The National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) announced today the appointment of M. Roy Wilson, M.D., M.S., an award-winning physician and academic administrator, as NIMHD's Deputy Director Strategic Scientific Planning and Program Coordination. NIMHD is part of the National Institutes of Health.

"Dr. Wilson is a well-respected physician and academician who brings extensive senior-level administrative experience that will be vital to NIMHD," said NIMHD Director John Ruffin, Ph.D. "I am very excited to have Dr. Wilson join us at a time when the NIMHD is transitioning to an institute. His exceptional leadership will be especially crucial as the NIMHD seeks to strengthen its coordination role of all minority health and health disparities research at NIH."

Prior to joining NIMHD, Dr. Wilson served as chancellor of the University of Colorado, Denver; president of the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Amarillo; and dean of the Creighton University School of Medicine, Omaha, Neb. Most recently, Dr. Wilson chaired the board of trustees at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, serving as acting president from 2010 to 2011. Under Dr. Wilson's leadership, the university regained full institutional accreditation and stabilized its finances.

Dr. Wilson's international research has focused on surveying causes of low vision and blindness in populations from the Caribbean to West Africa. He is a member of the Institute of Medicine. He has served on the executive committee of the NIH-funded Ocular Hypertension Treatment Study and chaired the Data Monitoring and Oversight Committee of the NIH-funded Los Angeles Latino Eye Study. Dr. Wilson was also a member of the advisory councils of both NIMHD and the former National Center for Research Resources, as well as the NIH Director's Working Group on Diversity in the Biomedical Research Workforce.

Dr. Wilson received his undergraduate degree from Allegheny College Meadville, Pa., an M.S. in epidemiology from the University of California, Los Angeles, and his M.D. from Harvard Medical School, Boston. Dr. Wilson was selected to the list of Best Doctors in America 14 times by Best Doctors Inc., and became a finalist for the Los Angeles Business Journal's Healthcare CEO of the Year in 2011. His additional honors include the American Academy of Ophthalmology's Senior Achievement Award, the Distinguished Physician Award from the Minority Health Institute, and the Herbert W. Nickens Award from the Association of American Medical Colleges.

As deputy director, Dr. Wilson will provide leadership and direction to NIMHD's strategic scientific planning and program coordination efforts. He will oversee the development and implementation of an integrated system for coordinating the NIH minority health and health disparities research portfolio, working in collaboration with the NIH Institutes and Centers.

NIMHD is a part of the NIH. It leads scientific research to improve minority health and eliminate health disparities by conducting and supporting research on minority health and health disparities; planning, reviewing, coordinating, and evaluating all minority health and health disparities research at NIH; promoting and supporting the training of a diverse research workforce; translating and disseminating research information; and fostering collaborations and partnerships. For more information about NIMHD, visit http://www.nimhd.nih.gov/.

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.

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