It may seem that Dr. Daniel McDonald followed a linear path from graduate work to Johns Hopkins to serving in the Center for Scientific Review as a scientific review officer, a position from which he retired in July after 30 years.

Dr. Martha Linet, senior investigator and former chief of the Radiation Epidemiology Branch (REB) in NCI’s Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics (DCEG), retired in January after 33 years of service.

Dr. David A. Cooney, a retired public health officer who had a 34-year career at NIH (1964-1998), died Oct. 8, 2016, from prostate cancer. He was 78 and lived in Bethesda.

Bettie Jean Hessie, 78, who retired from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke in 1999 after 34 years as a medical writer and consultant, passed away peacefully on Dec. 21, 2016.

NIDA’s Dr. Rao Rapaka received the 2016 Distinguished Service Award at the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists annual meeting and exposition held recently in Denver.

NIGMS recently hired two new program directors. Dr. Luis Cubano is a program director in the Division of Training, Workforce Development and Diversity. Dr. Hongwei Gao is a program director in the Center for Research Capacity Building.

The National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities recently added six employees to its scientific staff.

The Center for Scientific Review has selected Dr. Amy Rubinstein as new chief of the oncology 1 basic translational integrated review group.

The Center for Scientific Review has named Dr. Valerie Durrant to become director of its Division of AIDS, Behavioral and Population Sciences.

Mary Beth Kester is the new director of the Office of Policy, Planning and Evaluation at NCCIH.