Sonia S. Gales, M.S.

Sonia joined the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), Department of Translational Research in May 2022, as a Scientific Project Manager and Contracting Officer Representative level III (COR III) for the NINDS Blueprint Neurotherapeutics Network (BPN) Biologics Program.  She has been with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) since 2004, preceded by 10 years in the private sector including 7+ years of supervisory experience managing production and manufacturing in the areas of diagnostics, gene-therapy, and virus-banking.  During her 18 years at NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, she managed many high-value contracts ($90M to $350M) developing vaccines for emerging infectious diseases, biodefense, and HIV, from early product/process development to clinical manufacturing, and phase 1 or 2 clinical trials.  During the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, Sonia was COR III on multiple clinical trials: four Remdesivir Adaptive COVID-19 Treatment Trials (ACTT), three Big Effect Trials for Accelerating COVID-19 Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccines (ACTIV-5), and COVID-19 Variant Immunologic Landscape (COVAIL).  She has received multiple Institute awards from Drs. Fauci and Collins, with her highest recognition being the HHS Secretary's award for distinguished service.  She earned her Master of Science degree in biochemistry from Maharaja SayajiRao University, Baroda, India.