Mike Lauer smiles in a vertical portrait, placed on a gray background -- coverage from STAT
Michael Lauer, the NIH deputy director for extramural research, is resigning.Wikimedia Commons

By Sarah Owermohle and Lev Facher

Feb. 13, 2025

WASHINGTON — Michael Lauer, deputy director of the National Institutes of Health’s extramural research, will leave the agency at the end of the week. 

News of Lauer’s departure comes one day after Lawrence Tabak, the agency’s longtime second-in-command, retired, a move several agency sources described as “sudden” and “abrupt.” 

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The NIH is led by one agency director and five deputies. With Lauer’s departure, two of those deputies have left in as many days, and the agency is currently being led by an acting director, Matthew Memoli. 

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  1. Sarah Owermohle

    Washington Correspondent

    Sarah Owermohle reports on the administration’s health care initiatives, federal health policy, and its intersection with politics and the courts. She joined STAT in 2022 after covering health policy at Politico. She is also the co-author of the free, twice-weekly D.C. Diagnosis newsletter.

  2. Lev Facher

    Addiction Reporter

    Lev Facher covers the U.S. addiction and overdose crisis.