Briggs Accepts Position at Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Josephine P. Briggs, M.D., former director of the Division of Kidney, Urologic, and Hematologic Diseases (KUH) at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), is now a senior scientific officer at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) in Chevy Chase, MD, where she is involved in leading the HHMI Investigator Program.

During her 9-year tenure, Briggs was a strong, active leader for the KUH, the NIDDK, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). She established the National Kidney Disease Education Program, advocated rigorously and effectively for KUH programs, and recruited top-notch scientists to guide education and research programs. She also was actively involved in several trans-NIH activities, such as the Zebrafish Committee and the Roadmap NIH-RAID program.

Robert A. Star, M.D., is serving as the KUH acting director. Star, a nephrologist, has been a senior scientific adviser for translational biology in the KUH division since 1999. He also was a senior adviser for clinical research in the NIH Office of Science Policy and Planning and has been actively engaged in NIH Roadmap initiatives for “Re-Engineering the Clinical Research Enterprise.” His intramural research is aimed at earlier diagnosis and management of acute renal failure.

NIH Publication No. 07–5743
November 2006