Program Directors and Managers

Program Directors oversee the research activities in one or more parts of the Institute's research funding program, managing a portfolio of grants and contracts and coordinating program efforts in these specifically defined areas of neuroscience research. Please reach out to individual Program Directors for more information about specific opportunities.

Use the quick search below to find your program director based on your research keywords.

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Program Director/Program Manager Portfolios Organization Category
Churn, Severn (Ben) (Ph.D.) Acquired epilepsies (with focus on circuit mechanisms, seizure initiation, seizure detection, seizure prediction); comorbidities and co-occurring conditions: cognitive impairments, ID, post-traumatic epilepsy, stroke-induced seizures, seizures in aging and development; basic research on synaptic transmission and plasticity Channels Synapses and Circuits
Leenders, Miriam (Ph.D.) Acquired epilepsies (with focus on epilepsies with immunological or infectious etiology); epilepsy prevention strategies, disease modifying interventions, and cell replacement therapies; comorbidities and co-occurring conditions: psychiatric and hormonal; Lafora Disease; temporal lobe epilepsy; basic research on synaptic function; tripartite synapse Channels Synapses and Circuits
Umanah, George (Ph.D.) Molecular structure, function, and regulation of ion channels, transporters, and pumps; channelopathy; mitochondria and mTORopathy mediated epileptic spasms and structural epilepsies; identifying novel genes and biomarkers for the epilepsies Channels Synapses and Circuits
Whittemore, Vicky (Ph.D.) Genetic epilepsies; metabolic epilepsy; sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP); clinical epilepsy research; myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and fatigue; alternating hemiplegia of children Channels Synapses and Circuits
Sieber, Beth-Anne (Ph.D.) Parkinson's disease (neuronal loss/repair, circuit dysfunction, neuroinflammation, microbiome, and Udall Centers of Excellence); synucleinopathies (multiple system atrophy (MSA) and preclinical studies of Lewy Body Dementia (LBD)); other movement disorders (dystonia, preclinical and genetic studies of essential tremor) Movement Disorders & Neurodegeneration
Swanson-Fischer, Christine (Ph.D.) Parkinson's Disease Biomarkers Program (PDBP); NINDS Biorepository (BioSEND); NINDS Human Cell and Data Repository (NHCDR); Accelerating Medicines Partnership for Parkinson's Disease (AMP-PD); NINDS Biospecimen Resource Access Committees (BRACs) Movement Disorders & Neurodegeneration
Price, Rebecca (Ph.D.) NINDS Biorepository (BioSEND); NINDS Human Cell and Data Repository (NHCDR); NINDS Biospecimen Resource Access Committees (BRACs) Movement Disorders & Neurodegeneration
Sarraf, Shireen (Ph.D.) Structural, biochemical, molecular, and cellular aspects of Parkinson's disease as it relates to alpha-synuclein structure, mitochondrial biology, and lysosomal function Movement Disorders & Neurodegeneration
Bosetti, Francesca (Ph.D,, Pharm.D.) Ischemic stroke, neuroprotection, biology of stroke repair and recovery, and blood-brain barrier Neural Environment
Daley, William (Ph.D.) HIV-associated neurological disorders, infectious diseases of the nervous system, neurovirology, and Creutzfeldt-Jacob Disease and other transmissible spongiform encephalopathies Neural Environment
Fountain, Jane (Ph.D.) Primary brain tumor (pediatric and young adult) Neural Environment
Koenig, Jim (Ph.D.) Hemorrhagic stroke and aneurysm, pediatric/neurodevelopmental hypoxia-ischemic insults, cerebrovascular biology and pathophysiological mechanisms of stroke and recovery, stroke neuroimaging, and global cerebral ischemia Neural Environment
