Office of Science Management and Operations (OSMO)

OSMO provides science and business leadership, direction, and assistance to support the NIAID mission as well as national and international scientific programs and activities.

OSMO advises the NIAID director and senior staff on scientific, policy, business, and administrative management of the Institute and its programs. It also plans, directs, and coordinates the scientific priorities for the Institute and ensures they are executed and supported through the business management and administrative functions.

Deputy Director for Science Management

OSMO is directed by the deputy director for science management, who provides leadership for scientific, policy, business, and administrative management of the Institute and conducts senior-level interactions with the extramural community, other NIH components, and the NIH Office of the Director. Read the Deputy Director’s Profile.

The Office of Science Management and Operations (OSMO) provides science and business leadership, direction, and assistance to support the NIAID mission and national and international scientific programs and activities with the goals of

  • Enhancing NIAID’s strategic position in related areas of biomedical research
  • Ensuring that resources to support the research enterprise are responsibly managed and maintained
  • Maintaining core values
  • Optimizing the effectiveness of scientific and business services
  • Institutionalizing accountability for achieving presidential, departmental, and National Institutes of Health (NIH) management goals and initiatives, including continuous improvement and reengineering in a comprehensive and integrated manner

OSMO advises the NIAID director and senior staff on scientific, policy, business, and administrative management of the Institute and its programs. It also plans, directs, and coordinates the scientific priorities for the Institute and ensures they are executed and supported through the business management and administrative functions of the Institute, including

  • Strategic and mission planning, integration, and evaluation
  • Development of scientific initiatives
  • Knowledge management
  • Budget and financial management
  • Government relations and communications
  • Legislative analysis and public information, including access under the Freedom of Information Act
  • Technology information systems support to NIAID programs

OSMO oversight responsibilities include

  • Overseeing and providing operational leadership and support to coordinate the overall NIAID global research effort
  • Managing the Institute's technology development program
  • Coordinating, planning, and implementing biodefense research supported by various divisions of the Institute
  • Overseeing and providing direction for the NIAID ethics program
  • Developing and administering the Institute's policies and procedures for scientific business and program management activities, including the Institute’s competitive sourcing program

OSMO cooperatively supports the NIAID mission through additional responsibilities, which include

  • Providing assistance to NIAID senior officials to ensure that NIAID has sufficient staff, training, and diversity to effectively conduct the biomedical research mission of NIAID
  • Participating in and bringing both a scientific and business management perspective to the development of NIAID program goals and objectives
  • Interacting with Institute advisory groups on matters concerning NIAID scientific and business management issues
  • Maintaining liaison with and representing the Institute to NIH and departmental officials responsible for the leadership and policy direction of overall scientific program support and business management functions
  • Overseeing and managing the Institute’s risk management program to identify, assess, and remedy risks to scientific programs and administrative operations

Contact the Office of Science Management & Operations (OSMO).

OSMO directs and coordinates the activities of the following offices:

Office of Administrative Services (OAS)

OAS directs, coordinates, and conducts the administrative activities of the Institute.

OAS responsibilities include the following:

  • Advising on developments in management and their implications and effects on research programs
  • Developing policies on administrative management and preparing and issuing procedures and guidelines to implement administrative policies and requirements

Contact the Office of Administrative Services (OAS).

Office of Biodefense Research and Surety (OBRS)

OBRS has overall responsibility for the implementation, coordination, and management oversight of research and early development programs and activities for medical countermeasures against chemical threats across the NIH. The overarching goal is to integrate cutting-edge research with the latest technological advances in science and medicine to enhance the nation's medical response capabilities during public health emergencies involving the release of chemical threat agents. OBRS works closely with the NIH OD and partner Institutes and Centers to support an extramural research infrastructure of academic, industry, and federal laboratories via contract, interagency agreement, grant, and cooperative agreement initiatives.

Contact the Office of Biodefense Research and Surety (OBRS).

Office of Communications and Government Relations (OCGR)

OCGR has overall responsibility for coordinating efforts to interpret and disseminate the goals and results of NIAID research programs and projects to numerous audiences through various media, including Congressional testimony, news releases, websites, and social media. Audiences include the following:

  • General public
  • Biomedical community
  • Congress
  • State and local governments
  • Media
  • Constituents and other specialized groups
  • Physicians and other healthcare professionals

Contact the Office of Communications and Government Relations (OCGR).

Office of Cyber Infrastructure and Computational Biology (OCICB)

OCICB manages technologies supporting NIAID biomedical research programs. The office provides a spectrum of management, technologies development, applications/software engineering, bioinformatics support, and professional development.

OCICB works closely with NIAID intramural, extramural, and administrative staff to provide technical support, liaison, coordination, and consultation on a wide variety of ventures. These projects and initiatives are aimed at ensuring ever-increasing interchange and dissemination of scientific information within the federal government and among the worldwide scientific network of biomedical researchers.

