Published: June 26, 2018

Call for applications – Vacancy announced: Director, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders

Following the retirement of James F. Battey, Jr., MD, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) convened a committee to begin the official search for the next Director of the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD).


Editor’s Note: Following the retirement of James F. Battey, Jr., MD, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) convened a committee to begin the official search for the next Director of the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD). The NIDCD’s mission is to foster research in the areas of hearing, balance, smell, taste, voice, and speech. As a result, the next Director of the NIDCD will inevitably have an impact on the specialty.

The following excerpt comes from that search announcement:

Introduction and position information:

The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) is the federal government’s lead agency for conducting and supporting biomedical research, behavioral research, and research training in normal and disordered processes of hearing, balance, taste, smell, voice, speech, and language. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is seeking a first-rate scientific leader for the position of NIDCD Director.

The NIDCD Director provides visionary leadership, executive management, and strategic direction to the Institute. The Director sets Institute goals, priorities, policies, and program objectives, and ensures the continuous evaluation and performance assessment of the Institute’s efforts and functions. S/he supports research that leads to better understanding of human communication disorders, developing treatments, and improving patient outcomes.

The NIDCD Director is responsible for implementing a federal research program that provides funding to universities, hospitals, and other public and private sector organizations through research grants, center grants, cooperative agreements, training grants, and contracts to conduct, foster, and support basic and clinical research and training. The NIDCD Director oversees strategic direction for an extensive portfolio of basic, clinical, and applied research grants and contracts made to scientific institutions and to individuals across the United States and the world in communication processes. In addition, NIDCD maintains intramural basic and clinical research laboratories and facilities on the NIH campus, supporting 15 principal investigators. The NIDCD Director assures rigorous review of intramural research program plans and operations are made so that Institute research activities are at the forefront of research in deafness and other communication disorders. To carry out its mission, the NIDCD has a staff of approximately 210 employees and an annual total budget of approximately $460 million.

For qualifications and information on how to apply, visit https://jobs.nih.gov/vacancies/executive/nidcd-director.htm.

Applications will be reviewed beginning August 1, 2018. (Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.)


More from July 2018 – Vol. 37, No. 6