Jon Lorsch

Jon R. Lorsch is the deputy director for extramural research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). In this role, Lorsch serves as the principal scientific leader and adviser to the NIH director on all matters relating to the substance, quality, and effectiveness of the NIH extramural research program and administration.

As director of NIH’s National Institute of General Medical Sciences, 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 program, a new paradigm for efficiently supporting agile and innovative biomedical research. He also championed the institute’s research capacity-building efforts, including the Institutional Development Awards program, which develops biomedical research in states that have historically received low levels of NIH funding. Lorsch has taken on many other leadership roles at NIH, including co-chair of the NIH Scientific Data Council and the Extramural Activities Working Group and member of the Administrative Data Council and the Scientific Management Review Board.