National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM); Stephen Straus

In early November, Stephen Straus, MD, director of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), stepped down from his leadership position for health reasons. Dr. Straus will become a senior advisor to National Institutes of Health (NIH) (Bethesda, MD) director Elias Zerhouni, MD. During his tenure as NCCAM’s first director, Dr. Straus built a comprehensive research enterprise, championing the efforts to establish the safety and efficacy of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) practices, while upholding the rigorous standards of science for which the NIH is known. Dr. Zerhouni has named Ruth Kirschstein, MD, formerly the acting director of NIH, to be the acting director of NCCAM. Dr. Kirschstein has also served as the director of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences.