Biography

Marie A. Bernard, MD is the Deputy Director of the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and NIH’s acting Chief Officer for Scientific Workforce Diversity. As NIA’s senior geriatrician, she serves as the principal advisor to the NIA director, assisting in the oversight of aging and dementia research. In addition to her duties as deputy, she has led a broad range of activities, including co-chairing two Department of Health and Human Services Healthy People 2020/2030 objectives – 1) Older Adults, and 2) Dementias, including Alzheimer’s disease. She co-leads the trans-NIH Inclusion Governance Committee that ensures appropriate inclusion of individuals in clinical studies, including by sex/gender, race/ethnicity, and inclusion of children and older adults. Prior to joining NIH she was the Professor and Chairman of the Donald W. Reynolds Department of Geriatric Medicine at University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, and Associate Chief of Staff for Geriatrics and Extended Care at the Oklahoma City Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Her national leadership in geriatrics research, teaching, and clinical practice has been recognized by the Clark Tibbits award from the Academy for Gerontology in Higher Education (2013), and the Donald P Kent award from the Gerontological Society of America (2014). Her work within NIH has been recognized with NIH Director’s awards (2018 and 2019), including the NIH Director’s award for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in 2020.
Until October 2008 she was the endowed professor and founding chairman of the Donald W. Reynolds Department of Geriatric Medicine at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, and Associate Chief of Staff for Geriatrics and Extended Care at the Oklahoma City Veterans Affairs Medical Center. She has held numerous national leadership roles, including chair of the Clinical Medicine (now Health Sciences) Section of the Gerontological Society of America, chair of the Department of Veterans Affairs National Research Advisory Committee, board member of the American Geriatrics Society, president of the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education, and president of the Association of Directors of Geriatric Academic Programs. She has lectured and published widely in her area of research, nutrition and function in older populations, as well as related to geriatric education. She was a member of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) committee that wrote the 2008 groundbreaking "Retooling for an Aging America: Building the Health Care Workforce."

The NIH UNITE Initiative to Strengthen Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion – Implications for the Scientific Community

Session Type: Invited Talk

Abstract

Dr. Bernard will present an overview of the recently unveiled NIH UNITE initiative designed to enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion, with a focus on structural racism within and beyond NIH. The five interacting working groups leading the initiative are aiming to modify the culture and structure of the scientific community, building on and enhancing efforts of the Chief Officer for Scientific Workforce Diversity (COSWD). In her role as UNITE co-chair and acting NIH COSWD, Dr. Bernard will orient the audience to new opportunities resulting from these efforts and provide a preview of anticipated future activities.

Sub Unit

• Special Events

Moderator

• Nancy E Hill, Harvard University

Speaker

• Marie A. Bernard, Scientific Workforce Diversity & National Institute on Aging

Introducer

• Nancy E Hill, Harvard University