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I am pleased to announce the selection of Renate H. Myles, MBA, as the NIH Associate Director for Communications and Public Liaison and Director of the NIH Office of Communications and Public Liaison (OCPL), effective November 3, 2024. Located in the NIH Office of the Director, NIH OCPL leads a comprehensive communications and public liaison program, sets communications policy for the agency and coordinates activities with communication offices within NIH’s 27 institutes and centers and HHS. Ms. Myles has been serving in this role in an acting capacity since April 2021 while continuing to serve as NIH OCPL’s Deputy Director for Public Affairs, a position she has held since November 2018. Prior to this, she held progressive leadership roles in NIH OCPL since joining in March 2011. As director for NIH’s principal communications office, she provides executive leadership to ensure clear, effective communication with NIH’s diverse audiences, including staff, the scientific community, policymakers, interest groups and the public. She serves as the principal advisor to the NIH director and other NIH leadership on all matters of NIH communications and public liaison, helping them navigate complex communication issues.

During her tenure as acting director, Ms. Myles has shaped data-driven strategies across digital, social and print platforms to reach billions of people each year. Her leadership was essential during the COVID-19 pandemic, when she coordinated crucial communications efforts across the agency on NIH’s research response to the pandemic and helped provide critical information to NIH staff to keep them safe while maintaining continuity of operations. Ms. Myles has also spearheaded efforts to align strategic communications across the agency to improve coordination and increase the effectiveness of NIH communications to all audiences. Additionally, she has led the planning and execution of multiple high-profile, VIP events on the NIH campus including visits by multiple serving U.S. Presidents.

Ms. Myles first joined NIH in 2008 as a Communications Program Manager in the Office of Communication and Education at the National Cancer Institute (NCI). There, she led communications planning and implementation for several of NCI's strategic scientific initiatives, including genomics, proteomics, nanotechnology and bioinformatics. Before joining NIH, she owned and operated a public relations consulting firm for more than a decade. Prior to this, she worked for a global aerospace, automotive and information technology company based in England where she led the company’s North American communications for more than 15 years, having served as the organization’s director of corporate communications.

Ms. Myles earned a bachelor’s degree in mass communication from Auburn University and a Master of Business Administration from George Washington University.

I am immensely grateful to Ms. Myles for her exceptional dedication as Acting Director over the past three and half years. I look forward to her continued leadership and invaluable contributions to NIH in her permanent role.

Monica M. Bertagnolli, M.D.
Director, ľ¹ÏÖ±²¥

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