Staff
OTIR Programs
NCI Related Initiatives
OTIR Programs
Carolyn Compton, M.D., Ph.D.
Director, Office of Biorepositories and Biospecimen Research
Acting Director, Office of Technology and Industrial Relations
Office of the Director
National Cancer Institute
Dr. Compton was appointed in 2005 as Director of the newly-established Office of Biorepositories and Biospecimen Research in the Office of the Director at the National Cancer Institute. In that capacity, she is responsible for developing a common biorepository infrastructure that promotes resource sharing and team science, in order to facilitate multi-institutional, high throughput genomic and proteomic studies. Dr. Compton is focused on establishing biobanking as a new area of research, in order to determine the impact of various collection and processing protocols on the usefulness of biospecimens in genomic and proteomic studies.
Dr. Compton came to the NCI from McGill University, where she was the Strathcona Professor and Chair of Pathology and the Pathologist-in-Chief of the five teaching hospitals of the McGill University Health Center. Previously, she had been a Professor of Pathology at Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts General Hospital, where she was the Director of Gastrointestinal Pathology for 15 years.
Dr. Compton received her M.D. and Ph.D. degrees simultaneously from Harvard Medical School and the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. She trained in both Anatomic Pathology and Clinical Pathology at Harvard’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Her current research involves translational studies in colon cancer and human biospecimen science.
Dr. Compton holds several national and international leadership positions, including the Commission on Scientific Affairs and past Chair of the Cancer Committee of the College of American Pathologists, the Chair of the Pathology Committee of the Cancer and Leukemia Group B, the Chair of the Education Committees of the American Joint Committee on Cancer, and Chair of the Education Subcommittee of the clinical trials Intergroup Banking Committee. She is a member of the ASCO Education Committee and the Executive Committee of the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons.
Piotr Grodzinski, Ph.D.
Director, Nanotechnology for Cancer Programs
Office of the Director
National Cancer Institute
Dr. Piotr Grodzinski is a Director of Nanotechnology for Cancer programs at the Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer of the National Cancer Institute. He is an internationally recognized authority in the areas of bio- and nano-chip assays and microfluidics.
Prior to joining NCI, Dr. Grodzinski was with the Bioscience Division of Los Alamos National Laboratory, where he served as a Group Leader and an interim Chief Scientist for DOE Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies (CINT). He also held research management positions at Motorola where he directed the Microfluidics Laboratory at Physical Sciences Research Laboratories in Tempe, AZ. His work there focused on the development of self-contained microfluidic cartridges for sample-to-answer genetic assays with an integrated sample preparation, on-chip fluid transport, and detection using DNA hybridization sensors.
Dr. Grodzinski received a Ph.D. in Materials Science from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles in 1992. He has 12 patents awarded and 10 disclosures pending. He co-authored over 100 technical publications and conference presentations. Dr. Grodzinski has been an invited speaker and served on the committees of numerous bio- and nano-MEMS conferences in recent years.
Scott E. McNeil, Ph.D.
Director, Nanotechnology Characterization Laboratory
Office of the Director
National Cancer Institute
Dr. McNeil serves as Director, Nanotechnology Characterization Laboratory for the National Cancer Institute at Frederick, where he coordinates pre-clinical characterization of nanomaterials intended for cancer therapeutics and diagnostics.
Prior to joining NCI-Frederick (i.e., SAIC-Frederick), he served for three years as Senior Scientist in the Nanotech Initiatives Division at SAIC, where he transitioned basic nanotechnology research to government and commercial markets. He advises industry, as well as State and US Governments on the development of nanotechnology, and is a member of several governmental and industrial working groups related to nanotechnology policy, standardization and commercialization.
Dr. McNeil's professional career includes tenure as an Army Officer, with tours as Chief of Biochemistry at Tripler Army Medical Center, as a Combat Arms officer in the Gulf War. He is an invited speaker to numerous nanotechnology-related conferences and has six patents pending related to nanotechnology and biotechnology. He received his bachelor's degree in chemistry from Portland State University and his doctorate in cell biology from Oregon Health Sciences University.
Henry Rodriguez, Ph.D., M.B.A.
Director, Clinical Proteomic Technologies Initiative for Cancer
Office of the Director
National Cancer Institute
Dr. Rodriguez serves as the Director of the Clinical Proteomic Technologies Initiative for Cancer (CPTI) within the NCI’s Office of Technology and Industrial Relations. In this role, he facilitates the implementation of the clinical proteomic technologies initiatives, which aim to develop and assess proteomic technology platforms for cancer research. Dr. Rodriguez has extensive experience in cancer research, oxygen free radical biology, technology development and assessment, research programs, and systems design.
