Professional

Education

Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD

PhD: Doctor of Philosophy, Biomedical Engineering

• • F.M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute

  • Mentor: Peter C.M. van Zijl, PhD

  • Thesis: Quantitative MRI methods for mapping magnetic susceptibilities in the central nervous system

  • Acquired, analyzed, and applied novel MRI technologies to characterize the brain and spinal cord through clinical imaging studies at 3T and 7T including: children's development (PING), Alzheimer's Disease, Huntington's Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, HIV infection

  • 2012

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MD

BSc: Bachelor of Science, Biology

• • Minors: Biomedical Engineering, Toxicology

  • Humanities Concentration: Technical Writing

  • 2005

Professional and Academic Experience

Subset of >10 Positions

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD

Senior Advisor to the Director of the Division of Extramural Activities, NIAID [07/2023 - 01/2024]

• NIH/NIAID/DEA/IOD

• Division of Extramural Activities

• Senior Advisor: Recruited for Detail as Senior Advisor to the Director of the Division of Extramural Activities (DEA) at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). Augmented divisional leadership responsibilities (establishing collaborative resources, improving processes), analyzed the impact of extramural policies (international research, training portfolio), and optimized operations for division of >250 staff (e.g., reorganization of acquisitions program with >100 employees and grants management program with >80 employees).

Office of AIDS Research (OAR), Office of the Director (OD), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD

Senior Policy Advisor; Supervisory Health Science Policy Analyst for Policy, Legislation, Communications, and Engagement Team [05/2022 - 03/2024]

• NIH/OD/DPCPSI/OAR

• Policy, Legislation, Communications, and Engagement (PLCE) Team

• Office of AIDS Research (OAR)

• Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives (DPCPSI)

• Office of the Director (OD)

• National Institutes of Health (NIH)

• Supervisory Health Science Policy Analyst: Created, grew, and supervised the Policy, Legislation, Communication, and Engagement (PLCE) Team at OAR to promote consistent messaging to key partners and audiences, including Congress, federal agencies, the media, and the public. 

• Established a new team to respond to legislative mandates, as well as disseminate information and provide consistent messaging to key partners and varied audiences. Formed matrix structure to manage two work streams (policy / legislation and communications / engagement), where team leads managed projects under each work stream, and staff on the PLCE Team worked on projects across the functional areas. 

• Led congressional reporting, review and communications, operational planning, and NIH-wide committees.

Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), Bethesda, MD

Lead Health Science Policy Analyst; Team Lead for Science Policy and Planning (Internal Promotion) [04/2019 - 05/2022]

Health Science Policy Analyst [11/2015 - 04/2019]

• • NIH/NICHD/OSPRA/SPPEB

  • Science Policy, Planning and Evaluation Branch

  • Office of Science Policy, Reporting, and Program Analysis

  • Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

  • National Institutes of Health

  • Wrote reports to NIH, HHS, Congress. Drafted congressional testimony for NIH leadership. (Topics included pediatrics research, maternal health, newborn screening, intellectual and developmental disabilities, population health, rehabilitation, health disparities, SIDS, child development, pregnancy, Zika, AHRQ U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendations, and many more.)

  • Writing/Reporting: Translated science advances from research articles to plain language. Rapidly responded to media and congressional inquiries. Analyzed data on research and training grants, clinical trials, publications, funding. Identified areas of risk. Reported NICHD GPRA measures. Analyzed NICHD activities for NIH Triennial Report (FY 2016-2018 and FY 2019-2021). 

  • Strategic Planning: Represented NICHD on NIH Strategic Plan 2021-2025 Working Group. Drafted NIH-Wide Strategic Plan for COVID-19 Research. Wrote national research plan on Fragile X syndrome and FMR1-associated disorders. Wrote strategic vision for NICHD Gynecological Health & Disease Branch. Analyzed internal/external stakeholder input for NICHD Strategic Plan 2020, NICHD Office of Health Equity Strategic Plan. 

  • Co-authored publications, developed and implemented research policies, created data visualizations of portfolio analyses, and served on several NIH-wide committees. 

