Wells Messersmith, MD, the University of Colorado Cancer Center’s associate director of clinical services and head of the CU Department of Medicine’s Division of Medical Oncology, has been appointed to the National Cancer Institute’s Board of Scientific Advisors, giving him a seat at the table for discussions of how to advance cancer research nationwide.
Messersmith has been told he’s the first Colorado representative on the 30-member panel in its 29-year history of advising the NCI, the federal government’s foremost cancer research agency.
“It’s an honor to be appointed, but most importantly, it shows that the national prominence of Colorado for cancer research is growing,” Messersmith says. “Getting a chance to represent the concerns of Colorado cancer patients and families to the NCI is really important.”
With a $7.2 billion budget in 2024, the NCI – part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) – is the world’s largest funder of cancer research. Currently, the CU Cancer Center has more than 80 active NCI research grants worth more than a combined $17 million. The CU Cancer Center is Colorado’s only NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center and one of 57 nationwide, meeting the institute’s standards for excellence in cancer prevention, clinical services, and research.
The board, which usually meets in the Washington, D.C., area, “makes recommendations on research priorities conducted or supported by the institute,” its charter says. “This includes the evaluation of NCI awarded grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts and concept review of those activities which it considers meritorious and consistent with the institute’s programs.”
NCI also has a Board of Scientific Counselors, which reviews and evaluates the institute’s internal research programs. That panel is led by Leslie Berg, PhD, chair of the CU Department of Immunology and Microbiology and also a CU Cancer Center member.
We spoke with Messersmith about his new role on the NCI advisory board.
→ Wells Messersmith, MD: Innovating New Cancer Treatments on a Gut Level
Photo at top: The National Cancer Institute's headquarters complex in Bethesda, Maryland. Photo courtesy of the NCI.