Dr. Nina Schor appointed as the NIH Acting Deputy Director for Intramural Research

I am pleased to announce the appointment of Nina F. Schor, M.D., Ph.D., as the NIH Acting Deputy Director for Intramural Research (DDIR) in the NIH Office of the Director. Michael M. Gottesman, M.D., who served as NIH DDIR for 29 years, announced his plans last year to step down to return to the Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, where he is chief of the Laboratory of Cell Biology. Dr. Schor will begin her new role on August 1, 2022.

As Acting DDIR, Dr. Schor will lead the NIH Intramural Research Program (IRP) and facilitate coordination and collaboration among the 24 NIH institutes and centers that are a part of NIH’s distinct research community. She will be responsible for the selection and approval of new NIH principal investigators, human subjects research protection, research integrity, technology transfer, and animal care and use for the IRP. Additionally, Dr. Schor will oversee efforts to train the next generation of biomedical and behavioral researchers at NIH, as well as efforts to foster a diverse and inclusive culture across the IRP.

With a career that has touched all realms of the biomedical research enterprise, Dr. Schor brings substantial experience as an educator, scientist, clinician, and administrator. Dr. Schor joined NIH in January 2018 as Deputy Director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), and in May 2021, she also assumed the role of Acting Scientific Director of NINDS. As Deputy Director, she guided the institute’s strategic planning activities, career development programs, maternal and child neurologic health collaborations with other NIH institutes, and the creation and implementation of the Ultra-Rare GENe-based Therapies (URGenT) Network. Prior to joining NIH, Dr. Schor worked at the University of Rochester, where for nearly 12 years she held the positions of Chair of the Department of Pediatrics and Pediatrician-in-Chief of the Golisano Children’s Hospital. Prior to that, she spent 20 years building her academic and scientific career at the University of Pittsburgh, culminating with her roles as Associate Dean for Medical Student Research and Chief of the Division of Child Neurology in the Departments of Pediatrics and Neurology.

Dr. Schor earned her Ph.D. in medical biochemistry from Rockefeller University and her M.D. from Cornell University Medical College. Her residency and postdoctoral fellowship training in pediatrics, child neurology, and molecular biochemistry and pharmacology took place at Harvard University Medical School and Boston Children’s Hospital, where she began her three-decades-long, NIH-funded research efforts focused on targeted therapy for neuroblastoma, a type of pediatric cancer, and neuronal cell death caused by oxidative stress, which occurs when harmful forms of oxygen molecules damage cells.  

I am profoundly grateful to Dr. Gottesman for his many years of leadership and service at NIH. With his contagious optimism, adept problem-solving attitude, and wise policymaking, Michael leaves a strong legacy to guide the future DDIR. The programs he developed touch every stage of a scientific career — from high school and college internship programs, graduate studies, and postdoctoral training, to recruitment, career development, tenure, and emeritus transition of faculty. His leadership will be remembered in many things, including the remarkable improvements seen in research integrity and the recruitment and subsequent achievements of a diverse scientific workforce over the last three decades. We wish him all the best in this next chapter.

Please join me in welcoming Dr. Schor to the NIH leadership team.

Lawrence A. Tabak, D.D.S., Ph.D.
Acting Director, National Institutes of Health