ORWH ANNOUNCES NEW DEPUTY DIRECTOR

The Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH), National Institutes of Health (NIH) is pleased to announce the appointment of Janine Austin Clayton, M.D. as the new Deputy Director of ORWH.

Dr. Clayton will provide scientific and technical leadership and direction to the programs of ORWH related to women's health and career development for the NIH. She will assist the ORWH Director in administration of research programs, policies on inclusion of women and minorities in clinical research and coordination of other programmatic initiatives across the NIH.

Prior to joining ORWH, Dr. Clayton was the Deputy Clinical Director at the National Eye Institute (NEI), NIH. A board certified ophthalmologist and clinical investigator at NEI, she conducted research on inflammatory diseases of the eye, as well as randomized controlled trials of new therapies for immune-related eye diseases. For many years she also provided medical and surgical fellowship training at NEI with a particular interest in ocular surface disease, cataract surgery in uveitis (ocular inflammatory diseases), and pediatric uveitis. She will continue several focused clinical research activities at NEI.

"I am honored to have this opportunity to help lead women's health research efforts at NIH and to work with such an accomplished trailblazer as Dr. Pinn. Sex and gender factors are critical aspects of health and disease; in fact most of the eye diseases I've studied are more common in women." Dr. Clayton observed, "I've been privileged to play a role in a wide variety of research and career efforts at NIH over the years. I am particularly excited about the clinical implications of evolving research on women's health including those which address populations with disparate health status."

"The many facets of Dr. Clayton's expertise and accomplishments, including the conduct of research, clinical care, leadership in career development and organizational programs, and her diverse community experiences will bring exciting, new and valuable dimensions to the ORWH," stated Dr. Vivian W. Pinn, M.D., Director of the ORWH.

A native Washingtonian, Dr. Clayton received her undergraduate degree with Honors from the Johns Hopkins University and her M.D. from Howard University College of Medicine. She completed a residency in ophthalmology at the Medical College of Virginia and fellowship training in both Cornea and External Diseases at the Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University and in Uveitis and Ocular Immunology at the Laboratory of Immunology of NEI. Recognized as a leader by her peers, Dr. Clayton has received the Senior Achievement Award from the Board of Trustees of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, was elected to represent her colleagues in the prestigious international Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology and serves on editorial boards for several journals. Dr. Clayton is the author of over sixty scientific papers, research articles and book chapters and has utilized her clinical research and laboratory training as a researcher invested in a translational approach to science.

The ORWH was established to serve as the focal point in the Office of the Director for women's health research at the NIH. ORWH's mission is to strengthen and enhance women's health research and sex/gender studies, ensure that women are appropriately represented in biomedical and biobehavioral research studies supported by NIH, and develop opportunities for the advancement of women in biomedical careers and to support career development for women and men in women's health research.