Marie A. Bernard, M.D. is the Chief Officer for Scientific Workforce Diversity at the
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...
(NIH). Prior to this, she was the deputy director of the
National Institute on Aging at the NIH, where she oversaw approximately $3.1 billion in research focused on aging and
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...
.
[ ] Bernard co-leads the NIH UNITE initiative, launched in 2021 to end structural racism in biomedicine. She co-chairs the Inclusion Governance Committee, which promotes inclusion in clinical research by sex/gender, race/ethnicity, and age.
She also co-chairs two of the
Department of Health and Human Services Healthy People 2020 objectives: 1) Older Adults, and 2)
Dementia
Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affe ...
s, including
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...
.
Prior to arriving at
NIH in 2008, Bernard served as Donald W. Reynolds Chair in Geriatric Medicine
and founding chairperson of the Donald W. Reynolds Department of Geriatric Medicine at the
University of Oklahoma College of Medicine
History
The University of Oklahoma College of Medicine was founded in 1900 as a medical department of the University of Oklahoma at its main campus in Norman. Lawrence N. Upjohn, M.D. is regarded as the "founding dean" and served from 1900-1904. ...
, and Associate Chief of Staff for Geriatrics and Extended Care at the Oklahoma City Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
[ ]
Bernard's research interests include
nutrition
Nutrition is the biochemical and physiological process by which an organism uses food to support its life. It provides organisms with nutrients, which can be metabolized to create energy and chemical structures. Failure to obtain sufficient n ...
and function in
aging
Ageing ( BE) or aging ( AE) is the process of becoming older. The term refers mainly to humans, many other animals, and fungi, whereas for example, bacteria, perennial plants and some simple animals are potentially biologically immortal. In ...
populations, with particular emphasis upon
ethnic minorities.
Bernard has received two national awards for her leadership in geriatric medicine: the 2014 Kent Award of the
Gerontological Society of America;
and the 2013 Clark Tibbits Award of Association of Gerontology in Higher Education.
Education and career
Bernard received her undergraduate training at
Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh: ) is a women's liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Founded as a Quaker institution in 1885, Bryn Mawr is one of the Seven Sister colleges, a group of elite, historically women's colleges in the United St ...
in 1972,
where she graduated ''cum laude'' with Honors in Chemistry and received her
M.D.
Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. T ...
degree from
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 1976.
She trained in internal medicine at
Temple University Hospital
Temple University Hospital (TUH) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is an academic medical center in the United States which is a part of the healthcare network Temple Health. It is the chief clinical training site for the Temple University School of M ...
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she also served as
chief resident.
Following her residency, Bernard continued her career at
Temple's School of Medicine, starting as an instructor in medicine, then serving as associate professor of medicine in the Division of General Internal Medicine, Director of Medical Clinics, and Assistant Dean for Admissions.
In 1990, Bernard joined the
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...
to build its
geriatrics education and research programs. Until her move to the NIA, Bernard was the founding director of Oklahoma's Reynolds Department of Geriatric Medicine, the third Department of Geriatrics in the U.S. In addition to founding and directing the department, Dr. Bernard also served as Associate Chief of Staff for Geriatrics and Extended Care at the Oklahoma City Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
Bernard has received additional training through the Association of American Medical Colleges Health Services Research Institute, the Geriatric Education Center of Pennsylvania, and the Wharton School Executive Development program.
Bernard led the development of the
National Institute on Aging Health Disparities Research Framework, published in 2015, which focused on assessing progress and opportunities in research on
health disparities
Health equity arises from access to the social determinants of health, specifically from wealth, power and prestige. Individuals who have consistently been deprived of these three determinants are significantly disadvantaged from health inequiti ...
among racial and ethnic groups related to aging.
On May 26, 2021, she was named Chief Officer for Scientific Workforce Diversity for the
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...
.
Medical and research achievements
*2020 Barbara Payne Lectureship in Gerontology,
Georgia State University
*2014 Kent Award,
Gerontological Society of America (given annually to a member of the Society "who best exemplifies the highest standards for professional leadership in gerontology")
*2013 Clark Tibbits Award, Association of Gerontology in Higher Education (for outstanding contributions to gerontology and geriatrics education)
*2008 50 over 50 Award, AARP, Oklahoma Chapter
*2007 Pathmakers award, Oklahoma City/County Historical Society
*2007-2010 Hartford Senior Leadership Scholar
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bernard, Marie
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
American gerontologists
National Institutes of Health people
Bryn Mawr College alumni
Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania alumni
University of Oklahoma faculty
NIH Women Scientists Project
Women medical researchers
21st-century African-American scientists
20th-century African-American scientists
20th-century American scientists
21st-century American scientists
20th-century American women scientists
21st-century American women scientists
20th-century American physicians
21st-century American physicians
20th-century American women physicians
21st-century American women physicians
American women academics
20th-century African-American women
20th-century African-American academics
20th-century American academics
20th-century American women academics
20th-century African-American physicians
21st-century African-American women
21st-century African-American physicians
21st-century African-American academics
21st-century American academics
African-American sociologists
American sociologists