(US and Canada) Adele Merritt, Ph.D., has been named the Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Director of the Office of the Chief Information Office (OCIO) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Dr. Merritt will lead the agency’s IT strategy, governance, policy, security, and oversight. With over 20 years of experience in cyber and national security, she is well-equipped to shape the strategic direction of NIH’s IT infrastructure and resources. She will report to Sean Mooney, Ph.D., the NIH Associate Director for Information Technology, Cyberinfrastructure, and Cybersecurity.

Prior to the NIH, Merritt has held key roles across the U.S. federal government’s intelligence community. She most recently served as the Intelligence Community CIO in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, where she led efforts to modernize IT systems and improve security across 18 federal intelligence agencies. Dr. Merritt has also held positions at the Department of Energy and the White House National Security Council, focusing on cybersecurity and national security.

Merritt holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in mathematics from the University of Rhode Island and has a background in finance from Pace University. She is also a National Security Fellow at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.