Research Updates in Kidney and Urologic Health

Rodgers Named NIDDK Deputy Director

Griffin Rodgers, M.D., has been named deputy director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases effective January 1, 2001. He replaces L. Earl Laurence, who is retiring as NIDDK's deputy after working at NIH since 1961.

In making the announcement at a meeting of the NIDDK advisory council, NIDDK Director Allen M. Spiegel, M.D., called Dr. Rodgers "an outstanding clinical scientist and molecular hematologist who has made singular contributions to the study of globin disorders." Internationally recognized, Dr. Rodgers has advanced development of treatments for sickle cell anemia and other genetic diseases that affect hemoglobin, the main component of red blood cells.

As deputy director, he will work with Dr. Spiegel to provide scientific leadership and to manage a staff of 900 employees and a $1 billion budget. They plan to expand public outreach and education efforts, particularly in disease prevention and management, improve clinical trial oversight, and provide more training opportunities for basic researchers and physician scientists.

"Rarely is a physician-scientist given the opportunity to ascend from the narrow confines of an individual research focus to the broader concerns affecting a larger segment of society," said Dr. Rodgers. "I am deeply honored to be entrusted with this position and look forward to its challenges and opportunities."

In addition to his new duties, Dr. Rodgers will continue as chief of NIDDK's Clinical and Molecular Hematology Branch, which he has headed since 1998, and will further his research on sickle cell anemia, thalassemias, and other disorders of blood cells.

Originally from New Orleans, Dr. Rodgers received his undergraduate, graduate, and medical degrees from Brown University. He was an intern, resident, and chief resident in internal medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. In 1982, he joined NIDDK as a research fellow and has been a member of the Commissioned Corps since 1989.

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