Biden nominates cancer surgeon to be second woman to head NIH

• Bertagnolli, who was nominated to take the helm of the cancer institute last August, has a thin political resume but could face tough questions about the direction of the institutes in Senate confirmation hearings.
• Bertagnolli is a Harvard Medical School professor and former surgical oncologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. In December, she announced she had early stage breast cancer and would undergo treatment.
• If confirmed, she would be the second woman to head NIH. Lawrence Tabak has served as acting director since Collins stepped down.

What they're saying: "Dr. Bertagnolli is a world-class physician-scientist whose vision and leadership will ensure NIH continues to be an engine of innovation to improve the health of the American people,” President Biden said in a statement.

Of note: NIH has long enjoyed bipartisan support in Congress but could get ensnared in funding fights and GOP-led oversight investigations this session.

• The year-end funding package included $47.5 billion in discretionary funding for NIH. But Biden's fiscal 2024 budget request called for only a modest increase almost entirely tied to the "Cancer Moonshot" effort.

What we're watching: How the nomination intersects with congressional Republicans' criticism of Biden's COVID-19 response and concern about matters such as "gain of function" research.

• Sanders and other Democrats have also been increasingly pressing NIH and Biden to use "march-in rights" to lower the prices of some drugs.

Editor's note: An earlier headline mistakenly said Bertagnolli would be the first woman to head NIH.