Dr. John J. McGowan Named NIAID Deputy Director
John J. McGowan, Ph.D., has been named deputy director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). In his new position, Dr. McGowan will provide leadership for scientific and extramural policy issues and senior level interactions with other NIH components and the NIH Office of the Director.
NIAID supports investigators and scientific studies at universities, medical schools and research institutions that will help prevent, diagnose and treat such illnesses as AIDS, tuberculosis, Lyme disease, allergies and asthma.
In announcing the appointment, Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., director of NIAID, said, "It gives me great pleasure to name Dr. John McGowan to the deputy director position. He brings a wide variety of skills to our management team. I believe he will contribute to the efficient operation of NIAID and the continuation of our leadership role in the NIH community."
A virologist, Dr. McGowan started his NIH career in 1986 as one of the first staff members in what is now NIAID’s Division of AIDS. He established the Developmental Therapeutics Branch and served as its first chief. Dr. McGowan and his staff worked on the development of therapies to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS and associated opportunistic infections. Later he became director of the Basic Research and Development Program in the Division of AIDS.
In 1991, Dr. McGowan was appointed director of the NIAID Division of Extramural Activities. In that role, he was widely recognized for designing and implementing reinvention experiments that improved the grants process at both the institute and NIH levels.
He received the NIH Director’s Award in 1991 for "superb leadership, resourcefulness and innovation," and the PHS Superior Service Award in 1994 for "extraordinary contributions to AIDS research, building collaborative research programs and management of NIAID scientific programs."
With research interests in microbiology, virology and molecular biology, Dr. McGowan was an assistant professor in the department of microbiology at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md., from 1982 to 1986.
During this time, he developed a research program on the molecular biology of rhabdo, corona and bunya viruses. He received NIH grants and other funding mechanisms to study the vesicular stomatitis virus, mouse hepatitis virus and Korean hemorrhagic fever virus. He has published numerous journal articles and book chapters.
A native of Mobile, Ala., Dr. McGowan received his bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Southern Alabama in Mobile in 1973 and earned his doctoral degree in microbiology from the University of Mississippi in Jackson in 1980. He completed his postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville in 1982. He is one of 10 children born to David Charles and Ruby Mary McGowan of Mobile, Ala.
NIAID is a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). NIAID conducts and supports research to prevent, diagnose and treat illnesses such as HIV disease and other sexually transmitted diseases, tuberculosis, asthma and allergies. NIH is an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
NIAID press releases, fact sheets and other materials are available on the Internet via the NIAID home page at http://www.niaid.nih.gov.
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