Director, Lister Hill National Center for Biomedical Communications (LHNCBC)
The National Library of Medicine (NLM) is one of 27 Institutes and Centers at the National Institutes of Health. NLM is a global leader in biomedical informatics and computational health data science and the world’s largest biomedical library. NLM’s legislative mandate is to support the essential work of acquiring, organizing, preserving, and disseminating biomedical information. NLM provides public access to this information 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
NLM Division: Lister Hill National Center for Biomedical Communications (LHNCBC)
Application Period: 08/01/2023 to 09/15/2023
Overview:
The National Library of Medicine (NLM) is recruiting for Director of the Lister Hill National Center for Biomedical Communications (LHNCBC) through the Senior Biomedical Research and Biomedical Product Assessment Service (SBRBPAS) and Associate Director of NLM for Clinical Data Management. The candidate should have expertise in clinical data generation, management, and analysis as well as strong leadership capabilities to provide strategic vision and operational oversight to the Center.
LHNCBC is a prominent research and development organization within NIH that focuses on advancing the use of clinical (human) data for research by judicious application of data science computational sciences, and biomedical informatics to support cutting-edge biomedical research. LHNCBC houses one branch of the NLM’s Intramural Research Program, the Computational Health Research Branch (CHRB). In 1968, Congress established LHNCBC to further biomedicine through innovations in computer and digital communications technology, data science research, and computer applications development. Since its creation the evolution of LHNCBC resulted in operations around three key themes: intramural research, research and development and related technology transfer, and scientific computing. LHNCBC’s current operating budget is $13 million with an organizational structure comprising the Office of the Director and three branches with human resources support of approximately 70 personnel, excluding the CHRB.
The NIH increasingly recognizes the research value of data generated in the course of clinical care. The LHNCBC serves as the nexus for advanced methods and their application to clinical data for research at the National Library of Medicine. The newly formed LHNCBC Center for Clinical Observational Investigations (CCOI) innovates informatics and analytics solutions to gain understanding from a wide range of data extracted from observations in the clinical arena, including laboratory test values, patient reported outcomes, medical images, and clinical notes. Because of the highly sensitive nature of clinical data, the LHNCBC oversees and manages repositories of clinical data, and establishes policies for access, use, and storage of these data. This position offers an unusual opportunity for a visionary leader to devise approaches to strengthen clinical data and improve its value to the research enterprise.
Position Description/Responsibilities:
This position will provide leadership to staff and oversee the management of substantial resources for NLM core scientific computing services as well as the integration of computational research and development with data science and biomedical research using clinical and other data. This position will report directly to the NLM Director, serve as a member of the NLM Leadership team, and lead a highly technical multidisciplinary team tasked with designing, implementing, operating, and maintaining cutting-edge, next-generational computational infrastructure in support of the NLM Intramural Research Program through the LHNCBC Office of the Director and three Branches: the Applied Clinical Informatics Branch (ACIB), the Computational Health Research Branch (CHRB), and the Scientific Computing Branch (SCB). As NLM Associate Director for Clinical Data Management, this position will work across NLM to help formulate and implement policies and practices for access, use, and storage of human data.
Specific duties include:
- Providing strategic direction to advance the LHNCBC mission and goals in alignment with broader NLM and NIH strategies
- Providing scientific, technical and policy expertise to guide the design, development, and execution of clinical data science research and development projects and programs within the LHNCBC
- Overseeing the design and implementation of programs supporting NLM and NIH intramural and extramural research efforts, such as evaluating large clinical and health databases; developing and evaluating computer algorithms for automated text analysis; and performing data science research in biomedical image and signal processing, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to support automated clinical decision-making
- Establishing and maintaining strategic partnerships with other NIH institutes, government agencies, academia, the health care industry, and international organizations in order to facilitate interdisciplinary collaborations
- Overseeing the allocation and management of financial, human, and technological resources to support the operations and initiatives of the Lister Hill National Center for Biomedical Communications
The ideal candidate has knowledge and deep domain expertise and applied experience in biomedical informatics, data science, or scientific computing as it relates to clinical data and applications. The ideal candidate also has demonstrated leadership capabilities required to manage large-scale scientific programs and staff. Excellent communication skills, the ability to inspire others to engage in significant projects, and a passion for innovation informed by evaluation represent additional assets in a desired candidate.
Position Requirements
To be eligible for this position, candidates must be a U.S. citizen, or U.S. National. Foreign nationals or legal permanent residents are not eligible for consideration. Candidates must indicate their U.S. citizenship status on their CV or within their email application submission.
In order to qualify for this position, candidates must possess either a doctoral-level degree in biomedicine or a biological related field, or a master's level or higher degree in:
- Engineering;
- Bioinformatics; or
- An emerging or related scientific field.
In addition, candidates must have at least one year of experience related to the position, including achievements in one or more of the following areas to demonstrate the individual has received recognition as an expert in the field:
- Has significant experience dealing with complex, precedent-setting evaluation, scientific policies or development issues (e.g., those associated with novel biomedical products, novel approaches to biomedical product manufacturing, or use of novel evaluation methods);
- Demonstrated cutting-edge expertise in a scientific or technical discipline critical to design, development, manufacturing, clinical performance assessment, or technical aspects of effective oversight of biomedical products;
- Played a leadership role in planning and conducting public meetings to seek public input and communicate regulatory scientific policies;
- Received invitations to speak at or chair major national or international meetings and symposia; or
- Meets other criteria demonstrating sufficient rigor or accomplishment in a relevant or closely related activity or field that is necessary to the accomplishment of NIH's mission.
If you are a current Federal Title 5 employee, you must have one year of equivalent experience at the GS-14 level or above.
Education Requirements
Candidates must possess a Ph.D. and/or Master’s degree in a scientific field and have senior-level research or analytic experience and be recognized expert on health data standards and terminologies. Candidates must be able to demonstrate expertise in cutting-edge approaches for the design, development and assessment of health data standards and tools used in varied biomedical products and services. Candidates must also be able to set, plan, implement, and analyze program objectives and priorities. Candidates should have the demonstrated ability to manage financial and human resources.
Salary and Benefits:
Salary is commensurate with qualifications and experience.
A career with the U.S. Government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding.
How to Apply
Contact Information: Dianne Babski, Associate Director, Library Operations
HHS, NIH, and NLM are equal opportunity employers.
Last Reviewed: August 28, 2023