NHGRI appoints Marcus G. Hodges as director of Intramural Training Office

ITO is the focal point and coordinating component for training within NHGRI's Intramural Training Program, offering resources and information for the program's large and diverse group of trainees. The office both provides support and assistance to the institute's intramural, starting at recruitment and extending to assistance in helping them launch their careers.

"NHGRI would not be the same without its intramural trainees," Dr. Hodges said. "Those trainees go on to become ambassadors for NHGRI, NIH, and the field of genomics as a whole."

Dr. Hodges has led training and mentorship programs since 2011. After graduating from Howard University with a doctorate in biology, Dr. Hodges was fellowship director for the National Biosafety and Biocontainment Training Program (NBBTP) and served on its Scientific Advisory Board. Prior to his work with NBBTP, he helped develop and implement training programs for high and maximum containment laboratories while with the National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center.

Dr. Hodges comes to NHGRI from NIH's National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, where he served as Lead for Intramural Trainee Development in the Office of Policy, Communications and Education. There, he supervised training and professional development activities for intramural trainees, integrating professional development and community-building into their research training. The initiatives that Dr. Hodges helped develop include co-creating a mentorship development program for staff, advancing an internship program providing students who are underrepresented in the sciences with experience in translational science, and creating an outreach program aimed to increase the presence of underrepresented postdoctoral scientists in the translational science workforce.

"For more than three decades, trainees have been a key part of the remarkable successes of NHGRI's Intramural Research Program. Those trainees have benefited from the institute's commitment to their successes, including through the efforts of the ITO," said NHGRI Director Eric Green, M.D., Ph.D. "That is why I am delighted for Dr. Hodges to join us as the new ITO Director. Given his experience in designing programs that support both trainees and their mentors, I am certain Dr. Hodges will make a significant impact on the future careers of many trainees, influencing the genomics enterprise for years to come."

Dr. Hodges began his appointment as NHGRI ITO Director on July 15.