Commemorating OBSSR: A History in Milestones

1993

  • Congress Establishes the OBSSR

    Congress Establishes the OBSSR

    June, 1993

    On June 10, Congress creates the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) to identify, coordinate, and promote behavioral and social science research projects at the NIH and beyond. Its founding demonstrates growing public acceptance that behavioral and social science factors greatly impact public health.

1995

  • The OBSSR Opens its Doors

    The OBSSR Opens Its Doors

    July, 1995

    The OBSSR officially opens its doors within the Office of the NIH Director. The Behavioral and Social Sciences Research Coordinating Committee (BSSR-CC) forms the same year to advise the Director of the OBSSR and foster communication and coordination with NIH staff and external partners in the field of behavioral and social sciences research.

  • Dr. Norman B. Anderson Appointed Director of the OBSSR (1995–2000)

    Dr. Norman B. Anderson Appointed Director of the OBSSR (1995–2000)

    July, 1995

     

    Ask not what the NIH can do for behavioral and social sciences. Ask what behavioral and social sciences research can do for the NIH.

     

    Norman B. Anderson becomes OBSSR’s first director. Previously a professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Duke University Medical Center, Dr. Anderson specializes in intersections between health and behavior, with a particular focus on racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic health disparities.

    Under his leadership, the OBSSR articulates its priorities. As OBSSR’s first leader, Dr. Anderson champions the integration of behavioral and social sciences research across the NIH. The OBSSR hosts its first conference and releases its first strategic plan (in 1997) to address the critical behavioral and social science factors affecting public health. The OBSSR defines behavioral and social sciences research with input from a diversity of fields, laying the foundation for its role as the backbone of the behavioral and social sciences at the NIH.

1997

  • First Strategic Plan Revealed

    First Strategic Plan Revealed

    August, 1997

    The OBSSR releases its first strategic
    plan
    , which identifies three main priorities: (1) improve research and training in the behavioral and social sciences; (2) cultivate interdisciplinary research by integrating biobehavioral perspectives in all areas of NIH research; and (3) enhance communication within the field and with the public.

  • Disease Prevention Through Behavior Change

    Disease Prevention Through Behavior Change

    October, 1997

    The OBSSR issues FOAs enacted in 1998 and 2003 to test whether theoretical models and practical interventions are effective for creating positive, long-term behavior changes. In particular, researchers study poor diet and exercise, alcohol abuse, and tobacco use, the leading causes of poor health and premature death.

1999

  • Research on Child Neglect

    Research on Child Neglect

    March, 1999

    Child neglect can have long-term health and behavioral consequences. Seeking to promote the development of research programs into child neglect, the OBSSR issues a FOA Funding Opportunity Announcement in 1999 and again in 2001. The FOA Funding Opportunity Announcement aims to build partnerships between researchers studying child health, education, and juvenile justice and those working with child neglect and abuse research.

2000

  • Dr. Peter Kaufmann Appointed Acting Director of the OBSSR (2000)

    Dr. Peter Kaufmann Appointed Acting Director of the OBSSR (2000)

    April, 2000

    The OBSSR has been the backbone of behavioral and social sciences research at the NIH.

    Peter Kaufmann becomes Acting Director of the OBSSR after a decade as the Chief of NHLBI National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute ’s Behavioral Medicine Branch. Dr. Kaufmann encourages OBSSR staff to use their diverse subject backgrounds and abilities, enabling the team to concentrate on and strengthen aspects of behavioral and social sciences research at the NIH.

  • Dr. Raynard S. Kington Appointed Director of the OBSSR (2000–2003)

    Dr. Raynard S. Kington Appointed Director of the OBSSR (2000–2003)

    October, 2000

    The OBSSR is constantly identifying opportunities ...  for those areas of behavioral and social science knowledge where a nudge of some sort could promote the scientific advance in a way that ultimately gets us to treatments and cures and prevention faster.

    Raynard S. Kington becomes OBSSR’s director after serving as the Director of the Division of Health Examination Statistics at the CDC Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ’s National Center for Health Statistics. As director, Dr. Kington examines the links between health and education. This work ranges from micro to macro levels of analysis: from how education shapes neural pathways in the brain to how it affects an individual’s economic status and overall health.  

