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Executive Title

NIH Institute or Center

Director, Division of Extramural Research

Gayle Lester, Ph.D

6701 Democracy Boulevard,
Democracy 1, Suite 800
Bethesda, MD 20892

(301) 594-3511
gayle.lester@nih.gov

Education:

B.A. (Chemistry), Mary Baldwin College
Ph.D. (Pharmacology), Medical College of Virginia

Prior Positions:

Program Director, NIAMS/NIH/DHHS
Research Professor, Departments of Orthopaedics and Pharmacology, University of North Carolina

Professional Accomplishments:

Lead multiple initiatives at NIAMS and NIH including Project Officer for the public-private partnership Osteoarthritis Initiative and Project Director for the Foundation for NIH Biomarker Consortium Bone Quality Project
Received numerous NIH Director’s Awards for work related to the Osteoarthritis Initiative, diagnostic imaging, and biomarker development.
Kappa Delta Award for Excellence in Orthopaedic Research (ligament growth and development
Orthopedic Research Society, Fellows Award
Received numerous NIH and NIAMS Director’s Award for contributions to the Geroscience Summit Team, Interagency Working Group on Medical Imaging, Initiative on Bone Strength, and the NIAMS National Multicultural Outreach Initiative
Authored more than 60 peer-reviewed publications and several book chapters

Associate Director for Management

Rick Phillips, MBA

31 Center Drive, 4C32
Bethesda, MD 20982

(301) 827-7070
richard.phillips@nih.gov

Education:

M.B.A., Cameron University
B.S. Biology, Indiana University

Prior Positions:

Deputy Executive Officer, NIAMS
Branch Chief, NHLBI Office of Acquisitions
Active Duty Officer, United States Navy

Professional Accomplishments:

Graduate of the Federal Executive Institute
Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals (2)

Director

Bruce J. Tromberg, Ph.D.

Building 31, Suite 1C14
31 Center Drive, MSC 2281
Bethesda, MD 20817

(301) 496-8859
bruce.tromberg@nih.gov

Education:

Ph.D., University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee

Prior Positions:

Dual appointments as professor for the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Surgery at the University of California at Irvine (UCI).

Professional Accomplishments:

Directed UCI’s Beckman Laser Institute and Medical Clinic from 2003-2018.
Served 20 years as PI for the Laser Microbeam and Medical Program (LAMMP), an NIH National Biomedical Technology Resource Center where several cutting-edge technologies have been developed, commercialized, and disseminated to laboratories and clinics around the world.
Co-authored more than 450 publications and holds 18 patents for biophotonics technologies and their applications in areas such as cancer, neuroscience and vascular disease.

Deputy Director

Jill Heemskerk, Ph.D.

Democracy 2, Room 200
6707 Democracy Boulevard
Bethesda, MD 20817

(301) 451-3515
heemskej@mail.nih.gov

Scientific Director

Richard Leapman, Ph.D

Building 13, Room 3E73
13 South Drive, MSC 5766
Bethesda, MD 20892

(301) 435-9346
leapmanr@mail.nih.gov

Associate Director for Research Administration

David T. George, Ph.D.

Democracy 2
6707 Democracy Boulevard, Suite 200
Bethesda, MD 20817

(301) 496-9474
david.george@nih.gov

Director

Diana Bianchi, M.D.

Building 31, Room 2A03
31 Center Dr, MSC 2425
Bethesda, MD 20892

(301) 496-1848
diana.bianchi@nih.gov

Education:

M.D., Stanford University School of Medicine
B.A., University of Pennsylvania

Professional Accomplishments:

International expert on reproductive genomics and fetal treatment with over 300 publications
Elected to the Institute of Medicine in 2013 (now National Academy of Medicine)
Recipient of numerous awards, including the Landmark Award from the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Colonel Harland Sanders Award from the March of Dimes, and the Maureen Andrew Award for Mentoring from the Society for Pediatric Research.
Editor-in-Chief, Prenatal Diagnosis

Deputy Director

Alison Cernich, Ph.D.

