Biden Names Cancer Surgeon Head of NIH

If approved, Bertagnoli would replace Francis Collins, the doctor who led the NIH for more than a decade and is perhaps best known for his work on the human genome. After the coronavirus outbreak, he found himself under heavy fire from Republicans for his response to debates over the origins of the virus and the country’s response to the pandemic.

Bertagnoli will have to decide how to respond to Republican concerns about potentially dangerous virus research, as well as those of independent senators. Bernie SandersThe view is that government agencies could do more to combat high drug prices.

But Biden avoided those controversies when announcing his nomination. Instead, he cited her accomplishments as director of the National Cancer Institute, an agency of the NIH. “Dr. Bertagnoli advanced my cancer moonshot to end cancer as we know it. We launched breakthroughs in prevention and early detection, a National Navigation Program for Childhood Cancer, and additional programs to bring clinical trials to more Americans,” the president said in a statement.

Bertagnoli is known for his unflinching attitude and broad support in the scientific community.

While Collins was known for his consistent leadership, Bertagnoli is expected to push the $45 billion institution, the largest funder of health researchers in the country, into the future. The White House declined to interview Mr. Bertagnoli.

Those who have worked with her say she will blaze new trails.

“Francis was like the Eisenhower administration. Too bold, too continuous, too trusting, too unfriendly, but no one expected him to try anything really wild.” Greg Simon, former president of the nonprofit Biden Cancer Initiative, said. “This is going to look like the Kennedy administration.”

Bertagnoli may have no choice but to be different. The NIH, which has traditionally enjoyed bipartisan support from Congress, will run a health research organization at a time when alternative truths and facts are the norm, even at the congressional level.

Still, Mr. Fauci believes Mr. Bertagnoli is up to the task, and for good reason. “I was one of the people who strongly suggested that we consider her as a candidate for NIH director,” he said. “I think she had a strong sense of responsibility that she wanted to give back because she had benefited from NIH support over the years.

clear vision

Bertagnoli, 64, began his training as a cancer surgeon in the 1980s, when it was still a men’s club, but has amassed accolades and leadership roles. She was Chief of Surgery Oncology at Dana-Farber Brigham Cancer Center and led both the Oncology Clinical Trials Alliance and the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

She took office in October, becoming the first female director of the National Cancer Institute. If confirmed as NIH director, she would be the second female director after Bernadine Healy.

“She is a female leader in oncology.

Knudsen explained that thick skin and a clear vision propel Bertagnoli as a leader. “We wouldn’t be where we are in our careers if chatter and distractions kept us from working.”

Those who have worked with her say she is easygoing but not intrusive. “She can even give you a velvet no,” says Ellen Sigal, founder of the advocacy group Friends of Cancer Research. “What you hear from her is true.”

U.S. Agency for International Development Undersecretary for Global Health Atul Gawande, who worked with Bertagnoli for nearly 30 years before joining the Biden administration, underwent training under Bertagnoli before she led the Department of Surgical Oncology at Brigham University. I worked under her when I was Gawande said Bertagnolli handled the most difficult oncosurgical cases, including rare tumors that other surgeons were reluctant to do.

“She gave me the most difficult and messy surgery where I had to find a solution to a hairy problem,” he says, all the while keeping the operating room tight, focused, and somehow fun. was operating. “She comes to the operating room, but she is happy every day,” Gawande said.

Bertagnoli also faces the health trial that every American fears.

Just months into her new job at the National Cancer Institute, she was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer. It’s a treatable cancer if caught early, but “knowing about cancer as a doctor is one thing, experiencing it first-hand as a patient is one thing.” she wrote at the time. “To everyone who has cancer today, I really am with you on this issue.”

It was a humble window into a patient’s experience, but it wasn’t the first time for her that Bertagnoli’s son had autism.

“Throughout her life with her own child, she has faced challenges, limitations and uncertainties in the healthcare system, knowledge,” Gawande said.

“Never decline an invitation”

People who have worked there say that leading the NIH, one of the world’s largest scientific research organizations with 27 island-based, independent laboratories and centers, each with its own budget, is this. He said it was one of the country’s most difficult government administration jobs.

“They want to do what they’ve been doing for 20 years. They don’t want to do anything new,” Simon said of the lab directors.

To attract them, or at least to hunt them down, the NIH director must be trusted and respected by the scientific community.

Bertagnolli’s career as a surgeon isn’t the typical training for an NIH director, even if he’s made a career worthy of science.

Even the director of the NIH needs to know how Washington does it, and Bertagnoli has spent just seven months preparing at the National Cancer Institute.

and Q&A on agency website After announcing his resignation, Mr Collins offered advice he would give to his successor.

Collins estimates he has recorded more than 1,000 one-on-one meetings with lawmakers and senators, stressing that “never turn down an invitation to meet with a lawmaker, even if you’re really busy.”

Unpretentious and a good listener, Bertagnoli has the skills to learn the hill, says George Dimetri, a medical oncologist and director of the Dana-Farber Sarcoma Center who has worked with Bertagnoli for more than 20 years.

“Monica is Monica. People don’t call her Dr. Bertagnoli. She’s Monica. She can make the most of it,” Demetri said.

Raised on a Wyoming ranch, Bertagnoli is known for wearing cowboy boots and a vintage Ford Mustang with a reputation for being fast.

Being from Wyoming may give him credibility with congressional Republicans. “Geography helps build trust,” says Sudip Parikh, his CEO at the American Association for the Advancement of Science. “When you’re in a place where you understand how people approach the world, it’s helpful to be able to start with a shared history, even if you don’t come to the same conclusions.”

Senate approval

Her ability to connect will soon be put to the test, at a Senate confirmation hearing.

It will likely center around two controversial issues: the origin of the novel coronavirus and the cost of medicines.

Republican lawmakers investigating the NIH have lashed out at Bertagnolli over the theory that the agency’s grant to an organization called the EcoHealth Alliance, which was working with Chinese researchers on the virus, caused the pandemic. expected.

Shelly Moore Capito (RW. Virginia), during a recent Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, urged Acting Director Lawrence Tabak of the NIH to take a formal review of the agency’s COVID-19 response and spending to bring the topic to the fore. suggested that should be taken up.

Sanders, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Work and Pensions Committee, spoke from across the aisle about why the NIH is investing in drug development and not doing more to keep prices down. It is likely that Mr. Bertagnoli will be questioned.

In a recent letter obtained by POLITICO, Sanders reminded Biden that he voted against confirming Robert Caliph as FDA Commissioner. “We strongly oppose any prospective candidate for a major federal health agency who is not prepared to significantly reduce prescription prices.” Drugs. “

Bertagnolli might do well to draw on its apolitical roots in cancer surgery and science, Demetri said. It is a health science, health research institute. ”

As for the pressure cooker dynamics, “I don’t think she’ll have a hard time dealing with it,” Fauci said. As a surgeon, “almost every day, someone’s life is in your hands. It’s a pressure situation.”