The NIH Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) has named epidemiologist Stephanie M. George, Ph.D., M.P.H., M.A., as the new Deputy Director of ODS. Dr. George will begin her new role on March 24, 2024.

As Deputy Director, Dr. George will advise the ODS Director on programmatic, personnel, administrative, and budgetary issues for the ODS mission. In addition, she will serve as the Vice Chair of the NIH Dietary Supplement Research Coordinating Committee and serve on other related committees and working groups.

“Dr. George’s energy and demonstrated success in building effective relationships and leading complex initiatives across NIH are impressive,” said ODS Director Stefan M. Pasiakos, Ph.D. “I am confident she will help us build the necessary momentum to implement our new strategic vision for ODS.”

Dr. George comes to ODS from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) where she served since 2019 as an epidemiologist and program director overseeing NIH’s largest investment in physical activity research—the Molecular Transducers of Physical Activity Consortium. She also serves on many NIH-wide working groups including those focused on nutrition research, dietary supplements, obesity, physical activity, medical rehabilitation, behavioral and social sciences, health disparities, social determinants of health, and health communication. Dr. George participated in the federal writing team for the 2023 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans Midcourse Report: Implementation Strategies for Older Adults and the 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. She has provided subject matter expertise to both the NIH Community Engagement Alliance and the Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics Underserved Populations efforts. 

Before her role at NIAMS, Dr. George worked as a senior epidemiologist in the NIH Office of Disease Prevention from 2015−2019. In that position, she fostered wide-ranging research collaborations to study preventive health topics, especially those related to physical activity, diet, and obesity.

Dr. George received a B.A. and an M.A. in communication from the University of Maryland as well as an M.P.H. in chronic disease epidemiology and a Ph.D. in epidemiology from Yale University.