The... New York Times on Tuesday profiled NIH Director Elias Zerhouni, who has sparked recent debate with the release of new conflict-of-interest guidelines for agency scientists that prohibit them from consulting for drug companies and require 200 of the top agency scientists to limit holdings in health care companies. Zerhouni, who was appointed by President Bush in 2002, has created a different atmosphere at the agency than his predecessor, Harold Varmus, and some agency scientists have said he is a businessman, not a scientist. Agency scientist Ezekiel Emanuel said getting permission to travel or to hire someone has become difficult under Zerhouni and Zerhouni has not been as inclusive as Varmus was. Outside critics have said they would like to see Zerhouni denounce President Bush's restrictions regarding embryonic stem cell research, but Zerhouni has avoided discussing his personal views and has said he would address the restrictions if he believed they were hindering research. Zerhouni has acknowledged room for improvement within some areas of the agency, but he defends his policies, saying that they are in place to protect the integrity of the agency and to bring the focus to larger problems, the Times reports. In regard to the ban on outside consulting, he said, "We look like we're just crybabies," adding, "And the world out there is not sympathetic to government scientists who make more money than the vice president of the United States. Let's get real." Zerhouni previously worked as a radiologist at Johns Hopkins University, where he invented numerous devices. He said that the ban will not prevent agency scientists from engaging in that kind of outside work. In addition, Zerhouni said he might allow outside consulting after the ban has been in place for at least one year and the agency's ethics system has changed, the Times reports. According to the Times, despite the criticism, Zerhouni has received praise from many outside the agency for his efforts to reorganize NIH, as well as his work regarding chemical libraries and the exploration of protein structures. Friends and former colleagues also have commended Zerhouni for his ethics and loyalty, the Times reports. (Harris, New York Times, 8/30).

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