Dr. Barbara Alving

"The CTSA program marks the first systemic change in clinical research in 50 years and is a critical component of how we will effectively re-engineer the clinical research enterprise, including training the next generation of researchers. It will be with Dr. Alving's vision, creativity and leadership that we will be able to maximize our investment in the CTSA consortium, ensure that benefits extend to the greater research community and that new medical advances are delivered to the people who need them."

"I am honored to lead NCRR at such a critical time and welcome the opportunity to work with my very talented and dedicated colleagues in NCRR as we capitalize on NCRR's long-standing investment in clinical and translational science to enrich the CTSA program," Alving said. "I have been impressed by the variety and depth of the research that NCRR-funded investigators are conducting and the contributions NCRR makes to the entire biomedical research community. These investigators are fueling advances in clinical care by developing pre-clinical models, new technologies in imaging and new informatics systems, which are critical to transforming clinical and translational research."

The NCRR budget of more than $1 billion will enable investigators throughout the country to conduct research that ranges from basic and clinical projects to community outreach and education. NCRR funding provides training and research opportunities at minority institutions and colleges, as well as in academic centers located in predominantly rural and low-population states.

A native of Indiana and a graduate of Purdue University, Alving earned her medical degree-cum laude-from Georgetown University School of Medicine, where she also served as an intern in internal medicine. She completed her residency training, followed by a research fellowship in hematology at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

She began her research career as a public health officer in the Division of Blood and Blood Products at the Food and Drug Administration. Alving then joined Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, where she served at the rank of colonel as chief of the department of hematology and vascular biology. In 1997, she became chief of the section of hematology and oncology at Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C. In 1999, she joined the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute as director of the Division of Blood Diseases and Resources. She then became the NHLBI deputy director and acting director while also serving as director of the Women's Health Initiative (2002-2006). In 2005, Zerhouni tapped her to be acting director of NCRR.

A professor of medicine at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Alving is also a master in the American College of Physicians, a former member of the subcommittee on hematology of the American Board of Internal Medicine and a previous member of the FDA blood products advisory committee. Before joining NIH, she served on the hematology study section for NIH and was a member of the NHLBI clinical trials review committee. She currently serves the NIH director as the official NIH liaison for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and is a member of the advisory board for clinical research at the Clinical Center.

Alving is a recipient of the American Society of Hematology award for outstanding service and also received a Commendable Service Award from the FDA for her work on hypotensive agents in albumin products. Her military honors include the U.S. Legion of Merit, awarded by the U.S. Army, for work that improved the care of soldiers in combat.

She is a co-inventor on two patents, has edited three books and has published more than 100 papers in the areas of thrombosis and hemostasis.