Senate confirms Zerhouni
Dr. Elias A. Zerhouni became the 15th director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) May 2 when the Senate, without debate, approved the Bush Administration nominee. Zerhouni is the first radiologist to head the NIH, which has an annual budget of
Dr. Elias A. Zerhouni became the 15th director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) May 2 when the Senate, without debate, approved the Bush Administration nominee. Zerhouni is the first radiologist to head the NIH, which has an annual budget of $20.4 billion and funds the majority of the medical research conducted in the U.S. The chair of radiology and executive vice dean for research at Johns Hopkins University fills a two-year vacancy created when the previous NIH director, Dr. Harold Varmus, resigned to head the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.