STEPHEN E. STRAUS, M.D., BECOMES SENIOR ADVISOR TO NIH DIRECTOR

"NIH OLIB (NIH/OD)" <olib@xxxxxxxxxx> · Tue, 7 Nov 2006 16:03:27 -0500

U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services 

NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH 

NIH News 

National Center for Complementary
and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) 

<http://nccam.nih.gov/>

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, November 7, 2006

CONTACT: NIH Press Office, 301-496-5787

STEPHEN E. STRAUS, M.D., BECOMES SENIOR ADVISOR TO NIH
DIRECTOR

On November 7, 2006, Stephen E. Straus, M.D., Director of
the National Center for Complementary and Alternative
Medicine (NCCAM), stepped down from his leadership of the Center for health
reasons.  Straus will become Senior Advisor to National Institutes of Health
(NIH) Director Elias A. Zerhouni, M.D. 

“Steve Straus has done a tremendous job in creating
and leading NCCAM. His total dedication, superb intelligence, extraordinary
vision, high energy, and singular wit are all qualities that make him an
extraordinary leader,” said Dr. Zerhouni.  “Steve has been one of
my most trusted advisors, and I will continue to rely on his experience and
perspective.”

During his tenure as NCCAM’s first Director, Dr.
Straus built a comprehensive research enterprise, championing the efforts to
establish the safety and efficacy of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) practices while upholding the rigorous standards of
science for which the NIH is known. Under his term of leadership from
1999-2006, CAM research at NIH grew threefold.

Dr. Straus led the evolution of CAM
science beyond the advocacy and skepticism and polarization it once engendered
to earned legitimacy as a research area.  Studies encompassing a wide range of CAM practices including mind-body medicine, biologically
based and manipulative practices, whole medical systems, and energy medicine
have resulted in more than 1500 papers published in peer-reviewed journals. 
Results of NCCAM’s first large clinical trials showed the effectiveness
of acupuncture and glucosamine/chondroitin for osteoarthritis of the knee.

Dr. Zerhouni has named Ruth L. Kirschstein, M.D., formerly
the Acting Director of NIH, to be the Acting Director of NCCAM.  Dr.
Kirschstein has also served as the director of the National Institute of
General Medical Sciences.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) —- The
Nation's Medical Research Agency —- includes 27 Institutes and Centers and
is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the
primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and
translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and
cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its
programs, visit <www.nih.gov>.

###

This NIH News Release is available online at:

http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/nov2006/nccam-07.htm.

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