The great Gates vacuum keeps pulling them in from points far and wide, with news today that the former director of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), Dr. Elias Zerhouni, is now a senior fellow at the Gates Foundation. NIH is the country's largest funder of biomedical research.

Zerhouni served under the Bush Administration from his appointment in 2002 until he left in October. There he helped "enhance synergy between all 27 NIH institutes and centers and fund compelling research initiatives of potential high impact," says the Gates Foundation. In 2006 Congress institutionalized many of his reforms.

Zerhouni also became controversial for banning NIH scientists from consulting with drug and medical device makers, and during his tenure, the NIH budgets stagnated. The New England Journal of Medicine noted that funding doubled between 1998 and 2003, but flattened afterward. In 2007 the budget was the first real reduction in NIH support since 1970.

Born in Algeria, Zerhouni came to the United States at age 24 with a medical degree from the University of Algiers School of Medicine and finished his training at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, where he worked as chair of Radiology Department, vice dean for research and executive vice dean.

Besides being a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, he will serve on the board of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia.

His task now is to "spur innovative solutions" as he advises the foundation on its global health programs, particularly the Grand Challenges in Global Health initiative.

For more innovative solutions, maybe they should just hire this company.