STAT+: NIAID appoints new acting director after weeks-long questions over leadership

The National Institutes of Health has appointed researcher John Powers III to lead its infectious disease institute on an acting basis, after weeks of being in leadership limbo following reports that the previous director, Jeffrey Taubenberger, had stepped down. The appointment of Powers, previously a senior adviser at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and Taubenberger’s deputy, comes at a moment of heightened attention for the institute. The NIH’s second-largest agency, responsible for $6.5 billion worth of funding, has been without a permanent leader since the ousting of Jeanne Marrazzo last March. In recent weeks, a handful of other top leaders have also been reassigned to other posts, causing lawmakers to express concern about the bench of infectious disease expertise at a time of alarm over the recent hantavirus outbreak and the Ebola outbreak in Central Africa.  The news was announced to NIH in an email, seen by STAT, sent to staff Tuesday morning.  Powers “brings extensive experience in clinical infectious diseases, clinical research, regulatory science and public health leadership,” the email said. Continue to STAT+ to read the full story…