Updates to NIH Training Grant Applications

Ericka Boone, Ph.D. is the Director for the Division of Biomedical Research Workforce (DBRW) within the NIH Office of Extramural Research (OER). She recently served as the Director of the NIH Division of Loan Repayment. In that role, Dr. Boone was responsible for administering and providing leadership for the NIH Loan Repayment Programs (LRP) as well as representing NIH on matters related to the operations, policy development and evaluation of the LRP. Previous to this position, Dr. Boone served as a Health Scientist Administrator in the Office of Science Policy and Communications at the National Institute on Drug Abuse. There she developed and targeted science-based publications, outreach initiatives and other activities to educate a variety of audiences about the science of drug use, abuse and addiction. For her role in these efforts, Dr. Boone has won several NIDA Director’s Awards of Merit and an NIH Director’s Award. Prior to coming to NIH, Dr. Boone conducted research at the University of Illinois at Chicago and Emory University. Dr. Boone’s academic background includes a B.A. in Biology from Talladega College and a Ph.D. in Biobehavioral Health from The Pennsylvania State University.

Here is the bio: Kenneth D. Gibbs, Jr., Ph.D. oversees the Undergraduate and Predoctoral Cross-Disciplinary Training programs at the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS). In this position, he manages the Maximizing Opportunities for Scientific and Academic Independent Careers (MOSAIC) program, grants on the Science of Science Policy in the biomedical research enterprise (SCISIPBIO), and scientific conference grants (R13). He also manages research grants in the areas of stem cell biology for the Division of Genetics and Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology.

Gibbs previously directed the NIGMS Postdoctoral Research Associate Training (PRAT) program and before that, he was a program analyst in the Institute’s former Office of Program Planning, Analysis, and Evaluation. Prior to joining NIGMS, he completed postdoctoral training as a cancer prevention fellow at the National Cancer Institute and was an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science and Technology Policy Fellow at the National Science Foundation. Gibbs earned a B.S. in biochemistry and molecular biology from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, an M.P.H. from Johns Hopkins University, and a Ph.D. in immunology from the Stanford University School of Medicine.

Anissa J. Brown, Ph.D. is Chief of Research Training & Career Development Branch where she manages institutional training and career development awards.

Dr. Brown is a basic biologist and, previously, served as program director in the Division of Training, Workforce Development, and Diversity. Brown was the lead program officer for the NIH Diversity Program Consortium’s (DPC) Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity (BUILD) initiative and managed the DPC Dissemination and Translation Awards (DPC DaTA) program. She also managed the Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement (RISE) and Postbaccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP) programs, predoctoral research training grants in Cellular, Biochemical, and Molecular Sciences (T32), and the Pathway to Independence Awards (K99/R00). She also served as the co-director of the Postdoctoral Research Associate Training (PRAT) program. In addition, she managed research grants in protein synthesis in the Division of Genetics and Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology.