Nobel Laureate Harold Varmus, MD to delivery anniversary discourse at The New York Academy of Medicine November 5

Harold Varmus, MD, co-recipient of the 1989 Nobel Prize in Medicine and Lewis Thomas University Professor of Medicine at Meyer Cancer Center of Weill Cornell Medical College, will deliver the 168th Anniversary Discourse at The New York Academy of Medicine. The event will take place on Thursday, November 5, 2015 at 6:00 p.m. at the Academy (1216 Fifth Avenue at 103rd Street) and is free and open to the public with registration.

Each year, the Academy hosts its Anniversary Discourse and Awards to pay special tribute to individuals with distinguished accomplishments in health policy, public health, clinical practice, and basic biomedical research as well as an individual honored for special contributions to the Academy. The tradition of an annual discourse on an important issue of the day has continued since the Academy’s founding in 1847.

“The Academy is deeply committed to conducting and advancing evidence-based, policy-relevant research to improve the public’s health,” said Jo Ivey Boufford, MD, Academy President. “As a Nobel laureate and former NIH Director, Dr. Varmus’ concerns about the model for funding biomedical research bring a timely and important perspective to this year’s Discourse.”  

Dr. Varmus will deliver the Discourse on the topic of “Rescuing Biomedical Research.” The erroneous assumption of continuous rapid growth in biomedical science has created an unsustainable hypercompetitive system that is discouraging even the most outstanding prospective students from entering the profession, and making it difficult for seasoned investigators to produce their best work.  This is a recipe for long-term decline, and the problems cannot be solved with simplistic approaches. Dr. Varmus will highlight the issues head-on and help us rethink some fundamental features of the U.S. biomedical research ecosystem.

Harold Varmus, MD, is co-recipient of the 1989 Nobel Prize for studies of the genetic basis of cancer. Dr. Varmus joined the Meyer Cancer Center of Weill Cornell Medical College as the Lewis Thomas University Professor of Medicine on April 1, 2015.  Prior to joining Meyer Cancer Center, Dr. Varmus was the Director of the National Cancer Institute for five years.  He was also the President of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center for 10 years and Director of the National Institutes of Health for six years.  

A graduate of Amherst College and Harvard University in English literature and Columbia University in Medicine, Dr. Varmus trained at Columbia University Medical Center, the National Institutes of Health, and the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), before becoming a member of the UCSF basic science faculty for over two decades. He is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine and is involved in several initiatives to promote science and health in developing countries.  

Dr. Varmus is the author of over 350 scientific papers and five books, including a recent memoir titled The Art and Politics of Science. He was a co-chair of President Obama’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, a co-founder and Chairman of the Board of the Public Library of Science, and chair of the Scientific Board of the Gates Foundation Grand Challenges in Global Health.

About the Academy

The New York Academy of Medicine advances solutions that promote the health and well-being of people in cities worldwide.

Established in 1847, The New York Academy of Medicine continues to address the health challenges facing New York City and the world’s rapidly growing urban populations. We accomplish this through our Institute for Urban Health, home of interdisciplinary research, evaluation, policy and program initiatives; our world class historical medical library and its public programming in history, the humanities and the arts; and our Fellows program, a network of more than 2,000 experts elected by their peers from across the professions affecting health. Our current priorities are healthy aging, disease prevention, and eliminating health disparities.