A Nobel Prize-winning cancer biologist, leader of major scientific institutions, and veteran of science policy wars reflects on his remarkable career. Jeffrey Sachs has called Harold Varmus a “global scientist-statesman who bridges science and society to solve the weightiest global challenges.” But as readers will learn in this engaging memoir chronicling one man’s series of remarkable careers, as well as some of the central health-policy issues of our time, Varmus didn’t decide that he was drawn to medicine until he was one year into a PhD in English literature! Changing course in characteristically adventurous fashion, Varmus dove headfirst into medical school, shifted shortly after graduating from practice to research, and soon found himself at the forefront of cancer research at the University of California, San Francisco, on his way toward a Nobel Prize in Medicine. In 1993, Varmus transformed from an academic scientist to a political one when President Clinton asked him to direct the National Institutes of Health. After six years at the NIH, he took the reins as president of the world-renowned Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, a position he still holds. Along the way, Varmus has continued his own laboratory work, remains committed to collaborative science, and still finds time to ride his bike to work. Beyond the elegant combination of science and biography, this is a book about health issues of truly global importance. Varmus’s work on cancer-causing genes foreshadowed the development of the recent targeted therapies for cancer. At the NIH, he not only persuaded Congress to commit record funds to national health programs but also turned attention to international concerns like the worldwide malaria crisis. And, as he discusses in these pages, he has long been an enthusiastic yet nuanced supporter of stem cell research. The Art and Politics of Science is a glimpse into the world of high-stakes, big-budget science narrated by a man intimately acquainted with its everyday applications―an education for people in all walks of life from a scientist whose own research and professional commitments helped to shape our scientific age.

The Art and Politics of Science

Biographies & Memoirs

Varmus, Harold

Professionals & Academics

W.W.Norton&Company

A Nobel Prize–winning cancer biologist, leader of major scientific institutions, and scientific adviser to President Obama reflects on his remarkable career. A PhD candidate in English literature at Harvard University, Harold Varmus discovered he was drawn instead to medicine and eventually found himself at the forefront of cancer research at the University of California, San Francisco. In this “timely memoir of a remarkable career” (American Scientist), Varmus considers a life’s work that thus far includes not only the groundbreaking research that won him a Nobel Prize but also six years as the director of the National Institutes of Health; his current position as the president of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center; and his important, continuing work as scientific adviser to President Obama. From this truly unique perspective, Varmus shares his experiences from the trenches of politicized battlegrounds ranging from budget fights to stem cell research, global health to science publishing. 8 pages of b/w photographs

During the search to find a cure for cancer a great deal about the rules that govern normal life has been discovered, specifically the reproduction and development of cells. These revelations and their contribution to the fight against cancer are the focus of this volume. The book shows how scientists have explored the questions of cancer by tracing carcinogenesis to its earliest detectable, submicroscopic stages. Drawing on classic and recent research findings, the authors explain how any one of many factors (including sunlight, radiation, tobacco and certain viral infections) can combine with existing predispositions to radically alter the genetic code, turning a normal gene into cancer-causing one. They describe what we know about the mechanisms of genes that seem to promote cancer (oncogenes) and those that work to prevent and restrain it (tumour suppressor genes). The authors conclude the book with a review of current cancer research endeavors, looking ahead to possible future breakthroughs.

Genes and the Biology of Cancer (Scientific American Library Series, No. 42)

Science & Math

Weinberg, Robert A.

Biological Sciences

W.H.Freeman & Co.

The superb Third Edition of this popular text covers all the recent groundbreaking developments which have taken place in this field. Comprehensively revised, it presents all the latest findings on the molecular bases of blood cell functions and disease mechanisms and the impact of these discoveries on the state of medicine. This edition includes new chapters such as signaling and antigen presentation by B-lymphocytes, molecular oncogenesis and more!

The Molecular Basis of Blood Disease

Medical Books

Stamatoyannopoulos MD DrSci, George

Majerus MD, Philip W.

Perlmutter MD PhD, Roger M.

Varmus MD, Harold

Stamatoyannopoulos, George

Perlmutter, Roger M.

Majerus, Philip W.

Medicine

Saunders

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Books by Varmus, Harold