Office of Data Science and Emerging Technologies

The Office of Data Science and Emerging Technologies (ODSET) coordinates the development and implementation of NIAID’s data science strategy across its entire global portfolio of research and training programs. The overall goal of the office is to enable the efficient use of data and computational methods to better understand, treat, and ultimately prevent infectious, immunologic, and allergic diseases. Read more about ODSET. 

Get in touch: Contact ODSET staff at datascience@niaid.nih.gov. 

ODSET Team

Reed S. Shabman, Ph.D.

Acting Director

Education:

Ph.D., University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill

Reed Shabman, Ph.D., has over 15 years of laboratory and scientific administrative leadership spanning infectious diseases and their vectors. His experiences with biomedical data have shaped a perspective that data science approaches and efficient data sharing are cornerstones of infectious and immune-mediated research and are required to effectively respond to emerging and re-emerging infectious...

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Sydney Foote, M.P.H. [E]

Data Scientist

Education:

B.S., M.P.H., University of Michigan

Sydney is a Data Scientist in the Office of Data Science and Emerging Technologies (ODSET) where she leads the implementation of various NIH data sharing policies, manages controlled data access and sharing, coordinates and participates in several working groups, and co-leads a portfolio analysis of data science at NIAID. Through her work, she supports broad sharing of scientific data to advance...

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Meghan Hartwick, M.Sc., Ph.D. [E]

Program Officer

Education:

M.Sc., Tufts University
Ph.D., University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH

Meghan Hartwick is a Program Officer in the Office of Science and Emerging Technologies (ODSET). During her Ph.D. work in Molecular and Evolution Systems Biology (MESB) at the University of New Hampshire and MSc work in Conservation Medicine with Tufts University, she developed mathematical models and bioinformatic approaches to predict public health risk from emerging water and foodborne...

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Lisa Mayer, M.P.H [C]

Data Scientist

Education:

M.P.H., University of Michigan

Lisa is a Data Scientist in the Office of Data Science and Emerging Technologies (ODSET) where she tracks and analyzes NIAID-relevant data assets for FAIR compliance as the Data Asset Coordinator and fosters community engagement through management of the NIAID Data Science website. Previously she worked with the office as a fellow through the Emerging Leaders in Data Science program completing...

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Sepideh Mazrouee, M.S., Ph.D.

DATA Scholar

Education:

M.S., University of Texas at Dallas

Ph.D., University of California Los Angeles

Sepideh Mazrouee, Ph.D., is a computer scientist by training and is currently a Data and Technology Advancement (DATA) Scholar in the Office of Data Science and Emerging Technologies (ODSET). Sepideh received her PhD from the University of California Los Angeles specializing in big data analytics of human and plant DNA sequence reconstruction. She has worked as a research scientist and...

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John J. McGowan, M.S., Ph.D. [C]

Data Science Consultant

Education:

M.S., Ph.D., University of Mississippi

Dr. John J. McGowan launched the Office of Data Science and Emerging Technologies and was the acting head of ODSET while he recruited Wilbert into the position before retiring but remains with the ODSET team as a consultant. Even before launching ODSET, Dr. McGowan had an extremely successful career at the NIH and NIAID, including serving as the Acting Deputy Directory for Management, the Director...

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Dasha Pokutnaya, M.P.H., Ph.D. [C]

Data Scientist

Education:

M.P.H., Yale 
Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh

Dasha received her MPH in Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases with a concentration in public health modeling from the Yale School of Public Health and her PhD in Epidemiology from the University of Pittsburgh. During her PhD, she developed and validated an implementation framework and checklist to support the publication of reproducible infectious disease computational modeling studies. As a Data...

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Fellows

ODSET is currently hosting two Emerging Leaders in Data Science Fellows: Rachel Waymack and Cristina Delgado. More details about the fellowship program and current and past Fellows are available on the Emerging Leaders in Data Science Fellowship Program page.

Rachel Waymack, Ph.D.

Fellow, NIAID Emerging Leaders in Data Science Fellowship

Education:

Ph.D., University of California, Irvine
B.S., College of William and Mary

Rachel received her Ph.D. in Developmental and Cell Biology from the University of California, Irvine. Her doctoral thesis focused on mechanisms of gene regulation during embryonic development, using both computational and experimental approaches such as quantitative fluorescence microscopy, automated image analysis, and stochastic models. After completing her Ph.D., Rachel worked as an ORISE post...

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Cristina Delgado, M.Sc.

Fellow, NIAID Emerging Leaders in Data Science Fellowship

Education:

M.Sc., University of Edinburgh
B.Sc., Biotechnology Engineering, Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey

Cristina is passionate about using data science to address critical health challenges and has collaborated on interdisciplinary projects across research settings in Mexico, the UK, and the US. As an undergraduate, she applied data science techniques to analyze various biological organisms and bioprocesses. In her postgraduate training, she focused on using computational methods to understand the...

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Previous Staff

A listing of previous staff can be found on Data Science Career Paths.

About ODSET

Given the global reach of the NIAID research community, ODSET aims to advance data science for infectious and immune-mediated disease research worldwide. Areas of emphasis for ODSET include:

  • Providing centralized leadership and vision for the role of data science in accelerating research in top NIAID strategic areas, including research on HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, influenza, COVID-19, and many other areas of emphasis
  • Developing new research and training initiatives that include data science methods, approaches, and technologies in close collaboration with the seven NIAID intramural and extramural divisions and with colleagues in the NIAID Office of the Director
  • Improving the discovery, access, and use of NIAID relevant data for computational analytical methods, following the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) principles as a roadmap
  • Advancing the use of data science methods and technologies, such as AI, for improved preparedness against emerging infectious diseases and pandemic threats jointly with colleagues from across NIAID and the US Government
  • Providing scientific expertise in data science subdomains, such as artificial intelligence, systems modeling, informatics research, (meta)data representations and interoperability, cloud-based technologies, and data repositories, as well as their applications, to NIAID research and training programs

By way of its broad mission, ODSET supports all NIAID initiatives towards the discovery of new diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines to address some of the largest global health threats of our time.

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