Marie A. Bernard '72 Named NIH Chief Officer for Scientific Workforce Diversity

Marie A. Bernard '72 has been named the National Institutes of Health's next Chief Officer for Scientific Workforce Diversity (COSWD). She will lead NIH’s effort to promote diversity, inclusiveness, and equity throughout the biomedical research enterprise.

Bernard has served as the acting COSWD since October 2020, and has also served as the deputy director of the National Institute on Aging (NIA) since October 2008.

From the press release announcing her appointment:

"Dr. Bernard has played key leadership roles in a broad variety of NIH activities to further diversity, including serving as a co-chair of the UNITE initiative, and leading the development of the NIA Health Disparities Research Framework, which guides NIA research in this area. She also directed and supervised the NIA Office of Special Populations, which leads health disparities research and training for scientists from diverse backgrounds within NIA."

"She is a founding member of the Diversity Working Group and NIH Equity Committee, and co-chair of the NIH Inclusion Governance Committee, which oversees inclusion in clinical research by sex/gender, race/ethnicity, and age. Dr. Bernard also leads the Women of Color Committee of the Working Group on Women in Biomedical Careers, which established the Women of Color Research Network. She has worked to recruit an increasing number of scientists who are women of color as potential speakers for the NIH Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series. Dr. Bernard has been recognized for her leadership with multiple awards, including the 2020 NIH Director’s Award for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion."