SSO Committee Member Profiles

(committee in alphabetical order)

Alejandro Alvarez-Prats (SSO chair)

Dr. Alvarez-Prats is a staff member at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), NIH main campus, Bethesda, MD. He has been and continue to be actively involved in several roles focused on helping the NICHD to accomplish its mission besides his scientific work: He has been a member of the NICHD Animal Care and Use Committee (ACUC) (2014–2022), and he is currently part of the Innovative Culture Advisory Committee (ICAC), the latter focused on working out best ways to maintain the NICHD workforce innovative and motivated. He also serves as the Chair of the NIH Staff Scientists Organization (SSO) and the NICHD Staff Scientists/Staff Clinicians Committee.

Dr. Alvarez-Prats focuses his scientific interest on understanding the role of phosphoinositides and the enzymes that metabolize them in health and disease by using cellular and animal models with a special interest in gene therapy approaches to correct the potential malfunction of those enzymes. He conducts his work hand in hand with Dr. Tamas Balla, Principal Investigator and Head of the Section on Molecular Signal Transduction at the NICHD. Dr. Alvarez-Prats is a current member of the Society for Neuroscience (SfN) and the Peripheral Nerve Society (PNS), where he is a frequent speaker since 2016. He has been an invited speaker at the University of Hokkaido and the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB). He received the NIH Fellows Award for Research Excellence (FARE) in 2017 and more recently the FY24 NICHD Career Development Award for Staff Scientists/Staff Clinicians.

Irina Arnaoutova (SSO co-chair)

Dr. Irina Arnaoutova, a Staff Scientist in the Section on Cellular Differentiation, Division of Intramural Research at the NICHD, investigates the effectiveness of CRISPR/Cas9 and adenine base editor (ABE)-based gene editing systems in transgenic mouse models as potential therapies for treating type Ia glycogen storage disease (GSD-Ia). She is a member of the NICHD Safety Committee and Co-Chair of the NIH Staff Scientists Organization (SSO).

Herman Edskes 

Dr. Herman Edskes joined the lab of Reed Wickner at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) in 1995, becoming a Staff Scientist in 2001. Working with the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae the lab initially studied host-viruses interactions. However, soon the focus changed to study infectious proteins (prions). S. cerevisiae contains several proteins capable of forming a prion. The mechanism through which these proteins acquire the ability to propagate as an infectious element are mirrored by proteins associated with common neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.

Herman co-founded the NIDDK Staff Scientists Advisory Board (SSAB) together with Dr. Daman Kumari. The NIDDK SSAB has worked to create a policy for displaced Staff Scientists in NIDDK as well as a policy for honorific titles. Working together with Staff Scientists from several ICs Herman participated in the successful effort to remove the cap on the honorific titles for Staff Scientists that NIH had instated when the titles were originally created. The NIDDK SSAB also organizes each year a professional development day for NIDDK Staff Scientists. Daman Kumari and Herman co-founded and organize the Spotlight Seminars. These seminars, open to all of NIH, aim to highlight scientific resources available at NIH. 

* Emily Tai and Herman Edskes co-chair the NIH Staff Scientist Organization Displaced Staff Scientist committee. The committee aims to create policy and programs to help NIH Staff Scientists who find themselves displaced.

Nicole Ellis

Dr. Ellis is a staff scientist at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), NIH main campus, Bethesda, MD. She uses genetic approaches (CRISPR-Cas, RNA-seq, whole genome sequencing) to investigate the bacterial pathogen Legionella pneumophilia, the causative agent of Legionnaire’s pneumonia, in the laboratory of Dr. Matthias Machner. In addition to research and lab management, Dr. Ellis spends a great portion of her time training incoming fellows and junior scientists. Dr. Ellis received the FY24 NICHD Career Development Award for Staff Scientists/Staff Clinicians.

Dragana Jankovic

Dr. Dragana Jankovic is a Senior Associate Scientist in the Laboratory for Parasitic Diseases at the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). She obtained her B.S. and M.S. degrees from the University of Belgrade, Yugoslavia, and her Ph.D. from the University of Paris VII, France. Before joining the NIAID, Dr. Jankovic was an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow at the Max-Planck Institute for Immunobiology (Freiburg, Germany) and a member of the Pasteur Institute (Paris, France). The overall objective of her research is understanding the immunology of host-pathogen interactions as well as basic aspects of CD4⁺ T cell effector and regulatory function. Dr. Jankovic is involved in training Ph.D. and post-bac students and serves on the editorial boards of several journals in the field of immunology. She is a member of the Steering Committee of both the NIH Immunology and Cytokine Interest Groups. Dr. Jankovic was elected to be a SSO representative for NIAID in 2022 and is working on a template for the letter of agreement between Staff Scientists and their supervisor(s).