31 Center Drive, Room 2A03
Bethesda, MD 20892

(301) 496-1848
Alison.Cernich@nih.gov

Education:

B.A., Loyola University of New Orleans
Ph.D., Fairleigh Dickinson University

Prior Positions:

Director, National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research (NICHD)
Deputy Director, Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury

Professional Accomplishments:

Led the strategic planning effort and implementation efforts for NICHD
Led the development of the Research Plan on Rehabilitation for NIH
Provided leadership and oversight for the evaluation of all psychological health and traumatic brain injury programs in the Defense Health Program
NIH Director’s Awards, NICHD Collaboration Awards, Public Service Award from the Association of Academic Physiatrists, Superior Civilian Service Award from the Department of the Army
Joint Meritorious Unit Award

Scientific Director

Christopher McBain Ph.D.

10 Center Drive, Room 10D39
Bethesda, MD 20892

(301) 594-5984
mcbainc@mail.nih.gov

Education:

B.Sc. from University of Aberdeen, Scotland
Ph.D. from Wolfson College at Cambridge University, England

Prior Positions:

Deputy Scientific Director, NICHD, DIR

Professional Accomplishments:

Dr. McBain joined NICHD in 1993 as a tenure-track investigator. His primary research focuses on the development of excitatory and inhibitory synaptic transmission between specific identified neural populations within the hippocampal and cortical formations. Using electrophysiological, immunohistochemical, anatomical, molecular, and genetic approaches, his lab provides insight into the developmental and activity-dependent regulation of cellular and synaptic efficacy under both physiological and pathophysiological conditions.
Dr. McBain was Senior Editor of the Journal of Neuroscience, The Journal of Physiology, Hippocampus. Scientific Reports and Frontiers in Neural Circuits. He was co-originator of the Gordon Conference on Inhibition in the CNS.
Dr. McBain was appointed scientific director of the Division of Intramural Research in January 2023. He previously served as DIR’s deputy scientific director from 2009 until June 2021, when he was named the acting scientific director.

Director, Division of Extramural Research,

Rohan Hazra M.D

6710B Rockledge Drive
Bethesda, MD 20892

(301) 435-6868
hazrar@nih.gov

Clinical Director and Senior Investigator, Division of Intramural Research

Catherine Gordon MD, MS

10 Center Drive 5-2583
Bethesda, MD 20892

(301) 827-5449
catherine.gordon@nih.gov

Education:

M.D., University of North Carolina
M.S., Harvard Medical School
B.A., North Carolina State University

Prior Positions:

Chair of Pediatrics, Texas Children's Hospital & Baylor College of Medicine
Division Chief, Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School

Professional Accomplishments:

International expert on bone health with over 250 publications
Recipient of numerous awards, including the Outstanding Achievement Award, Society for Adolescent Health & Medicine, the A. Clifford Barger Excellence in Mentoring Award from Harvard Medical School, and the Thomas A. Hazinski Distinguished Service Award from the Society for Pediatric Research.

Executive Officer

Rodney W. Rivera Jr., M.S.

Building 31, Room 2A03
31 Center Drive, MSC 2425
Bethesda, MD 20892

(301) 496-0648
riverarod@nih.gov

Education:

M.S., University of Delaware
B.S., University of Delaware

Professional Accomplishments:

Became Deputy Executive Officer of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development in August 2015.
Began his federal career in 2008 at the NIH where he served as the Chief Technology Officer for NICHD and later was promoted to the Chief, Administrative Services Branch.

Director

Debara L. Tucci, M.D., M.S., M.B.A.

