National Institutes of Health

Surgical oncologist Dr. Monica Bertagnolli was nominated for the post by President Biden on May 15. She takes over for acting director Dr. Lawrence Tabak, who has been leading NIH since December 2021.

Joe Biden's pick for the post next goes to a floor vote, but not before committee Chair Bernie Sanders tried to tie it to reducing the cost of prescription drugs.

Monica Bertagnolli appeared before a Senate committee this week. Her confirmation has been held up by Sen. Bernie Sanders, who has demanded the president work more aggressively to lower prescription prices.

Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, a professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, will lead NIH's infectious diseases institute. Colleagues say she has a wide breadth of knowledge and a joyful demeanor.

The NIH studies are small but each will tackle multiple possible therapies for things like brain fog, sleep disturbances and the theory that lingering virus may be at least partly to blame.

Dr. Anthony Fauci has advised seven presidents about a long list of outbreaks including HIV, Ebola and Zika. His next chapter: To try to inspire more people to become scientists and make the next big discoveries.

The hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin fiascoes have soured many doctors on repurposing drugs for COVID. A few inexpensive old drugs may be as good as some of the new antivirals, but they face complex obstacles to get to patients.

Clinical trials of COVID-19 vaccines excluded pregnant people, which left many women wondering whether to get vaccinated.

As he prepares to leave his post of 12 years, Francis Collins reflects on the agency's biomedical advances, the dangers of polarizing medicine and the huge health gaps that still exist in the U.S.

Should people who get a COVID booster get a different vaccine from their original shot? The results of a highly anticipated study suggest that in some cases the answer may be yes.