NIH selects Dr. Lindsey Criswell as director of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases

Thursday, August 6, 2020

National Institutes of Health Director Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., has selected Lindsey A. Criswell, M.D., M.P.H., D.Sc., as director of NIH’s National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS). A rheumatologist, Dr. Criswell is currently the vice chancellor of research at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). She is a professor of rheumatology in UCSF’s Department of Medicine, as well as a professor of orofacial sciences in its School of Dentistry. She is expected to begin her new role as the NIAMS director in early 2021. She will succeed long-time director Stephen I. Katz, M.D., Ph.D., who passed away suddenly in December 2018.

“Dr. Criswell has rich experience as a clinician, researcher and administrator. Her ability to oversee the research program of one of the country’s top research-intensive medical schools, and her expertise in autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, make her well-positioned to direct NIAMS,” said Dr. Collins. “I look forward to having her join the NIH leadership team early next year. I also want to thank Robert H. Carter, M.D., for his exemplary work as the acting director of NIAMS since December 2018.”

As NIAMS director, Dr. Criswell will oversee the institute’s annual budget of nearly $625 million, which supports research into the causes, treatment and prevention of arthritis and musculoskeletal and skin diseases. The institute advances health through biomedical and behavioral research, research training and dissemination of information on research progress in these diseases.

Lindsey A. Criswell, M.D., M.P.H., D.Sc.