Greenberg Named NIGMS Deputy Director
NIGMS Director Jon R. Lorsch, Ph.D.
Curriculum Vitae [PDF, 40KB]
Judith H. Greenberg, Ph.D., was deputy director of NIGMS from January 2015 through October 2020.
In this position, Greenberg advised the NIGMS director on the Institute's $2.9 billion budget, which supports basic research that increases understanding of biological processes and lays the foundation for advances in disease diagnosis, treatment and prevention.
NIGMS supports more than 3,000 investigators and 5,000 research grants—around 11 percent of the total number of research grants funded by NIH—as well as a substantial amount of research training and programs designed to enhance the diversity of the biomedical research workforce and develop research capacities throughout the country.
Greenberg, a developmental biologist by training, was appointed as director of the NIGMS Division of Genetics and Developmental Biology in 1988. She also served as the Institute's acting director twice, from May 2002 to November 2003 and from July 2011 to August 2013.
Greenberg oversaw the development of the Institute's strategic plan issued in 2008 and its strategic plan for training issued in 2011.
Greenberg has a strong interest in bioethics issues, research training and career development, and she has advised NIH on topics that include human embryonic stem cells, gene therapy and biomedical career advancement for women. Additionally, she served as principal leader of the NIH Director's Pioneer Award program from 2004 to 2012 and of the NIH Director's New Innovator Award program from its inception in 2007 to 2012. She was also the project officer for the NIGMS Human Genetic Cell Repository, a key resource for genetic research, from 1984 to 2011.
Prior to joining NIGMS as a program administrator in 1981, Greenberg conducted research in the intramural program of what is now NIH's National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research. Her focus was on cell migration and differentiation in early embryonic development.
Greenberg's honors include a Public Health Service Special Recognition Award in 1991 and a Presidential Meritorious Executive Rank Award in 1999. Her leadership of the Pioneer and New Innovator Award programs was recognized with NIH Director's Awards in 2006 and 2008, respectively. In 2013, she was recognized with the inaugural NIGMS Distinguished Service Award.
Greenberg earned a B.S. in biology from the University of Pittsburgh, an M.A. in biology from Boston University and a Ph.D. in developmental biology from Bryn Mawr College in Bryn Mawr, Penn.
