Credit: NIGMS.

I'm pleased to share three changes to our leadership team at NIGMS.

Erica Brown will serve as acting deputy director of NIGMS following Dorit Zuk’s retirement. As our acting deputy director, Erica will oversee and provide leadership on all NIGMS matters.

Erica has served in several leadership roles at NIH. Most recently, she was the director of the Division of Extramural Activities (DEA) and the executive secretary of the National Advisory General Medical Sciences Council.

Dr. Tony Beck. Credit: NIGMS.

We’re greatly saddened to share that L. Tony Beck, Ph.D., died of natural causes on April 7, 2025, while on the NIH campus. He was heading to the job that defined the later part of his career, which was serving as the program director for the Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) program. Tony also oversaw the STEM interactive digital media small business (SBIR/STTR) and IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) programs for NIGMS.

Path to a Scientific Career

Tony was born in Rancho Cucamonga, California. He earned a B.A. and an M.S. in biological sciences at the University of California, Riverside (UC Riverside), and a Ph.D. in cell and molecular biology from the University of California, Irvine. He conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and the Eleanor Roosevelt Institute for Cancer Research.

Dr. Kenneth Gibbs. Credit: NIGMS.

I’m pleased to announce that Kenneth Gibbs has been selected as the new director of our Division of Training and Workforce Development (TWD). Kenny is an immunologist by training and is currently chief of the Cross-Disciplinary Pathways Program Branch in TWD. He also oversees the Maximizing Opportunities for Scientific and Academic Independent Careers (MOSAIC) program, research grants on the “science of science” in the biomedical research enterprise, and scientific conference grants. He has also managed research grants in the areas of stem cell biology for the NIGMS Division of Genetics and Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology.

Dr. Mercedes Rubio. Credit: NIGMS.

I’m pleased to announce that Mercedes Rubio has been selected as the new director of our Division for Research Capacity Building. Mercedes is a medical sociologist by training and is currently chief of the Predoctoral Basic Biomedical and Medical Scientist Training Programs Branch in our Division of Training and Workforce Development. She also manages research training, scientific conference, and research on intervention grants and has been the program director for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Diversity Program Consortium’s National Research Mentoring Network.

It’s with mixed emotions that I share that Ming Lei left our Division for Research Capacity Building (DRCB) earlier this month to become senior associate vice president for research and graduate education at West Virginia University (WVU) Health Sciences. Ming also joined the faculty in WVU’s School of Medicine as vice dean for research and a professor in the department of microbiology, immunology, and cell biology.

I’m pleased to announce the selection of Shawn Drew Gaillard, Ph.D., as the new director of our Division of Genetics and Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology (GMCDB). Shawn has been the acting director of the Division since February 2022. She will begin in this new role on January 15.

Shawn joined GMCDB as chief of the Developmental and Cellular Processes Branch in 2019, overseeing grants focused on organismal response to environmental stressors. Prior to this role, she was the research training officer at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and before that, she was a program director in our Division of Training, Workforce Development, and Diversity and former Division of Genetics and Developmental Biology. Her experience also includes serving as a science education fellow at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and directing what is now the NIH Academy on Health Disparities.

Dr. Brian Pike.

I’m greatly saddened to share the news that Brian Pike, a longtime colleague in our Scientific Review Branch (formerly the Office of Scientific Review), passed away on November 18, 2021. 

Brian first joined NIGMS as a scientific review officer in 2002, and he was also acting chief of our review office for much of 2016. He had previously held a faculty position at the University of Florida in the department of neuroscience, where he worked on traumatic brain injury. Before that, he performed postdoctoral research at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, studying calpains and caspases in neuronal cell death.

I’m pleased to share that Dorit Zuk has been selected as NIGMS’ new deputy director.

Dorit has been a vital member of the NIGMS leadership team for many years, including serving as acting deputy director for the past year, and as director of our Division of Genetics and Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology since January 2016. During her tenure at NIGMS, she’s made valuable contributions to our 2021-2025 strategic plan and reorganization of the Institute’s divisions in 2018, and has led efforts to build a stronger, more diverse, and collaborative workforce—both within NIGMS and beyond.

Please join me in congratulating Dorit on her selection for this position. We can all look forward to benefitting from her continued leadership.

I’m pleased to announce that Richard Aragon is the new director of the Institute's Division of Data Integration, Modeling, and Analytics (DIMA). He has been acting director of DIMA since January 2020.

Richard has ably led NIGMS’ strategic planning and evaluation activities and has served as our Congressional liaison since joining us in 2014 as chief of what was then our Office of Program Planning, Analysis, and Evaluation. In this role, he has evolved and expanded our capabilities to include predictive analytics, budget and fiscal modeling, and the use of artificial intelligence to enhance business processes. As we prepare to the launch the NIGMS 2021-2025 Strategic Plan this spring, Richard’s extensive expertise in spearheading these activities makes him the ideal candidate to lead this critical component of the Institute.

I’m pleased to announce that Dorothy Beckett will join NIGMS on January 19 as the new director of our Division of Biophysics, Biomedical Technology, and Computational Biosciences (BBCB). Dorothy is a molecular biophysicist with extensive expertise in the field. She is a leader in the scientific community and a proponent of expanding opportunities for women and underrepresented groups in science.