated the conceptual, methodological, and technological issues that emerge as health information of all kinds is managed and communicated through electronic media.

Featured Meetings and Events A calendar of scientific meetings and events sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is available at http://calendar.nih.gov.

Dr. Jon Kerner, deputy director for research dissemination and diffusion in NCI's Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, summarized a number of trends that are driving the field, including the shift to paperless health records in the electronic domain. Referring to the interface between electronic and interpersonal activities, he said, "We have to realize that at the end of the day, all of the electronic data represent real people and patients."