On Sept. 1, 2006, President Bush appointed John E. Niederhuber, M.D., to be the 13th director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Niederhuber has been a professor, cancer center director, National Cancer Advisory Board chair, external advisor to the NCI, grant reviewer, and laboratory investigator supported by NCI and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Dr. Niederhuber came to NCI from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine, where he served as professor of surgery and oncology and as director of its Comprehensive Cancer Center from 1997 to 2002. Dr. Niederhuber earned his medical degree at Ohio State University School of Medicine, Columbus.

Niederhuber joined the NCI in September 2005 as deputy director for translational and clinical sciences and almost immediately became NCI’s chief operating officer after Dr. von Eschenbach was named FDA acting director.