Griff Rodgers will direct National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

Griff Rodgers will direct National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

On April 2, 2007, NIH Director Elias A. Zerhouni, MD announced the appointment of Griffin P. Rodgers, MD, as director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). Dr. Zerhouni's said, "Griff Rodgers is an outstanding physician-scientist and molecular hematologist. He has made singular contributions to the study of globin disorders and is internationally recognized for his contributions to the development of effective therapy for sickle cell anemia and other genetic diseases of hemoglobin. In addition to his research experience, Dr. Rodgers is a dedicated and knowledgeable clinician and a first rate research administrator. He has all the qualities we search for in an Institute Director."

Dr. Rodgers was appointed Deputy Director of NIDDK in January 2001, and then Acting Director of NIDDK as well as chief of NIDDK's Clinical and Molecular Hematology Branch, which he has headed since 1998. He received his undergraduate, graduate and medical degrees from Brown University in Providence, RI. Dr. Rodgers performed his residency and chief residency in internal medicine at Barnes Hospital and the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. His fellowship training in hematology/oncology was in a joint program of the NIH with George Washington University and the Washington Veterans Administration Medical Center. In addition, he earned a master's degree in business administration from Johns Hopkins University in 2005.

As an investigator, Dr. Rodgers is widely recognized for his contributions to the development of the first effective—and now FDA approved—therapy for sickle cell anemia. He has received numerous research awards and honors, including the 1998 Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Foundation Award, the 2000 Arthur S. Fleming Award, the Legacy of Leadership Award in 2002, and a Mastership from the American College of Physicians in 2005.

As director of the NIDDK, Dr. Rodgers will oversee an annual budget of $1.8 billion and a staff of 650 scientists, physician-scientists, and administrators. The Institute conducts and supports research on many of the most serious diseases affecting public health including diabetes, endocrinology, and metabolic diseases; digestive diseases and nutrition, including obesity; and kidney, urologic and hematologic diseases. NIDDK conducts and supports much of the clinical research on the diseases of internal medicine and related subspecialty fields as well as many basic science disciplines at its research facilities in Bethesda, MD and Phoenix, AZ, and at research institutions and medical centers throughout the United States. In addition, NIDDK supports education programs to translate the results of research to health professionals, patients and the public.

Source: NIH press release, April 2, 2007, http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/apr2007/niddk-02.htm