  • COR Level I

Detail: Program Official / Program Analyst [07/2017 - 11/2017]

• • Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Branch; Division of Extramural Research; NICHD

  • Published funding opportunity announcements on “Innovative Therapies and Tools for Screenable Disorders in Newborns” (R01, R03, R21) and “Identification and Management of Behavioral Symptoms and Mental Health Conditions in Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities” (R01). Monitored program checklists (Program Management Module, PMM) and project progress (Research Performance Progress Report, RPPR) systems. 

  • Performed portfolio analysis of Fragile X research, presented to trans-NIH working group and workshop with national FXS strategic plan stakeholders (academia, advocacy, other federal agencies). Published Request for Information (RFI) on plan.

Center for Scientific Review (CSR), NIH, Bethesda, MD

Detail: Review Officer; CSR Division of Receipt and Referral Extended Trainee [01/2022-06/2022]

• Division of Receipt and Referral (DRR)

• Received training on how to check incoming applications for compliance as they appeared in NIH systems.

• Served as Referral Officer for the Division of Neuroscience, Development, and Aging (DNDA), categorizing application for training grants, fellowships, small business applications, and research projects. 

• Received incoming applications to NIH funding opportunity announcements (FOAs) (e.g., R01, R21, fellowship, SBIR, STTR) and referred to study sections, institutes, review groups using NIH guidelines and internal systems: eRR (receipt and referral of incoming applications), ARA (checking required documentation), ACR (administrative changes to applications), RDA (in-depth analysis through Center for Scientific Review).

National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD

AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellowship, Big Data & Analytics Program [04/2015 - 11/2015]

• • Office of Extramural Research; Office of the Director

  • Developed NIH policies on research rigor/reproducibility/sex as a biological variable (drafted/edited 5 guide notices, grant application and review criteria language for FOAs, websites, frequently-asked questions). Created/edited training modules explaining new policies for NIH Program Officers, Scientific Review Officers, and the general public.

  • Performed needs assessment/qualitative evaluation with internal and external stakeholders through focus groups, coordinated communication efforts, and Requests for Information (RFIs). Presented findings to NIH leadership and committees. 

  • Aided outreach to NIH extramural community: NIH Regional Seminar (>850 registrants), Rock Talk and Open Mike Blogs (~38k visitors/month, >133K subscribers). Redesigned grants.nih.gov. 

National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD

AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellowship, Big Data & Analytics Program [08/2014 - 08/2015]

• • Office of Science Policy, Planning, and Communications; Office of the Director

  • Implemented discussion forum for Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) Initiative. Edited NIMH 2015 Strategic Plan. 

  • Published AAAS Sci-on-the-Fly blog articles on the value of a PhD and effective data visualization strategies (blog’s highest #hits).

Quirky Ink, LLC, Fulton, MD

Founder, CEO, President [01/2013 - 04/2023]

• • Launched small business to promote creative communication via >25 websites, >10 designs, >10 editing projects.

  • Pursued new business initiatives, interfacing with diverse groups in academia, nonprofits, industry, government.

  • Developed websites, blogs, social media, standard operating procedures, information technology, logos, graphic designs, surveys, brochures, publications, and newsletters for private pediatric practice (Port Warwick Pediatrics), nonprofit organizations (e.g., Association for Women in Science), academic groups (e.g., National Resource for Quantitative Functional MRI, JHMI Postdoctoral Association), social and cultural groups (e.g., Hopkins Dance).

  • Founded private pediatric practice. Taught clinicians, nurses, staff how to use electronic health/practice management software.

Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHUSOM), Baltimore, MD

Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (NIH T32MH015330), Dept. of Radiology [10/2012 - 08/2014]

• • Mentors: Peter C.M. van Zijl, PhD; Russell L. Margolis, MD; Christopher A. Ross, MD, PhD

  • Supervised clinical research teams of >10 clinicians/engineers to study schizophrenia/Huntington's Disease with multimodal MRI technologies (Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping [QSM], DTI, VASO, CEST, fMRI) at 3 Tesla and 7 Tesla. Collaborated/Communicated with internal/external subject matter experts at Johns Hopkins across departments.

