Diana Bianchi

Dr. Diana W. Bianchi is a distinguished medical geneticist and neonatologist, currently serving as the director of the U.S. National Institutes of Health Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. This esteemed position follows a rich academic career, during which she was the Natalie V. Zucker Professor of Pediatrics, Obstetrics, and Gynecology at Tufts University School of Medicine. Moreover, she was a cornerstone in establishing the Mother Infant Research Institute at Tufts Medical Center, serving as its founder and executive director.

Widely recognized for her groundbreaking research in fetal cell microchimerism and prenatal testing, Dr. Bianchi's contributions to the field have been revolutionary. She is celebrated for developing noninvasive methods to isolate intact fetal cells from maternal blood, a significant advancement in the field of genetic diagnosis. Furthermore, she has made substantial strides in noninvasive prenatal testing, utilizing DNA sequencing of fetal and placental DNA fragments in pregnant women's blood. Dr. Bianchi's work isn't limited to these areas; she has also pioneered the study of the amniotic fluid fetal transcriptome, which has opened new avenues in the prenatal treatment of genetic conditions.

In 2016, Dr. Bianchi's expertise and dedication were recognized at a national level when she was appointed director of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Her research efforts have not slowed down with her new role; in fact, in 2022, she was a finalist for a Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal, popularly known as a Sammie, for her critical research on the medical implications of COVID-19 among underserved populations. This recognition was shortly followed by her inclusion in Forbes Magazine's Top 50 Women Over 50: Impact list, a testament to her enduring influence and vital contributions to the field of medicine. Dr. Bianchi graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and later earned her M.D. from Stanford University School of Medicine.