Dr. Walker named to National Cancer Institute board

Cheryl Lyn Walker, Ph.D., Welch Professor and director of the Texas A&M Health Science Center (TAMHSC) Institute of Biosciences and Technology in Houston, has been appointed to the Board of Scientific Advisors (BSA) of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) by Dr. Harold Varmus, NCI director.

The 35-member BSA was established in 1996 to assist and advise the NCI director on all aspects of the extramural program. Its primary task is oversight of the full portfolio of the institute’s extramural programs.

In addition, the BSA is responsible for advising extramural division directors on present and future scientific policies and for concept review of research and resource activities supported by the extramural divisions. It also will review the performance of each of the extramural divisions and their leadership.

The NCI is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is one of 11 agencies that compose the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The NCI, established under the National Cancer Institute Act of 1937, is the federal government’s principal agency for cancer research and training.

Dr. Walker has previously served on the NCI Board of Scientific Counselors and as director of the TAMHSC-Institute of Biosciences and Technology seen the institute emerge as the leader in cancer research within The Texas A&M University System. The institute ranks at the top of A&M components in both NIH funding per faculty member and in receipt of research grant awards from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT), including the $12 million CPRIT-funded Texas Screening Alliance for Cancer Therapeutics (TxSACT).