CSR’s Fosu Retires

Dr. Gabriel Fosu retired in December after more than 17 years at the Center for Scientific Review (CSR). For the past four years, he served as CSR’s associate director for diversity and workforce development and chief diversity officer. In this dual role, Fosu successfully coordinated internal and external efforts to advance diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA). For his work, he was featured in 2021 by the NIH Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion as part of the its Black History Month series, NIH Champions of the Black Community, Game Changers.

Several of Fosu’s specific contributions in DEIA are having an impact not only at CSR, but also across NIH. 

At CSR, he served as a reporting avenue for bias in peer review, unfair reviews or uncivil conduct on panels; efforts are under way to implement a similar reporting structure at other NIH institutes and centers. The work of the UNITE-E implementation committee on bias in peer review, of which Fosu was a co-chair, has led to the requirement that all NIH peer reviewers undergo training regarding review integrity and bias awareness.

Fosu also served as co-lead of the working group that oversaw the development of the recently published NIH-wide strategic plan for DEIA. He received an NIH Director’s Award in December 2023 for his work with the group.

“I am so grateful to Gabriel for all that he has done for CSR and for his representation of CSR across NIH,” said CSR Director Dr. Noni Byrnes. “His deep commitment to our peer review mission, his belief in the value of diversity and the importance of treating everyone with dignity, along with his warm demeanor and ability to really listen have been so important in fostering an inclusive work environment at CSR.” 

Fosu holds a Ph.D. in sociology from Brown University. Prior to joining CSR, he served as program officer, principal investigator, research director, assistant professor and associate professor across several institutions and programs, including Catholic University of America, Howard University, University of Ghana, UCLA Danfa Project and University of Maryland, Baltimore County. 

In addition, he served as a chief technical advisor for the Population and Housing Census Program at the United Nations. 

Having served in several additional posts within CSR—scientific review officer and integrated review group (review branch) chief—Fosu remained at the center for the full course of his NIH career, mentoring many others along the way.

“I have always regarded mentoring as a very important endeavor and I am delighted to witness the advancement of the careers of my former mentees,” he said.

Reflecting on his latest positions at CSR, Fosu said, “I am sincerely and deeply grateful for the opportunity given to me to contribute to advancing DEIA at NIH. Serving in those roles has been the high point of my career and an honor.”