    Dr. Kington also prioritizes studies on implicit racial bias and its impact on patient care at individual and structural levels. These studies and the conversations surrounding them reflect OBSSR’s larger mission: to demonstrate the critical role of behavioral and social science in clarifying complex health-related questions.

2001

2002

  • Methodology and Measurement

    Methodology and Measurement

    March, 2002

    The OBSSR issues an FOA Funding Opportunity Announcement focused on developing and enhancing the quality and power of data in health-related behavioral and social sciences. Researchers are asked to explore how to improve methodologies in research design, measurement, and data synthesis. This FOA Funding Opportunity Announcement is reissued in 2005, 2006, 2008, 2016, and 2017.

2003

  • Pathways Linking Education to Health

    Pathways Linking Education to Health

    January, 2003

    The OBSSR encourages investigation of formal schooling’s impact on overall health by issuing an FOA Funding Opportunity Announcement . In 2014, the OBSSR holds a related meeting called “Education and Health: New Frontiers.” The meeting minutes are included in the 2015 NAS National Academy of Sciences report “Exploring Opportunities for Collaboration Between Health and Education to Improve Population Health: Workshop Summary.” The OBSSR issues related FOAs “Education and Health: New Frontiers” in 2016 and 2018.

  • Dr. Virginia S. Cain Appointed Acting Director of the OBSSR (2003–2005)

    Dr. Virginia S. Cain Appointed Acting Director of the OBSSR (2003–2005)

    February, 2003

    Keeping the behavioral and social sciences on the radar of the NIH and the leadership ...  and the impact of behavioral and social science and the contribution that it can make to understanding health and healthcare are major contributions of the OBSSR.

    A veteran researcher at the OBSSR and ORWH Office of Research on Women’s Health , Virginia S. Cain becomes OBSSR’s acting director. Dr. Cain ensures that behavioral and social sciences research is prioritized in the NIH Roadmap for Medical Research, which helps define NIH’s strategic plan. She also protects NIH funding for behavioral and social science grants, including those for AIDS treatment and prevention.

2004

  • Understanding and Promoting Health Literacy

    Understanding and Promoting Health Literacy

    June, 2004

    The OBSSR releases FOAs to stimulate research in health literacy—the capacity of individuals to understand and act on information to improve or sustain their health. These FOAs examine how health literacy connects to health disparities and how technology can bridge the knowledge gap. These FOAs are reissued in 2006, 2010, and 2013 and inform a 2011 IOM Institute of Medicine report.

  • Strengthening Behavioral and Social Science in Medical School Education

    Strengthening Behavioral and Social Science in Medical School Education

    June, 2004

    In collaboration with the OBSSR, the NAS National Academy of Sciences publishes “Improving Medical Education: Enhancing the Behavioral and Social Science Content of Medical School Curricula.” In October 2004, the OBSSR issues FOAs aimed at bolstering behavioral and social sciences research in medical education. The OBSSR releases related FOAs in 2010 and 2011.

  • Community Participation in Research

    Community Participation in Research

    December, 2004

    Community-based participatory research allows people with great stakes in a community’s health to work alongside scientific researchers to improve health and address related disparities. The OBSSR issues a FOA Funding Opportunity Announcement in 2004, and again in 2008, to stimulate joint involvement of researchers and communities in conducting health research.

2005

  • Dr. David Abrams Appointed Director of the OBSSR (2005–2008)

    Dr. David Abrams Appointed Director of the OBSSR (2005–2008)

    January, 2005

    We get a lot of applause for all the breakthroughs in biomedical research ... we get some applause for the breakthroughs in psychosocial, epidemiology, and public health research ... If the one takes place without the other, it’s the sound of one hand clapping ... Imagine how much more applause we would get if both hands were clapping, on the one side the biomedical sciences, and on the other side collaborating with the behavioral and social sciences.

