Director

Education and Biomedical Research Development National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

Marian Johnson-Thompson, Ph.D., a member since 2012, is Director of Education and Biomedical Research Development for the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). She is responsible for identifying the environmental health research and training needs of underserved populations and is particularly interested in the unique biomedical research needs of women of color. She develops K-12 science education programs and minority training programs, and chairs the NIEHS Institutional Review Board for protection of human subjects.

She received B.S. and M.S. degrees in Microbiology from Howard University, and a Ph.D. in Molecular Virology from Georgetown University Medical School. She serves on the African American National Advisory Committee of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and was National Chairperson of the National Network of Minority Women in Science from 1985 to 1992. From 1990 -1993, she served on the Board of Education and Training of the American Society for Microbiology.

A few of her numerous recognitions include: Outstanding Young Woman of America (1975); Who’s Who of American Women (1978-79); Outstanding Service Award from the American Society of Microbiology (1993); the first Geraldine P. Woods Sciences Award, presented in 1994 by the Federal City Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta, Inc.; and Fellowship in the American Academy of Microbiology (1998).

She is a member of: Durham Public Education Network; North Carolina Association of Biomedical Research; North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics Foundation; and North Carolina Central University Institute for the Study of Minority Issues.