Kotliarova, Svetlana (Ph.D.) Primary brain tumor (adult) Neural Environment
Utz, Ursula (Ph.D.) Multiple sclerosis and related disorders (including animal models thereof), studies on CNS demyelination and repair Neural Environment
Cymerblit Sabba, Adi (Ph.D.) NIH Neurobiobank (human brain tissue banking) Neurodegeneration, Dementia, & Repeat Expansion Disorders
McCartney, Amber (Ph.D.) Alzheimer's Disease and Alzheimer's Disease-Related Dementias (AD/ADRD); Diverse VCID: White Matter Lesion Etiology of Dementia in Diverse Populations; Determinants of Incident Stroke Cognitive Outcomes and Vascular Effects on Recovery (DISCOVERY) Neurodegeneration, Dementia, & Repeat Expansion Disorders
Gubitz, Amelie (Ph.D.) Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Neurodegeneration, Dementia, & Repeat Expansion Disorders
Shewmaker, Frank (Ph.D.) Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD) Neurodegeneration, Dementia, & Repeat Expansion Disorders
McGavern, Linda (Ph.D.) Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Multiple etiology dementias (MED); Frontotemporal Dementia and associated subtypes Neurodegeneration, Dementia, & Repeat Expansion Disorders
Miller, Daniel (Ph.D.) Huntington's Disease; invertebrate neuromuscular junction synaptic development, structure, and function; NIH NeuroBioBank (human brain tissue banking) Neurodegeneration, Dementia, & Repeat Expansion Disorders
Corriveau, Roderick (Ph.D.) Alzheimer's Disease and Alzheimer's Disease-Related Dementias (AD/ADRD). Vascular contributions to cognitive impairment and dementia (VCID), for example vascular cognitive impairment (VCI), vascular dementia (VaD), cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA), and CADASIL. Neurodegeneration, Dementia, & Repeat Expansion Disorders
Ranganathan, Srikanth (Ph.D.) Spinocerebellar Ataxias (SCAs), Spinal and Bulbar Muscular Atrophy, Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia, Friedreich’s Ataxia; Cell death mechanisms relevant to neurodegenerative disorders and not due to ischemia per se; Basic Mechanisms of Neurodegeneration including Mitochondrial / ER / Calcium homeostasis; Neuromuscular Junction Biology (vertebrate) Neurodegeneration, Dementia, & Repeat Expansion Disorders
Doss, Argenia (Ph.D.) NIH Common Fund Undiagnosed Diseases Network (UDN) Neurogenetics
Morris, Jill (Ph.D). Technology development for gene-targeted therapies; various uncommon and rare diseases (including neural tube defects (spina bifida), hydrocephalus and normal pressure hydrocephalus, Tourette syndrome and tics, Neurofibromatosis 1 and 2, Schwannomatosis, Noonan Syndrome, inborn errors of metabolism, lysosomal storage disorders, leukodystrophies, brain iron accumulation disorders (NBIA), copper metabolism disorders, congenital disorders of glycosylation, mitochondrial disorders, and peroxisomal disorders); Ataxia Telangiectasia and basic studies on ATM mutation related DNA damage and DNA repair Neurogenetics
Nuckolls, Glen (Ph.D.) Muscular dystrophies; spinal muscular atrophy and inherited peripheral neuropathies (e.g. Charcot-Marie-Tooth, giant axonal neuropathy, familial dysautonomia) and inflammatory or autoimmune peripheral neuropathies (e.g. myasthenia gravis, Guillain-Barre Syndrome, chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy); diabetic and chemotherapy induced-peripheral neuropathies Neurogenetics
Riddle, Robert (Ph.D.) Early pattern formation; neural polarity and migration; axonal guidance; cortical, cerebellar, midbrain, and hindbrain development; chromatin structure and function in the nervous system; epigenetic mechanisms; development and use of animal model systems; Joubert and Dandy-Walker Syndrome; Chiari Malformations; Down Syndrome and diseases related to intellectual developmental disorders; Fragile X Tremor Ataxia (FXTAS) Neurogenetics