    David Abrams becomes OBSSR’s director after a long tenure as a professor of community health, psychiatry, and human behavior at Brown University Medical School. Under his leadership, the OBSSR publishes a strategic prospectus. Dr. Abrams prioritizes systems science—studying the world as a series of systems interacting with one another—and transdisciplinary team science. His efforts involve focusing on major chronic diseases that are not easily categorized into biomedical or psychosocial realms but rather result from interactions between them.

    Dr. Abrams also encourages community-building efforts and provides spaces for staff to generate ideas about how to enhance the mission of the behavioral and social sciences within the NIH community. He establishes a “kitchen cabinet,” holding weekly meetings with behavioral and social sciences programming staff across the NIH to garner advice. The group builds a sense of camaraderie, discussing challenges the OBSSR faces and ways to work together more effectively. 

     

  • Social Work Practice and Concepts in Health

    Social Work Practice and Concepts in Health

    December, 2005

    The OBSSR releases FOAs in 2005, 2006, and 2007 that promote the development of research on observed intersections between social work and positive health impacts on people with medical conditions and behavioral disorders. They aim to analyze and enhance the effectiveness of social work services.

2006

2007

2008

  • Dr. Christine Bachrach Appointed Acting Director of the OBSSR (2008–2010)

    Dr. Christine Bachrach Appointed Acting Director of the OBSSR (2008–2010)

    April, 2008

    The OBSSR [is] ...  a uniter of NIH Institutes around behavioral and social science issues, having a small budget ... to nudge things along, to seed ideas, and having a voice.

     Christine Bachrach becomes OBSSR’s acting director following a long tenure at the Demographic and Behavioral Science Branch of the NICHD National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Center for Population Research. Under Dr. Bachrach’s leadership, the OBSSR organizes Institute directors, program leaders, and working groups to create OppNet NIH Basic Behavioral and Social Science Opportunity Network , a fruitful interdisciplinary funding initiative launched in 2009.

  • Technological Innovations for Interdisciplinary Research

    Technological Innovations for Interdisciplinary Research

    July, 2008

    The OBSSR issues FOAs encouraging methods for incorporating behavioral and social sciences into interdisciplinary research using technological innovations. This effort builds on 2007’s NIH Roadmap, an initiative that emphasizes the need for efficient transferring of basic research into actual human practice and positive health impacts.

2009

  • Institute on Systems Science and Health

    Institute on Systems Science and Health

    May, 2009

    In collaboration with the CDC Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , the OBSSR organizes its first annual institute on systems science and health. The institute’s purpose is to provide students with an overview of systems science methods and training. Students represent a variety of disciplines and education levels—from predoctoral to full professor.

  • OppNet Is Created

    OppNet Is Created

    November, 2009

    The OBSSR facilitates the establishment of OppNet NIH Basic Behavioral and Social Science Opportunity Network , a collaborative NIH-wide funding initiative. OppNet NIH Basic Behavioral and Social Science Opportunity Network identifies research areas and issues FOAs to fund research projects that advance the goals of NIH Institutes and Centers. Over the next 10 years, it provides over $80 million to more than 100 research projects.

2010

  • Dr. Deborah Olster Appointed Acting Director of the OBSSR (2010–2011)

    Dr. Deborah Olster Appointed Acting Director of the OBSSR (2010–2011)

    January, 2010

    There are still health disparities among various groups, racial, ethnic, geographic ... figuring out how environment, broadly defined to include the social and behavioral environment, as well as the physical and chemical environments, influences gene expression, and health and disease outcomes ... those issues are still on the table for the NIH and for the OBSSR.

    Deborah Olster becomes OBSSR’s acting director after serving as Deputy Director of the OBSSR and in the Directorate for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences at the National Science Foundation. As acting director, Dr. Olster spearheads the interdisciplinary research activities and funding opportunities included in the NIH Roadmap.

  • Social Networks and Their Impact on Public Health

    Social Networks and Their Impact on Public Health

    March, 2010

    OBSSR releases FOAs related to social network analysis and translating important social science findings into health-related behavior improvements. The former focuses on improving the science of social network structures, the latter on stimulating innovative research projects to close gaps between public health research, policy, and practice.

