A Fond Farewell

Dr. Susan Shurin and Dr. Bob Balaban - November 30, 2009

Dr. Elizabeth G. Nabel thanks her colleagues at a scientific symposium in her honor at the Natcher Auditorium at the NIH on November 24, 2009.

Betsy Nabel’s departure from the NHLBI today, en route to becoming the President of Brigham and Women's/Faulkner Hospitals in Boston, is the end of a remarkable term of service benefitting science and the public. She will be sorely missed by all of us who have had the privilege of working with her.

Betsy is the quintessential “servant-leader.” In his first landmark essay, author Robert Greenleaf wrote, “The best test (of servant leadership) is: Do those served grow as persons? Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants? And, what is the effect on the least privileged in society? Will they benefit or at least not be further deprived?" Betsy's commitment to our growth in service of the least privileged in society has been unequivocal. For this, we are profoundly grateful.

In Betsy’s time at the NHLBI as Scientific Director and Director, she has guided a new generation of talented researchers, empowered communities through public outreach to take charge of their health, and encouraged her staff to flourish in our roles. Thanks to her keen leadership, we are continuing to advance basic and translational heart, lung, blood, and sleep disorder research nationally and globally.

Betsy has a knack for asking the right questions, choosing the right people for the right jobs, fostering hugely beneficial collaborations, and convincing others that no problem is insurmountable. Her humor, wisdom, balance, and accessibility have helped us find strengths we did not know we had.

A selection of the Institute's researchers and health campaign staff honored our colleague, mentor, and director on Tuesday, November 24, when NHLBI staff gathered in the Natcher Auditorium to celebrate the scientific accomplishments this Institute has made under Betsy's leadership. "The NHLBI in 2010: A Scientific Odyssey" showcased advances in basic and translational research such as real-time MRI-guided cardiothoracic surgery, pediatric circulatory support, gene therapy, progenitor cell studies, nanotechnology, epidemiological work, genome-wide association studies policymaking, and the burgeoning Global Health Initiative, as well as public outreach programs such as the We Can! and The Heart Truth public education campaigns. In the closing presentation, staff from The Heart Truth campaign screened this commemorative video.

Dr. Nabel leads The Heart Truth campaign. In the closing presentation of "The NHLBI in 2010: A Scientific Odyssey," staff from The Heart Truth campaign screened this commemorative video. Click the up arrow and then the CC button to turn captions on/off.

For those of you who weren't able to join us at the symposium, an archived videocast can be seen at http://videocast.nih.gov/ram/nhlbi112409.ram. This is just a sampling of the legacy Betsy will be leaving behind.

We know you will join us in bidding Betsy a heartfelt farewell and wishing her the very best in Boston.

Susan Shurin, M.D. and Bob Balaban, Ph.D.

At a Nov. 24 scientific symposium to honor Dr. Elizabeth G. Nabel (front row, second from left), more than a dozen NHLBI staff discussed the Institute's successes under her leadership as Director and Scientific Director. Drs. Susan Shurin (front row, far left) and Bob Balaban (second row, second from left) hosted the event.

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