Building 31, Room 3C02
31 Center Drive, MSC 2320
Bethesda, MD 20892

(301) 402-0900
debara.tucci@nih.gov

Education:

M.D., University of Virginia School of Medicine
M.S., University of Michigan, Audiology
M.B.A., Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, Certificate in Health Sector Management

Prior Positions:

Professor, Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina

Professional Accomplishments:

International expert on improving access to hearing health care. Led pioneering clinical studies on treatments for sensorineural hearing loss, tinnitus, and vestibular disorders.
Member of the 2015-16 Consensus Committee on Accessible and Affordable Hearing Health Care for Adults, convened by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
Co-founded the Duke Hearing Center (Duke University School of Medicine) and directed Duke University Medical Center’s cochlear implant program. Developed a national practice-based research network to conduct clinical research in hearing and balance disorders.
Recipient of the Edmund Prince Fowler Award for excellence in basic science research from the Triological Society, the Distinguished Service Award and Goldstein Public Service Award from the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS). Served on the AAO-HNS Research Advisory Board, Board of Directors, Executive Committee, and numerous subcommittees. Served as president of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology, the American Otological Society, and the American Neurotology Society. Active in numerous other professional societies.
Selected to serve as co-chair of the Lancet Commission on Global Hearing Loss, which launched in 2019, with the goal of developing innovative solutions to identification and treatment of hearing loss worldwide.

Deputy Director

Judith A. Cooper, Ph.D.

Building 31, Room 3C02
31 Center Drive, MSC 2320
Bethesda, MD 20892

(301) 402-0900
cooperj@nidcd.nih.gov

Education:

Ph.D., University of Washington
M.S., Vanderbilt University
B.F.A., Southern Methodist University

Prior Positions:

NIDCD Deputy Director

Professional Accomplishments:

Developed, coordinated and chaired "New Perspectives in Language Research Symposium Series" a series of four major NIH symposia on Neural and Computational Bases of Language, Developmental Disorders and Language, Neural and Behavioral Aspects of Early Language Development, and Language and Aging.
Developed, coordinated and chaired workshop, initiative, and subsequent activities related to minimally verbal children with autism.
Elected fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), 2006; received the Honors of the Association award, ASHA's highest honor, 2007.

Scientific Director

Lisa L. Cunningham, Ph.D.

Room 1D-971
35A Convent Drive,
Bethesda, MD 20892

(301) 443-2766
cunninghamll@mail.nih.gov

Education:

Ph.D., Neuroscience, University of Virginia
B.A. and M.A., Audiology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Professional Accomplishments:

Dr. Cunningham is chief of NIDCD’s Section on Sensory Cell Biology where her lab conducts basic, translational, and clinical studies on hair cell degeneration and hearing loss in the mature inner ear and develops therapeutic strategies to safeguard hearing.
She is the recipient of several notable awards, including two NIDCD Director’s Awards and an NIH Bench-to-Bedside Award. She was voted three times one of the top 10 teachers in the Medical University of South Carolina College of Graduate Studies. She is a recipient of NIH’s Graduate Partnerships Program Outstanding Mentor Award.
She completed a postdoctoral fellowship in auditory neuroscience at the University of Washington, Seattle. She joined the faculty at the Medical University of South Carolina as an assistant professor where she conducted the initial studies on heat shock protein (HSP)-mediated protection against ototoxic drug-induced hearing loss and hair cell death.

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Executive Lookbook

National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)

Director, Division of Extramural Research

Gayle Lester, Ph.D

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National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)

Associate Director for Management

Rick Phillips, MBA

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National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB)

Director

Bruce J. Tromberg, Ph.D.

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National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB)

Deputy Director

Jill Heemskerk, Ph.D.

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National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB)

Scientific Director

Richard Leapman, Ph.D

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National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB)

Associate Director for Research Administration

David T. George, Ph.D.

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National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

Director

Diana Bianchi, M.D.

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National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

Deputy Director

Alison Cernich, Ph.D.

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National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

Scientific Director

Christopher McBain Ph.D.

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National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

Director, Division of Extramural Research,

Rohan Hazra M.D

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National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

Clinical Director and Senior Investigator, Division of Intramural Research

Catherine Gordon MD, MS

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National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

Executive Officer

Rodney W. Rivera Jr., M.S.

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National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)

Director

Debara L. Tucci, M.D., M.S., M.B.A.

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National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)

Deputy Director

Judith A. Cooper, Ph.D.

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National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)

Scientific Director

Lisa L. Cunningham, Ph.D.

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