BIOMEDICAL POLICY:
New Minister Hopes to Create an Italian NIH
Michael Balter
One of Italy's top cancer researchers has been appointed health minister in the new government of Prime Minister Giuliano Amato, raising hopes that the nation's sagging biomedical research effort might receive a badly needed boost. Umberto Veronesi, founder and scientific director of the European Institute of Oncology in Milan, was tapped last week to replace outgoing minister Rosy Bindi. His appointment is a break from the tradition of naming politicians rather than scientists to the post.