The ACTG is excited to announce that Jane M. Simoni, Ph.D. has been selected as NIH Associate Director for Behavioral and Social Sciences Research and Director of the NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR). She will join NIH on July 30, 2023, where she will lead OBSSR’s efforts to advance and coordinate behavioral and social sciences research at NIH, working closely with NIH Institutes and Centers.
Jane is a licensed clinical psychologist and until her appointment was a Professor and Director of Clinical Training in the Department of Psychology at the University of Washington (UW) in Seattle; the Associate Director of the UW/Fred Hutch CFAR; and Founding Director of the new UW Behavioral Research Center for HIV (BIRCH). Her work focuses on intervention research, developing and evaluating culturally and theoretically grounded strategies to promote health, especially among marginalized populations.
She has been part of the ACTG since March 2021 and currently serves as the inaugural chair of the Behavioral Science Subcommittee of the Scientific Agenda Steering Committee. As she takes on her new role with NIH, Ivan Balan, Ph.D. will move from Vice Chair of the Behavioral Science Subcommittee to Chair. Please join us in congratulating Jane on her new role and thanking her for her service to the ACTG, especially her efforts to further integrate behavioral science into our agenda!