Dr. Steve Snyder has been named deputy director of the Division of Neuroscience (DN). Snyder has been a member of the DN staff since October 1990, administering programs in fundamental neuroscience and the etiology of Alzheimer’s disease. He previously held concurrent positions at the University of Tennessee Medical School and the VA Medical Center in Memphis from 1984 to 1990. Dr. Snyder received his B.S. in biology from Loyola College, his M.S. in cell biology from Adelphi University, and his Ph.D. in pathology from Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He performed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Neurology at the University of Tennessee Medical School. His recent research interests are in the cell biological aspects of Alzheimer’s disease, neuronal and vascular stress, and the biology of prion protein. Dr. Snyder is published in journals and book chapters and has served on numerous NIA and NIH committees and workgroups.
Dr. Alfonso R. Latoni has joined the Scientific Review Branch, Division of Extramural Activities, as deputy chief. He returns to the NIA after serving in the Center for Scientific Review as a scientific review officer, first in the Health of the Population Integrated Review Group and later in the Biobehavioral and Behavioral Processes Integrated Review Group. He was responsible for the Adult Psychopathology and Disorders of Aging Study Section, as well as for the Special Emphasis Panel on Alzheimer’s Disease Pilot Clinical Trials. Dr. Latoni received his B.A. in sociology and political science from the University of Puerto Rico, his M.A. in Latin American studies (social and economic development) from Georgetown University, and his Ph.D. in social economy and social policy (sociology) from Boston College.
Charlene Liggins has joined the NIA Office of Planning, Analysis, and Evaluation team as a senior scientific program analyst. She will lead the Portfolio Analysis Team and provide support to a number of special projects. Ms. Liggins began her federal career as a Presidential Management Fellow with the National Cancer Institute. She then moved to the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, where she led the development of research projects related to disability, aging, and long-term care policy. Ms. Liggins earned an M.P.H. from Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health, an M.P.A. from the University of South Carolina, and a B.A. in biology from Washington University in St. Louis.
Dr. Alexander Parsadanian has joined the Scientific Review Branch as a scientific review officer. Dr. Parsadanian received his B.S. and M.S. in biophysics from Yerevan State University, Armenia, and his Ph.D. in molecular biology from the Institute of Molecular Biology, U.S.S.R. Academy of Sciences, Moscow. He worked in Armenia and Germany from 1984 to 1995 before moving to the United States to take a position in the Department of Neurology at the Washington University School of Medicine. His research focused on the mechanisms of neuronal cell death and on the in vivo effects of neurotrophic factors on neurons during development, injury, and in neurodegenerative diseases, with particular emphasis on motoneuronal diseases. Dr. Parsadanian has received several grants, including two from NIH, written more than 30 scientific papers, and holds several patents.
Dr. Rebecca J. Ferrell has also joined the Scientific Review Branch as a scientific review officer. Dr. Ferrell is a biological anthropologist with expertise in skeletal pathology and aging, dental microstructure and development, demography, and reproductive aging. She comes to the NIA from Howard University, where she was an assistant professor of Anthropology and conducted research in dental anthropology funded by the NIH’s National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research. Dr. Ferrell received her B.A. in anthropology from the College of William and Mary. Her M.A. and Ph.D. in biological anthropology are from Pennsylvania State University, where she was a Fulbright grantee for her dissertation research reconstructing past health and population dynamics.
Dr. Kevin Kinsella has joined the Division of Behavioral and Social Research (BSR) as a health scientist administrator/demographer. Dr. Kinsella comes to the NIA from the U.S. Census Bureau, where he served as chief of the Aging Studies Branch in the International Programs Center. In his role at Census, he authored numerous publications on aging populations, prepared demographic estimates, and managed agreements that funded the Bureau’s aging-related activities and collaborations. At BSR, he will help oversee the management and development of an increasingly interdisciplinary demography-of-aging portfolio, along with other members of the Population and Social Processes Branch. He performed his graduate coursework in sociology at Cornell University.
Dr. Lyndon Joseph has joined the Geriatrics Branch of the Division of Geriatrics and Clinical Gerontology. Dr. Joseph, an exercise physiologist, was an assistant professor in the Division of Gerontology, Department of Medicine, at the University of Maryland-Baltimore with a joint research fellow appointment in the Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center at the Baltimore Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Dr. Joseph received his doctorate in physiology from Pennsylvania State University, his master’s degree in clinical exercise physiology from Northeastern University, and his bachelor’s degree in biology from St. John Fisher College.
Michael O'Donnell has joined the Intramural Research Program as the new principal administrative officer. Prior to coming to the NIA, Mr. O'Donnell was employed by the Food Safety and Inspection Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), where he served as deputy director of the Administrative Services Division. In addition to his duties as the USDA's continuity of operations level three site manager, he was a lead in developing the Division's 5-year strategic plan, annual performance plan, and annual budget request and execution plan.
Dr. John Hsiao has joined the Division of Neuroscience (DN) as a health science administrator in charge of the Biomarkers and Diagnosis Program in the Dementias of Aging Branch. Dr. Hsiao received his medical degree from the University of Maryland and completed residency training at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. He completed a nuclear medicine residency at the NIH Clinical Center. Before joining the NIA, Dr. Hsiao worked at the National Institute of Mental Health’s Intramural Program and Extramural Program. Dr. Hsiao is a captain in the U.S. Public Health Service.
Dr. Andrew Monjan, chief of the Neurobiology of Aging Branch, Division of Neuroscience, retired from federal service in April 2009. After receiving his Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Rochester in 1965, he completed postdoctoral studies as an NIH postdoctoral fellow in neurophysiology at the University of Rochester’s Center for Brain Research. He subsequently held joint appointments in the Departments of Psychology and of Physiology at the University of Western Ontario in Canada before obtaining an M.P.H. from the Johns Hopkins University in 1970. Following a decade in the Department of Epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health, he joined the NIH in 1983 as an extramural program officer at the National Cancer Institute. Two years later, he joined the NIA.
Dr. Monjan was a founding member of the Trans-NIH Sleep Research Coordinating Committee, fostering the development of sleep research throughout the NIH. He also served as executive secretary of the National Commission on Sleep Disorders Research; helped develop a National Sleep Research Disorders Center in the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; and advised the extramural community to promote a better understanding of sleep, health, and aging. Dr. Monjan played a key role in the development of the NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research, serving as a member of the Blueprint Coordinating Committee and several project teams. He served as the NIA liaison to NASA, working with NASA, other NIH Institutes, and international partners to develop and implement the first in-flight biomedical space research laboratory.
At NIA, Dr. Monjan served as the first acting associate director of the Neuroscience and Neuropsychology of Aging Program (now the Division of Neuroscience), was the project officer for the first national controlled randomized clinical trial of a drug to treat Alzheimer’s disease, and developed strong research programs in neuroimmunology, neuroendocrinology, sensory and motor function, sleep, prion diseases, and their relationships to the aging process.
Dr. Monjan has received several awards, including the NIH Director’s Award and NIH Award of Merit, in recognition of his achievements at the NIA. He will receive a Special Achievement Award from the Sleep Research Society at its annual meeting in June 2009.
Betsy Wyatt has joined the Administrative Management Branch of the NIA as an administrative technician working on an AO/AT team with Linda Tran. Prior to joining the NIA, Ms. Wyatt worked for 11 years for an ear, nose, and throat specialist, assisting in starting a solo practice and helping implement a new business of sublingual immunotherapy, and managing many administrative components of the practice.