Prior to being named to this position, Dr. Rodriguez was at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), where he held several roles (1998-2006). At NIST, Dr. Rodriguez developed and was the Leader of the Cell & Tissue Measurements Group, where he successfully established four research programs in the areas of quantitative cell biology, proteomics, gene expression, and bioinformatics. He also played a significant role in developing a tissue engineering program, of which he was a manager. Dr. Rodriguez helped pioneer new measurement methodologies that utilized liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) for the accurate identification and quantification of a number of DNA lesions at levels that are clinically relevant. Dr. Rodriguez also served in the Office of the Director at NIST, where he helped in the planning and evaluation of strategic scientific initiatives and partnerships in biotechnology, including interactions with the Department of Commerce and members of Congress. He also participated on Department of Commerce efforts in education and/or training in genetics and genetic technologies of professionals for the Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Genetics, Health, and Society.
Dr. Rodriguez began his career as a fellow at the Department of Immunology of The Scripps Research Institute (1992-1993) and then at the Department of Medical Oncology of the City of Hope National Medical Center (1993-1998). Dr. Rodriguez is the recipient of domestic and international awards for his work on nucleic acid technology development, including the Sigma Xi Young Scientific Investigator award and the Alumni Honor Roll of the MARC/MBRS programs of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences at the National Institutes of Health. In addition, he has been elected to the presidency of scientific organizations such as the Oxygen Club of Greater Washington, D.C. He has authored over 58 papers in peer-reviewed journals and books, and is the co-editor of a comprehensive book titled Oxidative Stress and Aging: Advances In Basic Science, Diagnostics and Intervention.
Dr. Rodriguez received a B.S. and M.S. in Biology from Florida International University (1986, 1988), a Ph.D. in Cell and Molecular Biology from Boston University (1992), and an M.B.A. from Johns Hopkins University School of Business Management (2003).
Michael Weingarten
Director, NCI SBIR and STTR Small Business Programs
SBIR Program
Office of the Director
National Cancer Institute
Mr. Weingarten was appointed as Director of the NCI SBIR & STTR Small Business Programs in 2005. In that role, he is overseeing the development of new strategies to optimize the impact of this Program in advancing emerging technologies towards clinical development and commercialization.
Mr. Weingarten served from 1990 until 2005 at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. Most recently, he held the position of Program Manager, Exploration Systems Research and Technology Program at NASA, where he led a team of scientific and technical experts focused on the biomedical industry and the public health application of emerging technologies, as well as leading collaborative teams in building partnerships with private and public sector organizations to address public health needs. Earlier, as Program Manager of NASA’s Innovative Partnerships Program, he oversaw the Partnership Development Programs and Small Business Programs, formulating national policy and providing leadership on the development and implementation of educational outreach campaigns targeted towards small businesses.
Mr. Weingarten also served as a Program Analyst from 1989 to 1990 at the Department of State. He holds a Masters in Political Science from Columbia University.
NCI Related Initiatives
Daniela S. Gerhard, Ph.D.
Director, Office of Cancer Genomics
Office of the Director
National Cancer Institute
Dr. Gerhard was appointed Director of the Office of Cancer Genomics at the National Cancer Institute in 2005. In this role, she directs the multi-component Cancer Genome Anatomy Project (CGAP), and co-directs the Mammalian Gene Collection (MGC) and the Xenopus Gene Collection (XGC). In addition, she is the project director for the Initiative for Chemical Genetics (ICG) and a NCI participant in the NIH’s Molecular Libraries Roadmap Initiative. She is the project director and participant in the Cancer Genetic Markers of Susceptibility (CGEMS) project. She is a member of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) management staff involved in the scientific construction and development of this multi-institute project.
Dr. Gerhard is a well-known human genetics and molecular biologist. She is interested in the identification of genetic risk factors in bipolar affective disorders, cancer development and identification of mutations that are found in cancers. Her laboratory at Washington University School of Medicine published papers important in identifying the key issues in the study for the genetically complex bipolar affective disorder, for the physical and genetic mapping of human chromosome 11, the cloning of the gene for multiple endocrine neoplasia, type 1 gene (located on chromosome 11), evaluation of genetic risk factors in prostate and cervical cancers, and the identification of a candidate region which harbors a gene of relevance for cervical cancer development. Her research was supported by grants from the NIH, ACS and Foundations.
Dr. Gerhard is a reviewer for a number of journals, and has published 63 papers and 8 chapters and reviews. She holds her doctorate in Genetics and Molecular Biology from Cornell University Graduate School of Medical Science.
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