National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Francis S. Collins has announced plans to recruit a new senior scientific position, the Associate Director for Data Science. The associate director will lead a series of NIH-wide strategic initiatives that collectively aim to capitalise on the exponential growth of biomedical research data, such as from genomics, imaging, and electronic health records.
Dr. Collins recently charged a working group of the Advisory Committee to the NIH Director (ACD) to examine the growing data and informatics challenges associated with biomedical research. One of the major recommendations made by that working group in June 2012 is the creation of a new NIH leadership position focused on data science.
Dr. Collins has asked Dr. Eric Green to serve as the Acting Associate Director for Data Science. Dr. Green was appointed as the third director of the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) in 2009. Dr. Green has been at the forefront of efforts to map, sequence, and understand eukaryotic genomes. He played a leadership role in the Human Genome Project and subsequently pioneered work in comparative genomics that provided important insights about genome structure, function, and evolution.
The Office of the Director, the central office at NIH, is responsible for setting policy for NIH, which includes 27 Institutes and Centers. This involves planning, managing, and coordinating the programmes and activities of all NIH components. The Office of the Director also includes programme offices which are responsible for stimulating specific areas of research throughout NIH.
