Meet the Office of Data Science Strategy (ODSS)

Dr. Susan Gregurick was appointed Associate Director for Data Science and the Director of ODSS in September 2019. Under Dr. Gregurick’s leadership and guided by the NIH’s Strategic Plan for Data Science, ODSS leads and coordinates catalytic data science activities in scientific, technical, and operational programs in collaboration with the NIH institutes, centers, and offices.

Read Dr. Gregurick’s full bio.

Dr. Belinda Seto was appointed deputy director of the ODSS in January 2020. A former deputy director of the National Eye Institute and the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, she brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the position. After earning her Ph.D. in biochemistry from Purdue University, Dr. Seto completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Stadtman Lab of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. She researched hepatitis B and vaccine development at the FDA. She oversaw the analysis and reporting of NIH grants data and trends through the Office of Extramural Research. Her experience in database management, analysis and extramural grants policies led her to serve on the NIH Scientific Data Council and the Scientific Data Policy Council.

Dr. Laura Biven is the data science technical lead for ODSS. In this role she is responsible for strategic planning, coordination, and oversight in cloud computing, platform interoperability, and bringing together the computer science and biomedical communities. Before joining the NIH, Laura spent 12 years at the Department of Energy, where she led strategic efforts in data management and data science including the development of the department-wide data management plan requirements, a new stewardship model for high-valued public data repositories, and new research avenues to better leverage DOE data and advance AI. Prior to joining DOE, Laura was an AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow, serving first in the U.S. Department of Agriculture and then at the Department of State. Laura completed her higher education in the United Kingdom; she holds a MSci in math and physics from the University of Bristol and a Ph.D. in applied mathematics from the University of Warwick.

Dr. Alyssa Tonsing-Carter is a Health Science Policy Analyst conducting program analysis and evaluation for ODSS. In this role, she is responsible for analyzing budget, performance, and output data to evaluate program productivity and impact of the implementation activities for the NIH Strategic Plan for Data Science. Prior to joining ODSS, Alyssa worked on clinical trials policy in the NIH Office of Science Policy, initially as a AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow. Prior to joining NIH, she was the program manager of the University of Illinois at Chicago/NIH Center for Botanical Dietary Supplements Research focused on pre-clinical and clinical studies of botanical dietary supplement safety. Alyssa has a B.S. in biology from the University of Dayton and a Ph.D. in pharmacology from Indiana University in Indianapolis.

Dr. Jess Mazerik leads ODSS efforts to recruit new and diverse computational talent to NIH. Prior to joining ODSS, she served as a special assistant to NIH Principal Deputy Director Dr. Larry Tabak. She previously worked at the National Eye Institute (NEI), coordinating prize competitions to develop 3D retinal tissue models. Prior to joining NEI, Jess worked at the National Cancer Institute, where she started as a health communications fellow then served as a program manager for an international initiative to create a biobank of patient-derived 3D tumor culture lines with matched genomic and clinical data. Jess has a B.S. in biology from the Ohio State University and a Ph.D. in cell biology from Vanderbilt University.

Dr. Fenglou Mao is the ODSS project manager of the NIH Science and Technology Research Infrastructure for Discovery, Experimentation, and Sustainability (STRIDES) Initiative. Prior to joining the office, he was a data scientist at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases focusing on portfolio analysis and project management. Before joining NIH, Fenglou was a bioinformatician in the Biotechnology Center in University of Wisconsin-Madison and an assistant research scientist in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Georgia. He received his B.S. in 1996 and his Ph.D. in 2001 in physical chemistry from Peking University.

Dr. Yanqin “Sarah” Yang is the Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) Data Hub program director for ODSS and is responsible for coordinating and overseeing the activities of the RADx Data Hub Development Team and all RADx Program Data Coordination Centers. Sarah also serves as the executive secretary for the Sequence Read Archive Working Group of the NIH Council of Councils. Before joining ODSS, Sarah served as a senior bioinformatician at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) for 10 years. Prior to joining NHLBI, Sarah spent 12 years at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine as a bioinformatician and a research specialist. Sarah has a M.S. in bioinformatics from Johns Hopkins University and received her M.D. from Shandong Medical University.

Erin Walker is a communications specialist for the ODSS. In this role, she leads the development and implementation of communication strategies to inform and engage stakeholders and audiences on the data science activities at NIH. Prior to joining the ODSS team in 2019, Erin worked in strategic communications, executive communications, and research and analysis at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. Erin holds a B.A. in public relations from Auburn University and an MBA from the University of North Alabama.

Rebecca Hardesty is the executive assistant to Drs. Gregurick and Seto. Prior to joining ODSS, Rebecca supported the NIH Office of Science Policy for seven years. She has previously worked as a contractor for various government agencies including the Department of Homeland Security and the National Science Foundation, providing professional administrative and emergency management support.

Dr. Allissa Dillman leads data science outreach and teaching efforts for ODSS with a focus on lowering the barriers of entry for data science by building events that offer equitable access for all. She is part-time with ODSS and part-time with CIT supporting STRIDES training activities. She was previously the biomedical data science outreach coordinator for NCBI. Allissa received her Ph.D. in computational neuroscience as part of the graduate partnership program between NIH and the Karolinska Institute in Sweden in 2014. She received her B.S in 2008 in biomedical sciences from St. Cloud State University. She has contributed to over 50 scientific publications and has a long-standing research interest in bioinformatic tools for analysis of both human samples and model systems.

Carol Fivozinsky is a budget analyst for ODSS, bringing more than 20 years of NIH experience to the office. A former federal employee, Carol spent most of her NIH career as the budget officer for the National Eye Institute. She began her federal career working in a lab at the National Cancer Institute and has also worked in the NIH Office of Budget. After retiring from federal service, Carol returned to the NIH Office of the Director for several years as a consultant on the Roadmap Common Fund initiative. Carol holds a B.A. in chemistry from Hood College.

Jackie Cattell joined ODSS as a Virtual Student Federal Service VSFS communications intern in September 2019 and became a communication specialist with SCG in June 2020. She works closely with Erin Walker in implementing communication and outreach strategies. Jackie has a special interest in data science communications and data science outreach in underserved communities. She is currently an undergraduate student at Eastern Michigan University studying computer science and mathematics.