"Open Mike" with Dr. Michael Lauer

<p>Michael Lauer, M.D., is the Deputy Director for Extramural Research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), where he serves as the principal scientific leader and advisor to the Director of the NIH on all matters relating to the substance, quality, and effectiveness of the NIH extramural research program and administration. He received education and training at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Albany Medical College, Harvard Medical School, Harvard School of Public Health, and the NHLBI’s Framingham Heart Study. He spent 14 years at Cleveland Clinic as Professor of Medicine, Epidemiology, and Biostatistics. During his tenure at the Clinic, he led a federally funded internationally renowned clinical epidemiology program that applied big data from large-scale electronic health platforms to questions regarding the diagnosis and management of cardiovascular disease. From 2007 to 2015 he served as a Division Director at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), where promoted efforts to leverage big data infrastructure to enable high-efficiency population and clinical research and efforts to adopt a research funding culture that reflected data-driven policy. He has received numerous awards including the NIH Equal Employment Opportunity Award of the Year and the Arthur S. Flemming Award for Exceptional Federal Service in recognition of his efforts to grow a culture of learning and accountability.</p>

<p>As Communications Director for the NIH Office of Extramural Research, Ms. Megan Columbus is responsible for leading strategic planning and communication activities pertinent to the management of NIH’s extramural program. She enjoys connecting scientists and administrators to information and tools in support of their research programs, helping the broader public learn how NIH-supported research contributes to health advances, and supporting the ongoing dialog between NIH and the research community. Ms. Columbus’ office is responsible for the NIH Grants and Funding website, the NIH Guide to Grants and Contracts, the Extramural Nexus newsletter and “Open Mike” blog, eRA system communications, extramural staff training, media and legislative relations, and a host of other resources. She especially enjoys her outreach responsibilities that involve more personal engagement with the NIH extramural research community, such as live webinars and the NIH Virtual Conferences.</p>