NIH Biologist Combines Love of Science with Passion for Running
NIH biologist Gwynne Roth has two overarching passions—advancing biomedical research to help others and running. She advanced both of those causes when she raced with a team from the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) in the Marine Corps. marathon 10K in October.
“I am wowed by everything the FNIH does to support scientists,” Roth said.
The FNIH helps amplify and extend the reach of NIH through programs such as the Accelerating Medicines Partnership® and the Biomarkers Consortium. The FNIH has supported more than 25,000 scientists throughout its history.
As a career scientist, Roth said she’s glad to support such a great cause. She joined the NIH team in 2011, researching HIV as a contractor in the lab of Dr. Peter Sun in the Structural Immunology Section of NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Now she’s a full-timer, and her research focus is Long Covid.
Most recently, she’s been testing thousands of compounds to determine if any can alleviate the fibrotic clots that can develop in the lungs with severe infections. “We’re hoping to get people back to having better lung capacity and breathing,” she said.
Roth knows a bit about how incapacitating Long Covid can be. As someone who suffers from asthma, she had reduced lung capacity after her own Covid infection in 2022. She had to wait six months before she could resume exercising, and she still monitors her heart rate more carefully than before. The time off was challenging for this lifelong runner.
Roth started as a sprinter in high school, took a break during college and recommitted herself during graduate school. “I worked myself up from not making it down the block and segmented myself to complete the Baltimore half-marathon in six months,” she said.
She eventually started running full marathons with the goal of completing one in every state. She also worked as a running coach for about seven years.
Roth is known for a light-hearted approach to help motivate herself and others, like having her trainees belt out a rock song at the halfway point of a practice run. “I love anything where I can wear a costume while running,” she said.
Running in the Marine Corps. marathon 10K helped Roth get back in the swing of things—all while supporting a great cause. As a result, Team FNIH raised more than $353,000 to fuel scientific breakthroughs in cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and rare pediatric illnesses.
Learn more about Team FNIH at FNIH.org/race.