Zhang, Ran (Ph.D.) NIH Genomic Data Sharing (GDS) policy; NIH Database of Genotypes and Phenotypes (dbGaP); NINDS Human Genetics DNA and Cell Line Repository Neurogenetics
Tyler, William (Ph.D.) General glia biology; oligodendrocyte and Schwann cell development, function and myelination; neural crest and neural tube development Neurogenetics
Talley, Edmund (Ned) (Ph.D.) BRAIN Initiative Neurotechnology Development Program, BRAIN CONNECTS Program Neurotechnology & Integrated Systems
Hwang, Grace (Ph.D.) BRAIN Initiative New Technologies (R01, RF1); BRAIN Initiative Optimization (U01) Neurotechnology & Integrated Systems
Gebrehiwet, Hermon (Ph.D.) Research Opportunities in Humans Neurotechnology & Integrated Systems
Gnadt, Jim (Ph.D.) Systems and computational neuroscience; BRAIN Initiative (integrative systems neuroscience; intracortical human neuroscience (U01); team-research brain circuits programs (U19)) Neurotechnology & Integrated Systems
David, Karen (Ph.D.) BRAIN Integrated Approaches/Circuits Research Project Grants (R34, R01) and Team exploratory research (U01); BRAIN Initiated Advanced Postdoctoral Career Transition Award to Promote Diversity (K99/R00); NINDS Team Science RM1 Neurotechnology & Integrated Systems
Johnson, Kari (Ph.D.) BRAIN CONNECTS Program; BRAIN Initiated Advanced Postdoctoral Career Transition Award to Promote Diversity (K99/R00) Neurotechnology & Integrated Systems
Trzcinski, Natalie (Ph.D.) BRAIN Initiative Research Resource Grants for Technology Integration and Dissemination (U24) Neurotechnology & Integrated Systems
Awwad, Hibah (Ph.D.) Basic and translational that relate to traumatic brain injury (TBI); cognitive/emotional domains affected by TBI; TBI-related dementia including Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) Repair & Plasticity
Bambrick, Linda (Ph.D.) Responses to spinal cord injury or peripheral nerve injury, including axonal regeneration; interventions to promote recovery and/or restore function Repair & Plasticity
LaVaute, Tim (Ph.D.) Neurogenesis and progenitor cell biology in nervous system development and function, application/treatment; tissue engineering; human embryonic stem cells; human fetal tissue; dendritic growth and plasticity Repair & Plasticity
Umoh, Nsini (Ph.D.) Translational and clinical studies that relate to traumatic brain injury (TBI); cognitive/emotional domains affected by TBI; TBI-related dementia including Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) Repair & Plasticity
Babcock, Debra (M.D., Ph.D.) Basic and translational aspects of behavior and cognitive neuroscience; CNS plasticity; Lewy Body Dementia; neuroimaging development (disease-agnostic) Systems and Cognitive Neuroscience
Bachman, Julia (Ph.D.) HEAL Initiative Early Translational Efforts Systems and Cognitive Neuroscience
Chen, Daofen (Ph.D.) Motor control and learning; device-based or behavioral interventions for movement disorders, stroke, and cerebral palsy; neural rehabilitation Systems and Cognitive Neuroscience
He, Janet (Ph.D.) CNS and homeostatic regulation of sleep and circadian rhythms; sleep in neurological disorders; neuroendocrine systems Systems and Cognitive Neuroscience
Mohapatra, DP (Ph.D.) Peripheral and spinal mechanisms of somatosensation; neurobiology of itch; glia/neuro-immune biology. For investigators whose last name starts with L-Z: basic, translational, and clinical research in pain; NIH HEAL Initiative Systems and Cognitive Neuroscience
