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Is the current Director of the National Cancer Institute. Previously, Sharpless was Professor of Medicine and Genetics Chair, Director of University of North Carolina UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, Molecular Therapeutics, Wellcome Distinguished Professorship in Cancer Research.
Sharpless was named to head the NCI on June 10, 2017, and took office on October 17, 2017. Sharpless also served as Acting Commissioner of the Food and Drugs from April 5, 2019 until November 1, 2019, after which he returned to the NCI.
In August 2013, he was appointed director of UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.
He has 12 issued or pending patents for his inventions.
He is an elected member of the American Society of Clinical Investigation (ASCI), the nation's oldest honor society for physician-scientists, and the Association of American Physicians.
In 2016, Sharpless was elected to a three-year term on the Association of American Cancer Institutes’ board of directors.
He is an appointed member of the National Institute of Aging’s National Advisory Council on Aging.
Sharpless is married with two children. Sharpless' wife, Julie Sharpless, worked as a physician and associate professor at the University of North Carolina.
Sharpless currently lives in Washington, D.C.
