Marie Bernard

Marie A. Bernard, MD was the Chief Officer for Scientific Workforce Diversity and has since retired from federal service on December 31, 2024.

Bernard is a former the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Chief Officer for Scientific Workforce Diversity (COSWD). As COSWD, she led NIH thought regarding the science of scientific workforce diversity, assuring that the full range of talent is accessed to promote scientific creativity and innovation, both intramurally and extramurally. Dr. Bernard also co-led NIH’s newly announced UNITE initiative to end structural racism.

Bernard was also deputy director of the National Institute on Aging (NIA). As NIA’s senior geriatrician, she served as the principal advisor to the NIA director. She also led a broad range of activities, including co-chairing two Department of Health and Human Services Healthy People 2020/2030 objectives – 1) Older Adults, and 2) Dementias, including Alzheimer’s disease. She co-led the NIH-wide Inclusion Governance Committee that ensures appropriate inclusion of individuals in clinical studies, including by sex/gender, race/ethnicity, and inclusion of children and older adults.

Bernard also led the Women of Color Committee of the NIH-wide Working Group on Women in Biomedical Careers. Her national leadership in geriatrics research, teaching, and clinical practice has been recognized by the Clark Tibbits award from the Academy for Gerontology in Higher Education (2013), the Donald P Kent award from the Gerontological Society of America (2014), and the John A. Hartford Foundation Trustees award (2022) . Her work within NIH has been recognized with NIH Director’s awards (2018, 2019), including the NIH Director’s award for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in 2020; and NIH Director’s awards for leadership of the NIH-wide UNITE initiative and Anti-Racism Steering Committee in 2022.