National Institute of
General Medical Sciences

National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) Director Jon R. Lorsch, Ph.D., has announced the selection of Stephanie L. Constant, Ph.D., as chief of the Institute's Office of Scientific Review (OSR). Constant is an immunologist with deep knowledge of NIH review policies and practices and an expert in the review of training and diversity grant applications. She is expected to join NIGMS in early 2017.

OSR plans, conducts and coordinates the scientific and technical merit review of NIGMS training grant applications, as well as certain kinds of research grant and cooperative agreement applications, including those designed to increase diversity in the research workforce. It also assures that these reviews are of a uniformly high quality.

“We’re pleased to have Dr. Constant join NIGMS at a time when we have many new initiatives underway and on the horizon, including the Institute’s Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award and a new predoctoral training grant program,” said Lorsch. “Dr. Constant brings the right mix of experience, vision and leadership to this important position.”

Constant is currently a scientific review officer at NIH’s National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). Her review portfolio is focused primarily on training and career development programs to promote diversity in the biomedical workforce. In addition to organizing and managing grant reviews at NHLBI, she worked on detail in the NIH Office of Extramural Research where she contributed to developing and updating policy guidelines to enhance the NIH peer review process. Constant has chaired or co-chaired a number of NHLBI working groups, including its Diversity Training Programs subcommittee, and currently serves on several NIH-wide training and peer review committees. She has also participated in outreach programs to promote diversity in the biomedical workforce. Prior to joining NIH in 2011, Constant was a tenured associate professor in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Tropical Medicine at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Her research included studies on the regulation of leukocyte migration in acute and chronic inflammation and on the mechanisms of immunomodulation by parasite products. NIH supported her research from 1996 to 2011.

Constant earned a B.S. in biology and a Ph.D. in immunology and parasitology, both from the University of York in the United Kingdom. She conducted postdoctoral research at Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, in the laboratory of Kim Bottomly, Ph.D.

“I’m excited to join the peer review community at NIGMS. The Institute’s strong commitment to training and career development mechanisms, along with a strong focus on promoting diversity, is a perfect fit with my own interests and I look forward to leading my new colleagues in this arena,” said Constant.

###

To arrange an interview with Stephanie L. Constant, Ph.D., contact the NIGMS Office of Communications and Public Liaison at 301-496-7301 or through our contact form.