Office for Research on Women's Health
The ORWH staff represents a diverse range of professional and scientific disciplines. Each staff member works to support the NIH's mission and, specifically, to advance the consideration of women's health and sex and gender influences across the entire research continuum to improve women's health. While ORWH staff work collaboratively, ORWH is also organized into eight unique sections with specific areas of focus.
The Basic and Translational Research section (B&T) leads ORWH’s efforts to advance the implementation of the NIH Sex as a Biological Variable (SABV) Policy and the consideration of SABV in vertebrate animal and human studies—within the NIH and the larger biomedical research community. Among other activities, the B&T Research section provides management and tracking of ORWH funding opportunities and co-funding requests and leads scientific initiatives stimulating research exploring the influences of sex and gender on health and disease.
Interdisciplinary Research (IDR) has been a longstanding guiding principle for women’s health research at NIH and a hallmark of many ORWH efforts. The ORWH IDR Section works to apply interdisciplinary research approaches across ORWH’s efforts and catalyze new initiatives and programs in areas such as dissemination and implementation science. The section also encompasses ORWH’s global health research and innovation-focused efforts.
The Careers section leads ORWH efforts to develop opportunities, resources, events, and support mechanisms for the recruitment, retention, reentry, and advancement of women in biomedical careers at NIH and in the larger biomedical workforce. These efforts to support women in biomedical careers and promote workforce diversity have been an integral part of the mission of ORWH since its establishment in 1990.
The Management, Reporting, Operations and Communication (MROC) section provides cross-cutting oversight, guidance, contracting, and infrastructure support in service of ORWH day-to-day and long-term activities and efforts. The MROC section leads the operational activities necessary to advance ORWH organizational goals and objectives in line with its mission and vision, including budget planning and fiscal management, travel administration, procurement, contract management, personnel management, strategic planning, and communications.
The mission of the Clinical Research Section (CRS) is to increase the inclusion of women in clinical research and increase the impact of clinical research on the health of women. Among other activities, CRS promotes principles for quality clinical research, promotes methods to recruit and retain women in clinical trials, and supports multidisciplinary research with a focus on underrepresented women (populations that experience health disparities).
The Science Policy, Planning, and Analysis (SPPA) section is responsible for the following major areas of the ORWH: science policy, strategic planning and evaluation, analysis and data management, and activities and reporting related to legislative, advocacy, and scientific organizations. Among other activities, the SPPA section spearheads the development, implementation, and evaluation of the NIH-wide strategic plan on women’s health research and leads analyses of ORWH and NIH-wide funding portfolios.
The Immediate Office of the Director (IMOD) serves as the support section to the ORWH director and deputy director, supporting a variety of cross-cutting NIH and external facing projects, leading collaborations with stakeholders and providing strategic guidance and planning for the office.
Establishment of the Office of Autoimmune Disease Research (OADR-ORWH) in the Office of Research on Women’s Health was directed by Congress in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023. The mission of OADR-ORWH is to support high priority autoimmune disease research, identify emerging areas of innovation, and foster collaboration across NIH institutes, centers, and offices.
Staff Listing
Janine Austin Clayton, M.D., FARVO
Director, NIH Office of Research on Women's Health
Associate Director for Research on Women's Health, NIH
ORWH Liaison: HHS CCWH, IMOD (DPCPSI), MMM Steering Committee
Vivian Ota Wang, Ph.D.
Deputy Director, NIH Office of Research on Women's Health
Balkissa M. Abdoulaye, M.A.
Supervisory Management Analyst
Rajeev K. Agarwal, Ph.D.
Senior Research Program Officer
ORWH Liaison: ADCC, FOAM, H3Africa, NHGRI, NIAID, NIBIB, OD/DPCPSI/OSC (The Common Fund), SCORE
Sylvia Barnett
Executive Assistant
ORWH Liaison: OAMC
Elizabeth Barr, Ph.D.
Associate Director for Interdisciplinary Research
ORWH Liaison: NIDCD, OAR, OBSSR, OBSSR Methods WG, ODP, SGMRO
Annina Burns, Ph.D., RD
Health Science Policy Analyst
Jasmin Bush, M.A.
Communications Director
ORWH Liaison: OCPL
Juliane Caviston, Ph.D.
Health Science Policy Analyst
ORWH Liaison: P&E Eval, P&E General, IOPW, Inclusion Governance Committee (IGC)
Kelly Chandler, Ph.D.
Health Science Policy Analyst
ORWH Liaison: DPCPSI Mentoring, Legislative Updates, OLPA, OSP, BRAIN Appropriations
Regine Douthard, M.D., M.P.H.
Senior Medical Officer
ORWH Liaison: FIC, NEI, NIEHS, NIGMS, ODS. ONR, NIH-wide Climate Change and Health WG
Shari Feirman, Ph.D.
Health Science Policy Analyst
ORWH Liaison: OSP
Elena Gorodetsky, M.D., Ph.D.
Health Scientist Administrator/Research Program Officer
ORWH Liaison: NCCIH, NICHD, NPERC COVID-19 WG, ORIP, PRGLAC, SGHD SIG, USPSTF
Lucia Hindorff, Ph.D.
Senior Advisor for Scientific and Organizational Strategy
Chyren Hunter, Ph.D.
Associate Director for Basic and Translational Research
ORWH Liaison: CSR, EMPC, FDA-OWH, NIA, OER, OPA
Benjamin Johns, Ph.D., M.P.A., M.A.
Social and Behavioral Scientist Administrator
ORWH Liaison: CDE TF, NIDDK, ODSS
Priscilla Logan-Waller, B.S.
Program Analyst, COR Level II
ORWH Liaison: CFDA (Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance)
Thushani Nilaweera, Ph.D.
Detailee
Samia Noursi, Ph.D.
Associate Director for Science Policy, Planning, and Analysis
ORWH Liaison: HHS-HRSA, Trans-NIH Strategic Plan for Women's Health, QDR IWG AHRQ, AHRQ, OMA, Trans-HHS Report, SAAVI, NIH-wide Strategic Plan WG, Biennial Report, RCDC, OEPR, MCS-WH, PCORI, CDC
Balkissa Ouattara, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H.
Physician
Tonya Parker, B.S.
Management Analyst
ORWH Liaison: CIT, FOIA
Raven Hardy Richard, Ph.D.
Health Science Policy Analyst
Victoria Shanmugam, MBBS, MRCP, FACR, CCD
Director, NIH Office of Autoimmune Disease Research in the Office of Research on Women's Health (OADR-ORWH)
Sherrika Spriggs
Administrative Officer
Sarah Temkin, M.D.
Associate Director for Clinical Research
ORWH Liaison: Clinical Center, NCI, Office of Clinical Research at Clinical Center
David Thomas, Ph.D.
Special Advisor to the Director
ORWH Liaison: ABCD, BRAIN, HBCD, MMM TF HHS, MMM WG, MMMTF NIH, NCATS, NIAAA, NIDA, NINDS, OPPNET, Pain Consortium, Weekly Cabinet
Xenia Tigno, Ph.D.
Associate Director for Careers
ORWH Liaison: NHLBI, OITE, WgWBC Intramural Committee
Carmen Ufret-Vincenty, Ph.D.
Health Science Policy Analyst
Marquitta Jonisse White, Ph.D.
Health Scientist Administrator
Karen Wylie, Ph.D.
Health Science Policy Analyst
ORWH Liaison: NIDCR, OADR
John Yeh, M.D.
Health Scientist – AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow