Dec 9, Reuters - The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services named Lawrence Tabak, the principal deputy director of the National Institutes of Health NIH, as the biomedical research agency's acting director.
Tabak will take over his new position on December 20 and lead the agency as it looks to find a successor to Francis Collins, the longest-serving NIH director, who has said he would step down by the end of 2021 after 12 years in the role.
Tabak has been with the NIH for more than two decades and has been its principal deputy director since 2010.
HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement that Tabak's long tenure and broad experience at the NIH will ensure that the agency is in capable hands and will serve it well during the search for Dr. Collins' successor.
Before joining the NIH, Tabak was senior associate dean and professor of dentistry, biochemistry, and biophysics at the University of Rochester in New York.
The NIH has been one of the leading institutions in the United States' response to the COVID 19 epidemic, helping conduct research on vaccines and treatments to combat the crisis.