  • Administered/analyzed cognitive testing (MoCA, HART, MMSE, BPRS, psychiatric interviews) with human subjects and patients.

  • Published 2 first-author/3 co-authored journal articles, 2 presentations, 5 posters, 2 blogs, 10 blog articles, 3 feature articles.

Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHUSOM), Baltimore, MD

PhD Candidate/Teaching Assistant, Dept. of Biomedical Engineering [06/2005 - 09/2012]

• • Mentor: Peter C.M. van Zijl, PhD; F.M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging

  • Developed, improved, applied novel MRI imaging techniques to characterize aging/neurodegenerative disorders.

  • Lectured on MRI methods to JHUAPL, JHU radiology and neurology residents; taught medical imaging/neural systems to under/graduates.

  • Published 2 articles, 4 oral presentations, 3 posters at international/regional journals/conferences, 10 blog articles.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA

Undergraduate Research Assistant / Teaching Assistant, Division of Bioengineering [01/2002 - 06/2005]

Schauer Laboratory, Division of Comparative Medicine

• • Conducted in vivo macrophage/in vitro murine infection studies to model inflammatory bowel disease

  • Analyzed activation/reprogramming of bone marrow macrophages by enterohepatic Helicobacter spp

  • Co-authored 5 posters for national/regional conferences/symposia

  • Taught marketing/clinical biotechnology to 60 undergraduates (Drs. John Essigmann, Robert Langer)

  • Advised 10 freshmen on biomedical career options (Drs. Bruce Rosen, Sidney Yip)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Langley, VA

Research Affiliate, Summer High School Apprenticeship Research Program (SHARP) [06/2000 - 08/2000]

• • Project: Quantitative research involving spectrophotometry and optical appearance

  • Designed metal mount with CAD program to measure lens properties for the Near IR (946nm) Laser Development Project

Additional Leadership Experience

Experience promoting women in science, advancement of science, postdoctoral fellows, imaging researchers, dancing, neuroengineering, and Girl Scouts. 

Skills

• • Federal Resources: NIH BRAIN, QVR, IMPAC II, RePORT, iREPORT, RCDC, eRA, GPRA VPS, LMS, RPPR, FOAM, PMM, RTMS, WebEx

  • Software: MATLAB; R; Microsoft Office (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook, SharePoint, Access, Power BI); Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, InDesign, GoLive); Tableau; IN-SPIRE; Windows, Mac OSX, Linux, Unix; iOS, Android; Google Apps; Articulate Studio; Tableau

  • Web Design: HTML, GTML, CSS, Drupal, LifeRay, Blogger, WordPress

  • MRI: image acquisition, image analysis, clinical studies, FSL, MIPAV, AMIRA, MRI Studio, registration, automated segmentation

  • Research: clinical studies; in vitro, in vivo infection studies; PCR; gel electrophoresis; macrophage extraction; cell culture; inter-rater reliability; network analysis

  • Quantitative/Qualitative Evaluation: portfolio analysis, needs assessment, focus groups, data visualization, qualitative coding, strategic planning

  • Medical Practice Management: information technology, HealthFusion, AthenaHealth, online resource administration, billing

  • Communication: excellent interpersonal skills, oral, written communication skills; plain language, scientific/technical/creative writing, proofreading, editing, summarizing; graphic design, painting; spokesperson for initiatives and groups, interdepartmental communication; individualization, optimism, energy; social initiative, customized messaging; management support, coordinating large projects, experience leading programs at multiple levels and complex projects with significant impact on the organization 

  • Typing Speed: 110 words per minute

  • Conversational Spanish

  • U.S. Citizen

Professional Interests

• • Policy: Big Data, Program Evaluation, Strategic Planning, Efficient Operating Procedures, Editing, Science Writing, Communication, Data Visualization, Screening, Impact of Research, Applications

  • Research: Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Central Nervous System, Human Development, Saturation, Exchange, Magnetization Transfer, Quantitative Magnetic Susceptibility, Water Saturation Shift Referencing (WASSR), Direct Saturation Imaging, Gray and White Matter Contrast, Relaxometry, Huntington's Disease, Schizophrenia, Alzheimer's Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Neurodegeneration, Aging