Osborne, Leslie (Ph.D.) Integrative function of brain circuits, sensorimotor integration, multi-sensory processing, sensory systems, thalamo-cortical functions, systems neurobiology, computational neuroscience, and Collaborative Research in Computational Neuroscience (CRCNS) Systems and Cognitive Neuroscience
Oshinsky, Michael (Ph.D.) Migraine and other headache disorders. For investigators whose last name starts with A-K: basic, translational, and clinical research in pain; NIH HEAL Initiative Systems and Cognitive Neuroscience
Crawford, Devon C. (Ph.D.) Research quality, experimental rigor, scientific transparency, training in the principles of rigorous research Office of Research Quality
Silberberg, Shai (Ph.D.) Research quality, experimental rigor, scientific transparency, training in the principles of rigorous research Office of Research Quality
Benson, Richard (M.D., Ph.D) Vascular neurology, clinical trials, epidemiology, global health, minority health, health disparities and health equity Global Health and Health Disparities
Brown, Jeremy (M.D.) SIREN (Strategies to Innovate EmeRgENcy Care Clinical Trials Network); clinical trials in neurologic, heart, lung, blood, and traumatic injuries Division of Clinical Research
Hartman, Adam (M.D.) Pediatric epilepsy; clinical epilepsy research Division of Clinical Research
Hommer, Rebecca (M.D.) EPPIC-Net (Early Phase Pain Investigation Clinical Network); pediatric research Division of Clinical Research
Janis, Scott (Ph.D.) Clinical trials and epidemiology, Cerebrovascular disease, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), NINDS Stroke Trials Network and the Neurological Emergencies Treatment Trials Network (NETT) Division of Clinical Research
Karp, Barbara (M.D.) HEAL Initiative; EPPIC-NET (Early Phase Pain Investigation Clinical Network) Division of Clinical Research
Lungu, Codrin (M.D.) Parkinson's disease, dystonia, tremor, myoclonus Division of Clinical Research
Arudchandran, Ram (Ph.D.) HEAL Biomarker Program Division of Translational Research
Langhals, Nick (Ph.D.) Translational Neural Devices, BRAIN Initiative, HEAL Initiative Division of Translational Research
Boshoff, Chris (Ph.D.) Cooperative Research to Enable and Advance Translational Enterprises (CREATE) Division of Translational Research
Caporello, Emily (Ph.D.) Small Business Programs (SBIR/STTR); BRAIN Dissemination Research Resource Program Division of Translational Research
Cywin, Charles (Ph.D.) Blueprint Therapeutics Network and HEAL Analgesic Therapeutics Development (Small Molecures and Biologics) to Treat Pain Division of Translational Research
Frankowski, Megan (Ph.D.) Translational Neural Devices, BRAIN Initiative, HEAL Initiative Division of Translational Research
Gross, Brooks A. (Ph.D.) Translational Neural Devices, BRAIN Initiative, HEAL Initiative Division of Translational Research
Hachicha, Mohamed (Ph.D.) Blueprint Neurotherapeutics Network Division of Translational Research
Hudak, Eric M. (Ph.D.) Translational Neural Devices; Neural prostheses, neural engineering, sensory prostheses, brain-computer interfaces (BCI), prosthetic-limb control, peripheral and spinal interfaces, electrochemistry, implantable materials Division of Translational Research
Iyengar, Smriti (Ph.D.) HEAL Initiative - Preclinical Screening Platform for Pain (PSPP) program Division of Translational Research
Jett, David A. (Ph.D.) NIH Countermeasures Against Chemical Threats (CounterACT) program, neurotoxicology, translational research, and diversity in the research workforce Division of Translational Research
Klein, Brian (Ph.D.) Epilepsy Therapy Screening Program (ETSP), Preclinical Pharmacology, Animal Models; Preclinical Neurotherapeutic Development Division of Translational Research
Laeng, Pascal (Ph.D.) Blueprint Neurotherapeutics Network and Functional Target Validation for Alzheimer's Disease-Related Dementias Division of Translational Research
