Dr. John Potter, a highly renowned epidemiologist and head of Fred Hutchinson's Cancer Prevention Research Program, will assume the directorship of our Public Health Sciences Division this November. Turnover in our divisional leadership has been relatively infrequent, so the appointment of a new division director is a landmark event.

During his distinguished career, John has made major contributions to the understanding of factors that can affect cancer risk, including diet, lifestyle and genetics. The PHS Division is home to the nation's oldest and largest program devoted to cancer-prevention research-an important endeavor, considering that many cancers may be avoidable by changes in lifestyle. Using large populations of people as their "laboratory," public-health researchers look for links between cancer and its possible triggers, from diet and lifestyle to environmental and genetic factors. Identifying such cancer causes can lead to better cancer-detection methods and new ways to help people minimize their risk of getting the disease.

To read on, see From the Director.