Daman Kumari

Dr. Daman Kumari is a Senior Associate Scientist in the Usdin Lab in the Laboratory of Cell and Molecular Biology at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) in Bethesda, Maryland. The Usdin lab studies the causes and consequences of repeat expansion in a group of human diseases known as Repeat Expansion Disorders (REDs) that are all caused by the expansion of a short tandem repeat in a single specific gene. Fragile X syndrome is the most common form of heritable intellectual disability caused by the expansion of a CGG repeat tract in the 5’ untranslated region of the FMR1 gene. Expansion of CGG repeats to >200 repeats triggers epigenetic changes that result in FMR1gene silencing. Dr. Kumari’s research is focused on understanding how and why repeat expansion causes FMR1 gene silencing and developing strategies to restore FMR1 expression as a potential treatment option for fragile X syndrome.

In addition to her scientific pursuits, Dr. Kumari volunteers her time on various service activities. She is a member of the Sustainable Lab Practices Working Group and co-organizes the NIH Green Labs Fair. Together with Dr. Herman Edskes, Dr. Kumari co-organizes Spotlight Seminars that highlight Core facility resources available to NIH scientists. Dr. Kumari co-chairs the NIDDK Staff Scientist Advisory Board (SSAB) that advocates for the needs of NIDDK staff scientists and serves as a liaison between the NIDDK staff scientists and the office of the Scientific Director. The NIDDK SSAB was instrumental in developing the Staff Scientist Title policy and the Displaced Staff Scientist policy for NIDDK. The NIDDK SSAB also organizes Professional Development Day for NIDDK staff scientists. Working together with the Staff Scientists sub-committee of the NIH Assembly of Scientists, Dr. Kumari contributed to the successful removal of the cap on the honorific titles for staff scientists. She serves on the Staff Scientists Advisory Committee that was formed to support the NIH Office of Intramural Research review Staff Scientist Title policies from various ICs and recommend that they are formulated as per the fair principles outlined in the source book. Dr. Kumari co-chairs the NIH SSO Townhall organizing committee.

Vladimir Lizunov 

Dr. Lizunov serves as a staff scientist at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) in Bethesda, MD. He joined the NIH in 2005 as a postdoctoral fellow at the Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Biophysics, NICHD. There, he focused on developing single-molecule imaging techniques for live cells and on the computational analysis of complex microscopy data sets. In 2010, he assumed a research fellow role at NICHD's Program in Physical Biology, directing his research toward insulin-regulated glucose transporters in adipose and muscle cells. By 2014, Dr. Lizunov had transitioned to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and later joined the biotech company Ariadne Genomics, where he led the team in charge of instrument controllers and IT applications.

Dr. Lizunov's commitment to the NIH continued in 2020 when he returned to NHLBI as a member of the Office of Scientific Information. That year, he was honored with the NHLBI Director's Award in the Outstanding Service category. He also received the 2021 NIH Director's Award for his exemplary response to the pandemic, providing administrative and information technology solutions to facilitate long-term remote work. In 2022, he was elected as an NHLBI representative to the NIH Staff Scientists Organization (SSO) and co-chaired the subcommittee working on the staff scientist letter of agreement.

Nunziata Maio (SSO secretary)

Dr. Maio is a staff member in the Section on Human Iron Metabolism, led by Dr. Tracey Rouault, at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), located on the NIH main campus in Bethesda. Additionally, she is an associate investigator with NCI at the Urologic Oncology Branch led by Dr. Marston Linehan. Dr. Maio's scientific interests focus on understanding the mechanisms of cellular iron homeostasis and the complex pathways that assemble iron-sulfur clusters, inorganic cofactors pivotal in various cellular processes, both in health and disease. Her contributions to science have been recognized with honors, including the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (IUBMB) Young Investigator Award and the International Society for the Study of Iron in Biology and Medicine award. 

Dr. Maio also served as a Section Editor for Inorganics and is a member of the International Society for the Study of Iron in Biology and Medicine and of the American Society for Virology. Beyond her scientific pursuits, Dr. Maio is dedicated to sustainable lab practices at the NIH through her involvement in the Green Labs Program. She is deeply committed to DEIA initiatives, participating in the NIH Recruiter Academy and engaging in DEIA training programs.

