National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases - NIDDK Director Griffin P. Rodgers, M.D., M.A.C.P.

NIDDK Director Griffin P. Rodgers, M.D., M.A.C.P.

Griffin P. Rodgers, M.D., M.A.C.P., was named director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)—one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)—on April 1, 2007. Dr. Rodgers had served as the NIDDK's acting director since March 2006 and was the Institute's deputy director from 2001-2009. Dr. Rodgers also has been chief of the Molecular and Clinical Hematology Branch since 1998. The branch is now administratively managed by the NIH's National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

Dr. Rodgers received his undergraduate, graduate, and medical degrees from Brown University in Providence, RI. He performed his residency and chief residency in internal medicine at Barnes Hospital and the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. His fellowship training in hematology/oncology was through a joint program of the NIH with George Washington University and the Washington Veterans Administration Medical Center. In addition to his medical and research training, Dr. Rodgers earned a master's degree in business administration, with a focus on the business of medicine, from Johns Hopkins University in 2005.

As a research investigator, Dr. Rodgers is widely recognized for his contributions to the development of the first effective, and now FDA-approved, therapy for sickle cell anemia. He was a principal investigator in clinical trials to develop therapy for patients with sickle cell disease. He also performed basic research that focused on understanding the molecular basis of how certain drugs induce gamma-globin gene expression. Recently, he and his collaborators have reported on a modified blood stem-cell transplant regimen that is highly effective in reversing sickle cell disease in adults and is associated with relatively low toxicity.

Dr. Rodgers has been honored for his research with numerous awards, including the 1998 Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Foundation Award, the 2000 Arthur S. Flemming Award, the Legacy of Leadership Award in 2002, and a Mastership from the American College of Physicians in 2005.

Dr. Rodgers has been an invited professor at medical schools and hospitals in France, Italy, China, Japan, and Korea. He has been honored with many named lectureships at American medical centers. He has published over 200 original research articles, reviews, and book chapters and has edited four books and monographs.

Dr. Rodgers served as governor to the American College of Physicians for the Department of Health and Human Services from 1994 to 1997. He is a member of the American Society of Hematology, the American Society of Clinical Investigation, the Association of American Physicians, and the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, among others. He served as chair of the Hematology Subspecialty Board and a member of the American Board of Internal Medicine Board of Directors. Dr. Rodgers is board certified in internal medicine, emergency medicine, and hematology.