2011

  • Dr. Robert Kaplan Appointed Director of the OBSSR (2011–2014)

    Dr. Robert Kaplan Appointed Director of the OBSSR (2011–2014)

    February, 2011

    What I’ve come to appreciate is that the determinants of health are much broader than we’ve ever recognized. The OBSSR has really developed that message.

    Robert Kaplan becomes OBSSR’s director after serving as a professor in the University of California, Los Angeles School of Public Health and School of Medicine. During his tenure, the OBSSR invests in the development of the mHealth Collaboratory, an initiative that employs mobile technologies to improve public health and prepares for next-generation technologies and research methods.

    Under Dr. Kaplan’s leadership, the OBSSR also spearheads a training program to help medical schools reform their curricula to bolster behavioral and social science content. The OBSSR also holds many short courses to train early-career researchers and doctors in mHealth, dissemination and implementation methods, systems science, and more.

  • First Annual Training Institute for Dissemination and Implementation Research in Health (TIDIRH) Is Held

    First Annual Training Institute for Dissemination and Implementation Research in Health (TIDIRH) Is Held

    August, 2011

    In close partnership with other NIH institutes, the OBSSR develops a training institute designed to build capacity in dissemination and implementation (D&I) research. In addition to receiving training in conducting D&I research, participants are expected to return to their home institutions and share what they learned in order to grow the field. 

  • Medication Adherence Research

    Medication Adherence Research

    November, 2011

    Commitment to medication regimens is crucial to producing positive health outcomes. In collaboration with the NIH Adherence Network and other NIH agencies, the OBSSR issues FOAs for innovative research to encourage patients to follow prescribed medication instructions. These FOAs are reissued in 2014 and 2018.

2013

  • U.S. Health in International Perspective

    U.S. Health in International Perspective

    March, 2013

    In collaboration with the OBSSR, the NRC National Research Council and the IOM Institute of Medicine publish the consensus report “U.S. Health in International Perspective: Shorter Lives, Poorer Health.” Conducted at OBSSR’s request, the study compares life expectancy and health in the United States with those measures in 16 other wealthy democratic countries. It finds that U.S. life expectancy and health do not compare well and require a societal commitment to improve.

  • Short Courses on Innovative Methodologies

    Short Courses on Innovative Methodologies*

    May, 2013

    The OBSSR issues an FOA Funding Opportunity Announcement in 2013, and again in 2018, to promote educational courses that prepare students to meet biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research needs. These FOAs also serve to stimulate public health education and outreach geared toward groups underrepresented in behavioral and medical research.

    *This funding opportunity is re-issued in 2018.

2014

  • Dr. William T. Riley Appointed Acting Director (2014) and Then Director of the OBSSR (2015)

    Dr. William T. Riley Appointed Acting Director (2014) and Then Director of the OBSSR (2015)

    May, 2014

    I cannot imagine a more exciting time than now to be a behavioral and social science researcher. Advances in technology, open data, and big data analytics are providing new and temporally dense information in large and varied samples. Transdisciplinary efforts by diverse disciplines, including genetics, neuroscience, computer science, and engineering, are reinvigorating the behavioral and social sciences with novel approaches and methodologies and are cross-pollinating behavioral and social sciences research approaches into their disciplines as well.

    William T. Riley becomes OBSSR’s acting director, and then director, after serving for more than a decade within the NIMH National Institute of Mental Health , the NHLBI National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute , and the NCI National Cancer Institute . He specializes in the application of digital technologies, engineering, and computer science to the behavioral and social sciences in order to improve public health research and outcomes.

    Under Dr. Riley’s leadership, the OBSSR expands its training initiatives. In particular, the K18 award provides funding opportunities for established scientists to gain experience in disciplines beyond their primary research fields. The OBSSR releases its third and current strategic plan, which expands on scientific priorities by providing a list of functions central to OBSSR’s mission and advancement.

