Biographical Sketch: Michael Sesma, Ph.D.

Michael Sesma, Ph.D., is chief of the Postdoctoral, Early Career, and Workforce Development Branch in the Division of Training, Workforce Development, and Diversity, where he oversees programs for Research Training, Postdoctoral Fellowship and Career Development. As part of the NIH Diversity Program Consortium​, he manages the Coordination and Evaluation Center and the National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN). He manages the Circcadian Biology r​esearch grant portfolio in the Division of Genetics and Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology.

Sesma began his NIH career at NIGMS in 1994 as a scientific review administrator in the former Office of Scientific Review and later as a program director in the Institute's former Division of Genetics and Developmental Biology. He moved to the National Institute of Mental Health in 2002, where he was chief of the Research Scientist Development Program in the Office for Special Populations. He returned to NIGMS in 2012 as a branch chief in TWD.

Sesma earned his B.A. in biology and psychology from the Universi​ty of California, San Diego, and the Ph.D. in psychology from the University of California, Riverside. He conducted postdoctoral research at Vanderbilt University. Prior to joining NIH, Sesma served on the faculty at the University of Missouri-St. Louis School of Optometry and the Department of Psychiatry at Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine.

To contact Sesma, send email to msesma@nih.gov​.

If you’re a reporter wishing to interview Sesma​, contact the NIGMS Communications and Public Liaison Branch.