Rachel I. Anderson, Ph.D.

Rachel I. Anderson, Ph.D., is the Acting Chief of Staff at the NIH Office of AIDS Research (OAR), where she leads strategic planning efforts for the NIH-wide HIV research program and for OAR operations and provides counsel to the OAR Director.

Dr. Anderson oversees the development of the NIH Strategic Plan for HIV and HIV-Related Research, the Professional Judgment Budget, and the Congressional Budget Justification. She drives OAR’s internal strategic and operational planning and supervises the Policy, Legislation, Communications, and Engagement (PLCE) Team. Dr. Anderson joined OAR in October 2022.

Before joining OAR, Dr. Anderson worked as a health science policy analyst in the Office of Science Policy and Planning at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and the Office of Science Policy and Communication at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). In these roles, she coordinated legislative activities; contributed to reporting, planning, and analysis activities; led strategic planning efforts; and prepared briefing materials and presentations for leadership.

She earned her Ph.D. in Behavioral Neuroscience from Binghamton University and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Medical University of South Carolina. She transitioned to government through the AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellowship program, serving one year at the National Institute of Justice and one year at NIH.