Contact the Office of Cyber Infrastructure and Computational Biology (OCICB).

Office of Data Science and Emerging Technologies (ODSET)

ODSET coordinates NIAID’s data science portfolio and leads the planning and execution of trans-NIAID data science research programs, activities, and related initiatives. The objectives include

  • Encourage the development of investigator-initiated technologies and tools that accelerate actionable insights, which can help identify targets for new drugs, therapies and vaccines, as well as strategies to guide clinical decision support in diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of infectious diseases and immune-mediated disorders.
  • Advocate for and provide guidance on data-management and -sharing practices to ensure NIAID’s research adheres to NIH policies, including genomics data sharing (GDS) policy, that would best serve knowledge sharing, secondary use, and reproducibility of NIAID-funded research data.
  • Develop a data science workforce to better support data-driven research at NIAID, both within the Institute and among the extramural research community.

Contact the Office of Data Science and Emerging Technologies (ODSET).

Also see more information about Data Science at NIAID.

Office of Ethics (OE)

OE provides advice on conflicts of interest for individuals involved in the conduct of biomedical research, including government employees, advisory committee members, and non-government employees such as peer reviewers and Data Safety Monitoring Board members. The office administers a comprehensive NIAID ethics program that covers statutory responsibilities and integrity in public service.

OE responsibilities include the following:

  • Reviewing and approving financial disclosure reports and requests for outside activities
  • Maintaining all ethics records
  • Providing ethics training
  • Serving as the NIAID liaison on ethics issues to the HHS Office of the General Council and Office of Government Ethics

Contact the Office of Ethics (OE).

Office of Global Research (OGR)

OGR coordinates and supports collaborative international research programs that focus on selected infectious diseases of substantial health importance in developing countries.

OGR maintains a comprehensive knowledge base of the Institute's research programs and policies and, in coordination with the NIH Fogarty International Center, identifies relevant programs of other federal domestic agencies, bilateral research agencies and organizations, multilateral research organizations, and voluntary agencies involved in international health activities. In this capacity, OGR advises the NIAID director on program relationships and opportunities for collaboration.

Contact the Office of Global Research (OGR).

Office of Mission Integration and Financial Management (OMIFM)

OMIFM serves as the focal point for the NIAID research budget, as well as financial management activities and strategic planning processes. OMIFM facilitates the identification and integration of long-range resource requirements (e.g., funds, people, facilities, and specialized research resources) and develops long-range plans to meet NIAID strategic objectives.

Office of Strategic Planning, Initiative Development, and Analysis (OSPIDA)

OSPIDA coordinates NIAID strategic planning and evaluation, integration of resource requirements for long-term financial and capital assets, and knowledge management. In collaboration with members of the Institute's scientific divisions and executive management, OSPIDA develops strategic plans, policies, goals, objectives, strategies, and techniques in support of the Institute mission.

Contact the Office of Strategic Planning, Initiative Development, and Analysis (OSPIDA).

Office of Workforce Effectiveness and Resources (OWER)

OWER provides advice regarding organizational performance, effectiveness, and efficiency to NIAID senior management.

OWER oversees human capital, including Title 42 and Title 5 and performance management; workforce planning; recruitment (employment outreach); and paid advertising. OWER also oversees learning and development programs for the Institute.

For questions about equal employment opportunity (EEO), NIAID has been assigned a team from the NIH Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity Management, Institutes/Centers Services Division: Anna Hann

Contact the Office of Workforce Effectiveness and Resources (OWER).

Office of Workplace Solutions (OWS)

OWS advises NIAID senior leadership on matters concerning NIAID-occupied space and facilities.

Other OWS functions include the following:

  • Conducting facility-related technical and non-technical studies to assist NIAID leadership in strategic decision making
  • Establishing Institute-wide policies defining management and allocation of facilities
  • Working with other organizations, both domestic and international, to solve the technical, managerial, and implementation challenges of laboratory construction and operations
  • Managing, in coordination with NIH facility organizations, renovations and new construction projects in federal and leased buildings
  • Providing federal and contracted facility professionals to consult on technical topics regarding high-reliability facilities such as laboratories, vivaria, and data centers
  • Helping NIAID divisions optimize space resources, develop scenarios for changing space needs, and determine the logistics of implementing and delivering facility requirements

Contact the Office of Workplace Solutions (OWS).

Technology Transfer and Intellectual Property Office

TTIPO furthers the Institute’s mission by fostering collaborations between NIAID scientists and partners in industry, academia, nonprofits, and other government agencies. TTIPO staff members are experts in technology transfer and intellectual property and are NIAID’s main resource for negotiating technology transfer agreements. TTIPO also oversees and manages NIAID’s patent portfolio and licensing agreements. See more at Technology Transfer and Intellectual Property.

Contact TTIPO

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