Obama selects PLoS Co-Founder Harold Varmus as Director of National Cancer Institute

It was announced by the White House on Tuesday that Harold Varmus, who is currently the President of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, has been appointed as the Director of the National Cancer Institute. In light of his new appointment, Harold will also shortly be stepping down as the Chair of the PLoS Board.

As the Co-Founder and Chair of PLoS, Harold’s vision, persistence and energy has been pivotal in building PLoS into the thriving organization it is today – a robust foundation on which the PLoS staff and Board will continue to develop more effective and open research communication.

More broadly, Harold’s contribution towards driving increased public access to scientific and medical literature cannot be overstated. We will miss Harold’s direct involvement in our organization, but the staff and Board would like to publicly offer our warmest congratulations to Harold on his new appointment.