Langhals, Nick (Ph.D.) Translational Neural Devices; Neural engineering with emphases in neuroprostheses, neuromodulation, brain-computer interface (BCI) devices, prosthetic control, and neural interface technology development Division of Translational Research
Pelleymounter, Mary Ann (Ph.D.) HEAL Initiative Analgesic Therapeutics Development (Small Molecules and Biologics) to Treat Pain Division of Translational Research
Raessi, Shamsi (Ph.D.) Blueprint Therapeutics Network Division of Translational Research
Rangarajan, Nagarajan (Ph.D.) Blueprint Therapeutics Network Division of Translational Research
Raol, Yogi (Ph.D.) Epilepsy Therapy Screening Program (ETSP) Division of Translational Research
Roof, Rebecca (Ph.D.) Innovation Grants to Nurture Initial Translational Efforts (IGNITE) Division of Translational Research
Skiadopoulos, Mario (Ph.D.) Cooperative Research to Enable and Advance Translational Enterprises (CREATE) Division of Translational Research
Spriggs, Shardell (Ph.D.) NIH Countermeasures Against Chemical Threats Program Division of Translational Research
Taylor-Burds, Carol (Ph.D.) HEAL Initiative - Biomarkers Program and Blueprint Neurotherapeutics Network Division of Translational Research
Iyengar, Smriti (Ph.D.) HEAL Initiative - Preclinical Screening Platform for Pain (PSPP) Division of Translational Research
Woller, Sarah (Ph.D.) HEAL Initiative - Preclinical Screening Platform for Pain (PSPP) Division of Translational Research
Ullrich, Lauren (Ph.D.) Diversity Faculty K01, MOSAIC K99/R00, NINDS ADRD K99/R00, D-SPAN F99/K00, Summer R25s, SCORE (SC1, 2, 3), SURE OPEN- Workforce Diversity
Torres-Salazar, Delany (Ph.D.) Training & Workforce Development
Korn, Stephen (Ph.D.) Inquiries about K12 institutional training programs as well as the NINDS Research Education Programs for Residents and Fellows in Neurology and Neurosurgery (R25) and the general NINDS R25 program. Inquiries about career development awards (postdoc K01, K02, K08, K23) and The Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00). Inquiries about the T32 Institutional Training Programs. Inquiries about the R15 AREA Program. Inquiries about the Loan Repayment Program (LRP). General inquiries related to training, career development and research education, and all inquiries related to the training of clinician-scientists. Inquiries about transitioning to independent, non-mentored funding mechanisms. Training & Workforce Development
Hsu, Nina (Ph.D.) Neuroethics, Bioethics Division of Extramural Activities
Mendoza-Puccini, Carolina (M.D.) Strategies to Innovate Emergency Care Clinical Trials Network (SIREN), Common Data Elements (CDE), Data Sharing, Clinical Trials, Human Subjects Division of Clinical Research
Jones-London, Michelle D. (Ph.D.) Diversity Training and Workforce Development including Diversity Supplements (BRAIN AND ADRD), Re-Entry Supplements, R25 Education Programs (Neuroscience Scholars Program and NIH Blueprint ENDURE), Career Development Awards (Diversity K01, MOSIAC, and BRAIN Initiative K99/R00), Predoctoral (F31) Diversity NRSA, NIH Blueprint Diversity Specialized Predoctoral to Postdoctoral Advancement in Neuroscience (D-SPAN) Award F99/K00, Diversity Outreach Conferences and Diversity Workgroup Activities OPEN- Workforce Diversity
Matthews, Marguerite (Ph.D.) R13 Inclusion, NINDS Diversity and Re-Entry/Re-Integration Supplements, Diversity R25, ENDURE R25, and Diversity F31 OPEN- Workforce Diversity
Sankar, Cheryse (Ph.D.) Health Equity; Sociodeterminants of Health; Pain Disparities; NIH HEAL Initiative; Health Disparities in Neurological Disorders and Stroke Global Health and Health Disparities