May Christine V. Malicdan, MD, PhD

Dr. Malicdan is a residency-trained neurologist and psychiatrist with a PhD in neuroscience, and currently holds the positions of Associate Investigator at the Medical Genetics Branch of the National Human Genome Research Institute, the Director of the NIH Undiagnosed Diseases Program (NIHUDP) Translational Laboratory, and the Vice-Chairperson for the NHGRI ACUC. She leads a team of scientists in the NIHUDP and Section of Human Biochemical Genetics Section to uncover the molecular underpinning of rare and ultra-rare disorders, with an overarching goal of identifying targets for therapy. With over 18 years of experience, Dr. Malicdan combines a robust background in molecular and cellular biology, animal models, bioinformatics, and genomics, leading to significant breakthroughs in medical genetics, particularly focusing on lysosomal roles in diseases. Dr. Malicdan has effectively utilized cutting-edge genomic technologies and managed functional validations that significantly impact clinical applications. This role has seen Dr. Malicdan lead numerous projects from strategic gene-disease discoveries innovative gene to innovative preclinical trials, significantly advancing potential treatments for rare genetic disorders.

Elham Navid

Dr. Elham (Fatemeh) Navid is a Staff Scientist at the Pediatric Translational Research Branch at National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS). Her research focuses on analyzing the role of inflammatory pathways in the development of Spondyloarthritis in order to develop new therapeutic approaches. For this she is utilizing patient-derived samples, induced pluripotent stem cells and different animal models. She is involved in many internal and external collaborations, including analyzing disease mechanisms in the rare bone disease Melorheostosis and the neurogenerative condition Niemann-Pick disease. She is a recipient of several awards, including the Spondyloarthritis Research and Treatment Network Abstract Award (2019) and the NIH Director’s Award (2021). She is a member of the Animal Care and Use Committee (ACUC) and serves as a co-chair for the Communications Committee of the NIH Staff Scientist Organization (SSO). Since 2022 she serves also as NIAMS Staff Scientist representative. She believes in collaborations and teamwork for achieving our goals in science. 

Rodica Stan

Dr. Stan is a Senior Project Manager in the Therapeutic Development Branch, Division of Preclinical Innovation, at the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS). Dr. Stan has over 20 years of experience in translational research working on academic, industry, and government projects focused on cell and gene therapy, small molecules and vaccines for various diseases. At NCATS, she manages gene therapy and small-molecule projects for rare and ultra-rare diseases, with the objective of moving therapies efficiently through Investigational New Drug–enabling studies, regulatory reviews, and clinical testing. Her main focus is the management of the Platform Vector Gene Therapy (PaVe-GT) program, a collaborative effort with NHGRI and NINDS for the development of AAV-based gene therapies for four rare diseases. PaVe-GT seeks to increase the efficiency of clinical trial startup by using the same gene delivery system and manufacturing methods for multiple rare disease gene therapies, while making the program results and regulatory documents publicly available, with the intention of benefiting future gene therapy clinical trials for very rare diseases. Dr. Stan also serves as NCATS Representative to the NIH Staff Scientists Organization (SSO) and helps organize the SSO Townhall meetings.

Emily Tai

Emily Tai was recruited to NCI as a Staff Scientist in the Bioinformatics and Structural Modeling Section in the Laboratory of Molecular Biology in 2002. Her research encompasses protein structure comparison, structure prediction assessment, protein symmetry, structure-function studies, and Next Generation Sequencing analysis. Coming from Goldman Sachs where teamwork and employee career development were extremely emphasized, Emily has been a champion in building the community to lift everyone up. She co-founded the NIH Taiwanese Association in 2006. Since 2008 Emily has volunteered in various subcommittees in the NCI Staff Scientist and Staff Clinician Organization (SSSC), including retreat, professional development, and communication. Between 2016-2018 Emily served as the Bethesda Co-Chair of the NCI SSSC. Emily is also one of the founding members of the NIH Federation of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders (AANHPI) Network advocating for the equity of AANHPI employees since 2021. Experienced the transition when her supervisor retired in 2015, Emily understands the challenge and volunteers to be the co-chair of the Displaced Staff Scientists Committee in the Staff Scientist Organization in the hope that proactive training programs and transparent policy will help NIH to retain its long-term investment in human capital.