This morning, I announced that I will step down as NIGMS Director at the end of June 2011. I had no intention of leaving NIGMS at this point, but am doing so in support of the career of my wife, Wendie, a leading breast imaging clinical researcher. After a change in her situation in May, we have been looking for a suitable position for her to continue her work on testing new methods for breast cancer screening. She has been actively recruited by a number of institutions around the country, and we have particularly explored options in the Baltimore-Washington area.
After considering all known options, we have decided to accept positions at the University of Pittsburgh. She will be starting in the Department of Radiology at Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC in March 2011. I will be waiting until the end of June to move in order to complete some important projects at NIGMS and to allow our youngest child to finish her freshman year of high school. I will be serving as the University of Pittsburgh’s Associate Senior Vice Chancellor for Science Strategy and Planning in the Health Sciences and as a faculty member in the School of Medicine’s Department of Computational and Systems Biology.
My time at NIGMS has been one of the highlights of my career. When I joined the Institute more than 7 years ago, I was immediately impressed with the dedication and competence of the staff at all levels. During my tenure, we have been able to recruit a number of outstanding individuals to join this team. So while I am very sad to leave such an outstanding organization, I am confident that it will be in good hands, and I look forward to the new adventures that await me and my family.
Jeremy, Thank you for your tireless advocacy on our behalf, it is greatly appreciated!
Jeremy:
You will be missed! Thanks for doing so much for basic research in these days of a kind of ‘translation’ that has nothing to do with ribosomes.
Very best wishes, Jeremy. You will be missed. Your efforts have brought solid improvements in programs, and you have served as an inspirational leader. Thank you,
Mike
Mike, I am sure he will be missed at the NIH and Washington. But he will be a great addition to our medical school at Pitt and he will also be your constituent!
Saleem
I am sure I speak for many, many colleagues in thanking you for your extraordinary tenure at NIGMS. I especially appreciate your candidness, your willingness to share with the extramural community the details of decision-making and your sense of balance. You will be greatly missed.
Good luck on the move and new jobs. Change is good.
I appreciate your leadership and service to NIH. Thank you!
Brian
Best wishes to both of you in your new appointments. We in the blogosphere will certainly miss your efforts to communicate online and the grant geeks will miss your fountain of grant review/funding data.
Jeremy,
I know I speak on behalf of the American Society for Cell Biology in saying that we are very sorry you’re leaving the NIGMS. We are very grateful for your leadership and many accomplishments. Best of luck during your transition and in Pittsburgh.
Best of luck to you and to Wendie!!
Karen
I have always enjoyed your posts on the Feedback Loop. All of us appreciate your service to NIGMS and wish you best of success in your transition!
Congratulations to your wife and you on your new appointments, and we new investigators will miss your data, too. Thanks for being an example of how all of us should be moving forward, in many ways.
I echo everything said above. In addition, I want to add that you better start a new blogge when you get to Pitt!
I’m so proud of you for moving to support your wife’s career! And telling us so!! Though we will miss your outstanding leadership and service on behalf of basic biomedical research.
Thank you for your work and dedication. I wish you and your wife all the very best in your future endeavors.
Thank you for your tireless support of investigator-initiated fundamental research, and for encouraging dialogue between NIGMS and its constituents. On behalf of all members of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, we wish you success in your new position at the University of Pittsburgh. Your outstanding leadership at NIGMS has been very much appreciated.
Thanks especially for compiling all of that grant data. The transparency and feedback mechanisms at NIGMS are the best. Let’s hope other NIH institutes continue to build from what you started.
Jeremy: You will be greatly missed at NIGMS. Thanks for your continued communication with grantees and your leadership
Jeremy,
I am touched by the personal and heartfelt tone of your career update message and wish you and Wendie success in this next phase of your lives together.
Best,
Roger