Rebecca Bortz Costello, Ph.D., Director of Grants and Extramural Activities

Rebecca Bortz Costello, Ph.D. assumed the position of Director of Grants and Extramural Activities for the ODS in May 2006. Prior to this, she served as Deputy Director from January 1999 to April 2006 and Acting Director from January 1999 to October 1999. Dr. Costello participated in the development of the ODS Strategic Plan and is charged with implementing the plan's goals and objectives by organizing workshops and conferences on topics of national interest in dietary supplements, conducting scientific reviews to identify gaps in scientific knowledge, and initiating and coordinating research efforts among NIH Institutes and other federal agencies.

As Director of Grants and Extramural Activities she actively engages and encourages partnerships with other NIH Institutes and Centers to facilitate funding of grants that are of high relevance to the ODS mission and goals. Additionally, she oversees the Congressionally-mandated IBIDS database (International Bibliographic Database on Dietary Supplements) and is co-editor of the ODS Annual Bibliography of Significant Advances in Dietary Supplement Research.

Prior to her NIH appointment, Dr. Costello was with the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Sciences, serving as Project Director for the Committee on Military Nutrition Research. Her work focused on evaluating the nutritional adequacy and use of nutritional supplements for sustaining and enhancing performance in military personnel. She was also involved in developing programs to assess the quality of clinical and nutrition care services and to examine the relationship between alcohol consumption and overall diet.

From 1987 to 1996, Dr. Costello served as a Research Associate and Program Director for the Risk Factor Reduction Center, a referral center at the Washington Adventist Hospital for the detection, modification, and prevention of cardiovascular disease through dietary and/or drug interventions. Prior to this, she held a position as Research Biologist at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

Dr. Costello received a B.S. and M.S. in biology from the American University, Washington, D.C., and a Ph.D. in clinical nutrition from the University of Maryland at College Park. Her clinical research focused on the assessment of magnesium status in patients with congestive heart failure. Dr. Costello maintains active membership in several nutrition societies and the American Heart Association. Her areas of research interest include mineral nutrition and dietary interventions to reduce cardiovascular disease.