  • New Dimensions of Electronic Health Records

    New Dimensions of Electronic Health Records

    June, 2014

    In collaboration with the OBSSR, the NAM National Academy of Medicine (formerly IOM Institute of Medicine ) publishes the consensus study report “Capturing Social and Behavioral Domains and Measures in Electronic Health Records.” This two-phase report advocates for the incorporation of social and behavioral dimensions of health into electronic health records, which provide crucial information about patients to their providers. The OBSSR organizes an NIH meeting on this topic in 2018.

2015

2016

2017

  • Intensive Longitudinal Analysis: Leveraging New Technologies

    Intensive Longitudinal Analysis: Leveraging New Technologies

    March, 2017

    The OBSSR issues FOAs to develop a cooperative agreement network and Research Coordinating Center to support the Intensive Longitudinal Health Behaviors Initiative. The goal is to learn the influences of key health behaviors from data collection and analysis, assisted with real-time data from smartphones and new technologies, to suggest personalized strategies for disease reduction and prevention.

  • Third Strategic Plan Released

    Third Strategic Plan Released

    November, 2017

    The OBSSR releases its third strategic plan, for 2017 to 2021. The plan details scientific priorities on strengthening behavioral and social sciences and interdisciplinary research structures, as well as applying findings to practice and policy. It outlines foundational processes for supporting these scientific priorities and advancing OBSSR’s overall mission.

2018

2020

  • NCHS National Death Index Investigation Agreement

    NCHS National Death Index Investigation Agreement

    January, 2020

    In January 2020, OBSSR spearheads efforts for an agreement between NIH and the Centers for Disease Control ( CDC Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ) National Center for Health Statistics, (NCHS). Through this agreement, NIH will reimburse the NCHS National Death Index (NDI) for the costs of NIH-supported investigators to link their research databases with the NDI for the research aims supported by the NIH. "NIH-supported investigators" refers to extramural investigators actively funded by the NIH, contract investigators working under an active contract with the NIH, and intramural researchers employed by the NIH. These NIH-supported investigators will be able to link their research data to the NDI at no cost to the NIH supported investigator. NIH-supported investigators will continue to submit applications for NDI linkage as per current NDI procedures, and NDI will review and approve, or disapprove, these applications as per current NDI procedures.

  • Improve Understanding of the Determinants of Firearm Injury

    Improve Understanding of the Determinants of Firearm Injury

    March, 2020

    In March 2020, OBSSR, along with IC Institutes and Centers partners, publishes NOFOs that encourages research to improve understanding of the determinants of firearm injury. NIH awards nine grants in response to two funding announcements (PAR-20-143 and NOT-OD-20-089) to improve understanding of the determinants of firearm injury, the identification of those at risk of firearm injury (including both victims and perpetrators), the development and evaluation of innovative interventions to prevent firearm injury and mortality, and the examination of approaches to improve the implementation of existing, evidence-based interventions to prevent firearm injury and mortality.

  • PhenX Toolkit

    PhenX Toolkit

    April, 2020

    OBSSR, in collaboration with NIH ICs, helps to establish standard data collection protocols for COVID-19 research using The PhenX Toolkit, which is a catalog of recommended measurement protocols suitable for use in a variety of research study designs involving human participants.

  • Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) Initiative

    Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) Initiative

    April, 2020

    In April 2020, NIH, with OBSSR collaboration and support, launches the Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) Initiative to develop rapid, easy-to-use, accurate testing and make it available nationwide. As part of this effort, the RADx Underserved Populations (RADx-UP) program is about finding solutions to stop the spread of COVID-19, particularly among racial and ethnic minorities, and other vulnerable populations that have been disproportionately affected by this pandemic.

  • COVID-19 Vaccination Communication

    COVID-19 Vaccination Communication

    December, 2020

    An NIH-wide planning group led by Sylvia Chou at NCI National Cancer Institute and Christine Hunter at OBSSR convenes a panel of leaders in the social and behavioral sciences and in public health to summarize evidence-informed communication strategies in support of national coronavirus vaccine distribution efforts across federal agencies and their state and local partners. The expert panel releases its report titled, “COVID-19 Vaccination* Communication: Applying Behavioral and Social Science to Address Vaccine Hesitancy and Foster Vaccine Confidence.”

