NIH Diversity Research Program Gets New Chief Medical and Scientific Officer

January 10, 2022 by Alec Stone MA, MPA, Former ONS Director of Government Affairs and Advocacy

A pioneer and internationally recognized expert in translational genomics and precision medicine will guide the scientific vision, strategy, and data collection for the next phase of the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH’s) All of Us Research Program, the agency announced (https://allofus.nih.gov/news-events-and-media/announcements/nihs-all-us-research-program-selects-next-chief-medical-and-scientific-officer). In November 2021, NIH appointed Geoffrey Ginsburg, MD, PhD, to serve as the program’s chief medical and scientific officer.

“We are on the cusp of realizing the full potential of precision medicine, with the All of Us Research Program enabling this paradigm shift,” Ginsburg said (https://allofus.nih.gov/news-events-and-media/announcements/nihs-all-us-research-program-selects-next-chief-medical-and-scientific-officer). “I’m excited to be at the forefront of this effort, working alongside participants, partners, researchers, and the NIH scientific community to continue to demonstrate the impact of this collaborative effort.”

The All of Us Research Program is a historic effort to collect and study data from one million or more people living in the United States to improve health for all. A particular focus is to ensure (https://allofus.nih.gov/about/diversity-and-inclusion) the data represents diverse races, ethnicities, age groups, geographic locations, gender identities, sexual orientation, socioeconomic statuses, educational backgrounds, disabilities, and health status.

According to NIH, Ginsburg’s team will create an agenda (https://allofus.nih.gov/news-events-and-media/announcements/nihs-all-us-research-program-selects-next-chief-medical-and-scientific-officer) to inform the overall protocol roadmap and data science strategy, which includes identifying and integrating new data streams, building and maintaining collaborations with partners and studies, and ensuring the availability of high-quality health data for the research community.

Ginsburg (https://precisionmedicine.duke.edu/about/faculty/geoffrey-steven-ginsburg), founding director for the Center for Applied Genomics and Precision Medicine in the Duke University School of Medicine and a professor of medicine, has more than 300 peer-reviewed publications and research supported by NIH, the Department of Defense, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, among others. Ginsburg has also contributed work to other disciplines, such as oncology, infectious diseases, cardiovascular disease, and metabolic disorders. Ginsburg also serves as co-chair of the National Academies’ Roundtable on Genomic and Precision Health, founding co-chair of the International HundredK+ Cohorts Consortium, and founder and president of the Global Genomic Medicine Collaborative.

“Ginsburg has led significant scientific and clinical discoveries in precision medicine, but perhaps more importantly, his leadership has provided a roadmap for impactful integration of this novel field throughout health care,” Josh Denny (https://allofus.nih.gov/about/who-we-are/nih-all-us-research-program-staff/joshua-denny), MD, MS, chief executive officer of the All of Us Research Program, said (https://allofus.nih.gov/news-events-and-media/announcements/nihs-all-us-research-program-selects-next-chief-medical-and-scientific-officer). “I look forward to tapping into his extraordinary vision as we work together to accelerate health research and medical breakthroughs through the development and use of the All of Us Research Program data.”


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