Bennett Named CCR Deputy Director
Dr. L. Michelle Bennett has been named Deputy Director of NCI's Center for Cancer Research (CCR). She previously served as CCR's Associate Director for Science. As Deputy Director, Dr. Bennett will be involved in strategic planning, program integration, and scientific communications.

Dr. Bennett trained at the McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research where she focused on the genetic susceptibility of inbred strains of mice to liver cancer. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in Research Triangle Park, NC, where - among other achievements - she contributed to the identification and characterization of the human BRCA1 gene. While at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, she focused on the mechanisms associated with the etiology of breast cancer in rodents. Dr. Bennett joined CCR in 2002 and has been involved in a broad range of projects and activities, including the development and implementation of CCR's strategic plan, the introduction of new Centers of Excellence as hubs for collaboration, and the restructuring of CCR's communications activities.  

Stinchcomb Named Branch Chief
David Stinchcomb has accepted the position of chief of the Cancer Statistics Branch in the Surveillance Research Program (SRP) of NCI's Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences. Stinchcomb joined SRP in 2004 as a geographer with extensive experience in computer science. During his tenure, he has become the scientific coordinator and technical lead for the nationally recognized State Cancer Profiles interactive Web site. He is the senior surveillance expert on geocoding technology and information systems, as well as an expert on issues involving geography, population estimates, and socioeconomic data for SEER and other scientific databases.  

UICC to Mark World Cancer Day with Smoke-Free Childhood Campaign
On February 4, World Cancer Day, the International Union Against Cancer (UICC) will launch the "I love my smoke-free childhood" campaign.

About 700 million children - almost half of the world's children - breathe air polluted by tobacco smoke, particularly at home. The message to parents is: "Second-hand smoke is a health hazard for you and your family. There is no safe level of exposure to second-hand smoke. Give your child a smoke-free childhood."

The goal of the campaign is to raise public awareness through a global media campaign; engage member organizations and partners to promote changes in smoking behavior in the environment of children within their communities; and mobilize citizens, schools, communities, and coalitions of voluntary associations around local initiatives to create smoke-free environments for children.

More information is available at http://www.worldcancercampaign.org/.