Douglas R. Lowy has been appointed as the New Acting Director of National Cancer Institute

Douglas R. Lowy has been appointed as the new Acting Director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), resuming the role following the resignation of Kimryn Rathmell.

Kimryn Rathmell was the Director of the National Cancer Institute, USA until January 20, 2025.

Dr. Lowy is a member of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and the National Academy of Medicine of the NAS, reflecting his distinguished career in cancer research and leadership in public health.

Leadership at NCI

Dr. Douglas R. Lowy has played a pivotal role in leading the National Cancer Institute (NCI) as its principal deputy director since July 2010. Dr. Douglas R. Lowy served as the Acting Director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) from April 2015 to October 2017, following the resignation of Dr. Harold E. Varmus.

He took on the role again from April to November 2019, while Dr. Norman Sharpless temporarily served as the Acting Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Dr. Lowy resumed the position on May 1, 2022, after Dr. Sharpless stepped down, continuing until October 3, 2022, when Dr. Monica Bertagnolli was appointed as the new Director. He once again assumed the role of Acting Director in November 2023, following Dr. Bertagnolli’s resignation to become the Director of the National Institutes of Health.

Throughout his tenure, Dr. Lowy has advanced several key initiatives, including:

– NCI-Designated Cancer Centers: Supporting and enhancing the research capacity of cancer centers across the U.S.
– Health Disparities and Pediatric Oncology Research: Increasing investments in these critical areas.
– Investigator-Initiated Research: Championing research driven by investigators to foster innovation.
– Precision Medicine Initiative: Spearheading the NCI-MATCH trial, which utilized genomic sequencing for personalized cancer treatment. The trial’s success led to multiple FDA approvals.

– Cancer Moonshot: Overseeing the ESCUDDO trial, which investigates the efficacy of one-dose versus two-dose HPV vaccination, with potential global impact on vaccination strategies.

Research Contributions

Dr. Lowy serves as the chief of the Laboratory of Cellular Oncology in NCI’s Center for Cancer Research.

Dr. Lowy’s research primarily focuses on the fundamental and translational aspects of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and cancer genes. Collaborating with Dr. John Schiller in the Laboratory of Cellular Oncology, their work has unveiled key elements of the HPV life cycle, contributed to the development of the FDA-approved HPV vaccines, and explained the mechanisms behind their high efficacy.

Additionally, Dr. Lowy’s research is investigating the DLC1 tumor suppressor, which encodes a Rho-GAP often down-regulated in various cancers, leading to elevated Rho activity in advanced cancers. His team has uncovered critical scaffold functions of DLC1, including its protein-protein interactions that regulate its tumor suppressor activity. They have also identified kinases that modulate DLC1’s functions and the mechanisms by which these kinases activate or inhibit its activity.

Education

Dr. Douglas R. Lowy earned his medical degree (M.D.) in 1968 from New York University Grossman School of Medicine. He completed his internal medicine training in 1970 at Stanford University, followed by dermatology training in 1973 at Yale University.

Awards and Honors

Dr. Lowy has received numerous prestigious awards for his contributions to cancer research and public health:

– National Medal of Technology and Innovation (2014) by President Obama

– Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award (2017)
– AACR Distinguished Public Service Award (2020)
– AACR-Margaret Foti Award for Leadership and Extraordinary Achievements in Cancer Research (2021)
– Prince Mahidol Award in Public Health (2022)
– Federal Employee of the Year Service to America Medal (2007)
– Sabin Gold Medal Award (2011)
– Szent-Györgyi Prize for Progress in Cancer Research (2018)