February 4, 2009, was World Cancer Day. The International Union
Against Cancer (UICC) used the day to launch a year-long,
worldwide effort to combat obesity, a significant cancer risk
factor. The campaign’s focus will be to work with parents,
teachers, and decision makers around the world to encourage
children to eat a healthy diet, be physically active, and
maintain a healthy body weight. A Conversation With A
Conversation with…Dr. Joe Harford Dr. Joe Harford is director of
NCI’s Office of International Affairs (OIA), which coordinates
and oversees many of NCI’s internationally focused outreach
activities, including the Middle East Cancer Consortium (MECC).
On February 13, the MECC Board of Governors will meet on the NIH
campus. Coupled with the meeting will be the launch of an art
exhibit in the NIH Visitor Center that will include drawings by
children with cancer from the U.S. and four MECC regions. MECC
has quite a history. How was it initially formed? The launch of
MECC occurred in 1996, when NCI assiste