2021

  • Improve Understanding of the Determinants of Firearm Injury

    Improve Understanding of the Determinants of Firearm Injury

    September, 2021

    In FY2021, OBSSR, along with IC Institutes and Centers partners, publishes NOFOs to conduct research on firearm injury and mortality prevention and recommended that NIH take a comprehensive approach to studying the underlying causes and evidence-based methods of prevention of firearm injury, including crime prevention. NIH awards 10 grants in response to two funding announcements (PAR-21-191, PAR-21-192). The grant awards are consistent with a public health approach to firearm injury and mortality prevention and includes various types of projects including the evaluation of community violence intervention programs, risk and protective factors for firearm injury and mortality, and a range of types of firearm violence including suicide, youth violence, and childhood injury. See grant award details.

2022

  • Dr. Christine Hunter Appointed Acting Director (2022)

    Dr. Christine Hunter Appointed Acting Director (2022)

    January, 2022

    Behavioral and social factors often play a pivotal role in the prevention or mitigation of risk for diseases as well as in the management of chronic diseases and the promotion of well-being. The systematic integration of the behavioral and social sciences into the broad research mission at NIH, from fundamental discovery to implementation science, is crucial to achieving the goal of advancing human health.

    Dr. Christine Hunter is the Acting Director for the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) at the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Hunter obtained her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from The University of Memphis and completed her psychology internship at Wilford Hall Medical Center. She completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Clinical Health Psychology and attained Board Certification in Clinical Health Psychology by the American Board of Professional Psychology. Dr. Hunter is a Captain in the U.S. Public Health Service.

  • Special Issue in AJPH related to the Opioid and Pain Crisis

    Special Issue in AJPH related to the Opioid and Pain Crisis

    February, 2022

    In February 2022, on behalf of the Contributions of Social and Behavioral Research in Addressing the Opioid Crisis committee, OBSSR commissions a special issue in the American Journal of Public Health (AJPH) that provides opportunities for integrating varied expertise and perspectives from a wide range of communities into NIH behavioral and social sciences research efforts related to the opioid and pain crises in the United States.

  • OBSSR’s Violence Research Initiatives

    OBSSR’s Violence Research Initiatives

    March, 2022

    OBSSR works with other ICs to coordinate two NOFOs, PAR 22-115 and PAR 22-120 that are published on March 4, 2022 in support as part of OBSSR’s violence research initiatives. The NOFOs support a coordinating center and a network of research projects: Research on Community Level Interventions for Firearm and Related Violence Injury and Mortality Prevention (CLIF-VP).

  • Updated Report from CoC Working Group on Trans-NIH Research Opportunities in bBSSR

    Updated Report from CoC Working Group on Trans-NIH Research Opportunities in bBSSR

    May, 2022

    The Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (BSSR) Integration Working Group is established on January 29, 2021, to examine and improve behavioral and social sciences integration at NIH. In May 2022, the working group completes an assessment and provides recommendations on how to better integrate and realize the benefits to overall health from behavioral research at NIH.

  • Ontologies in the Behavioral Science: Accelerating Research and the Spread of Knowledge Report

    Ontologies in the Behavioral Science: Accelerating Research and the Spread of Knowledge Report

    July, 2022

    The “Ontologies in the Behavioral Sciences: Accelerating Research and the Spread of Knowledge” report is released in July 2022. This report is an NIH and other agency sponsored, National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) consensus study. It is directly related to supporting OBSSR’s priority to building a cumulative knowledge base across the behavioral and social sciences. Ontology development and use will support more rigorous and reproducible, accelerate reuse of data, and allow effective communication between scientists and across scientific disciplines.

  • Understanding Health Outcomes Related to an Unexpected or Time-Sensitive Event

    Understanding Health Outcomes Related to an Unexpected or Time-Sensitive Event

    October, 2022

    OBSSR releases a NOFO, Time-Sensitive Opportunities for Health Research (R61/R33 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) that establishes an accelerated review/award process to support research to understand health outcomes related to an unexpected and/or time-sensitive event (e.g., emergent environmental threat; pandemic; change in local, state, or national policy; natural disaster).

