Lorsch Named Deputy Director for Extramural Research
Dr. Jon Lorsch has been named NIH deputy director for extramural research (DDER) after having served in this role in an acting capacity since April 2025. As DDER, Lorsch serves as the principal scientific leader and advisor to the NIH director on all matters relating to the substance, quality and effectiveness of the NIH extramural research program and administration.
Lorsch is stepping down as director of NIH’s National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), a position he has held since August 2013. His experience at NIGMS makes him well-suited for the DDER role.
For more than 10 years, Lorsch oversaw the institute’s mission-related activities, supporting basic research that increases understanding of biological processes and lays the foundation for advances in disease diagnosis, treatment and prevention. He led the development and expansion of the Maximizing Investigators’ Research Awards (MIRA) program. He also championed the Institute’s research capacity-building efforts, including the Institutional Development Awards (IDeA) program, which develops biomedical research in states that have historically received low levels of NIH funding.
Lorsch came to NIGMS from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where he was a professor of biophysics and biophysical chemistry. A leader in RNA biology, he studies the initiation of translation, a major step in controlling how genes are expressed. He has led a lab conducting this research with NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development since 2013.
Dr. Erica Brown, acting NIGMS deputy director, will serve as acting NIGMS director.