  • Committee to Co-Chair NIH Efforts on Social Determinants of Health

    Committee to Co-Chair NIH Efforts on Social Determinants of Health

    October, 2022

    The NIH stands up an official Executive Committee (EC) and Research Coordinating Center (RCC) to coordinate NIH efforts on social determinants of health (SDoH). The co-chairs are the Directors of NINR, NIMHD, and OBSSR. The overall goal of the NIH SDoH RCC is to accelerate NIH-wide SDOH research across diseases and conditions, populations, stages of the life course, and SDoH domains, domestically and globally. The purpose of the SDOH EC is to advance a coordinated SDoH research agenda across the NIH by advising, directing, and supporting the activities of the RCC.

  • The Future of Work: Behavioral and Social Science-Informed Considerations for a Hybrid Work Environment

    The Future of Work: Behavioral and Social Science-Informed Considerations for a Hybrid Work Environment

    November, 2022

    OBSSR staff develops and releases the report, “The Future of Work: Behavioral and Social Science-Informed Considerations for a Hybrid Work Environment.” The report provides behavioral and social science-informed considerations for developing and maintaining virtual and hybrid work environments. The goal of this report is to explore key areas that impact workplace development and effectiveness and well-being in virtual and hybrid work environments.

  • DECISION SUPPORT TOOL: Features to Consider in Determining if a Clinical Trial is Phase II or Phase III

    DECISION SUPPORT TOOL: Features to Consider in Determining if a Clinical Trial is Phase II or Phase III

    November, 2022

    A working group led by OBSSR with participants from other ICOs releases the DECISION SUPPORT TOOL: Features to Consider in Determining if a Clinical Trial is Phase II or Phase III. It is designed to be a resource to help investigators, program officers, and reviewers determine if a behavioral or social science study is better characterized as a Phase II or a Phase III clinical trial.

2023

  • Dr. Wendy B. Smith, interim Acting Director (2023)

    Dr. Wendy B. Smith, interim Acting Director (2023)

    June, 2023

    Events in the last few years have demonstrated the importance of integrating behavioral and social sciences research into the broader biomedical enterprise. OBSSR is uniquely poised through our collaborations across the NIH Institutes and Centers to identify opportunities to not only support BSSR but also identify where it can provide additional and important synergy. Integration of behavioral and social sciences can result in bringing new perspectives to areas of science not yet explored. The role of OBSSR in this process is one that I have found exciting and rewarding during my time at OBSSR.

    Dr. Wendy B. Smith is the Associate Director for the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) at the National Institutes of Health and served as interim Acting Director from June to July 2023. Dr. Smith joined OBSSR in 2013 and has held several senior leadership positions including Senior Scientific Advisor for Research Development and Outreach, Acting Deputy Director, interim Acting Director, and her current role as Associate Director since 2016. She joined OBSSR from the Office of Science Policy, Office of the NIH Director where she served as the Director for Clinical and Translational Research Partnerships. Prior to her roles within the Office of the NIH Director, she served as the inaugural Deputy Director of the National Cancer Institute’s Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine, where she also created and directed the Research Development and Support Program. Dr. Smith is a founding member of the NIH Pain Consortium, and her publications include research on pain memory, psychophysics of pain perception, psychological aspects of pain, complementary and alternative medicine, and research methodologies.

  • Dr. Jane M. Simoni Appointed OBSSR Director and NIH Associate Director for Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (2023)

    Dr. Jane M. Simoni Appointed OBSSR Director and NIH Associate Director for Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (2023)

    July, 2023

    The leading causes of death among Americans have clear behavioral and social antecedents. Many deaths are preventable, if only we better implemented the effective public health outreach and behavioral health interventions we have developed. Certainly, we cannot fulfill NIH's mission to improve health and lengthen life without coordinated support for rigorous and impactful behavioral and social sciences research across the NIH.

    Jane M. Simoni, Ph.D., is the NIH Associate Director for Behavioral and Social Sciences Research and Director of the NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research at the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Simoni earned her B.A. at Princeton University and her Ph.D. at the University of California, Los Angeles. She also completed postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Southern California and Columbia University.