Stephanie James, Ph.D.

Dr. James brings more than 35 years of experience in biomedical research and research administration to the position of Senior Scientific Advisor at the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health. After receiving her Ph.D. in Microbiology from Vanderbilt University and pursuing post-doctoral studies at Harvard University and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), she established a research laboratory at the George Washington University Medical Center, where her work focused on the immunology of parasitic infections and macrophage biology. From 1991 to 2001, she was Chief of the Parasitology and International Programs Branch in the Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases at NIAID. There she was responsible for the development and management of a number of multicenter research programs on infectious diseases and global health, for which she twice received the NIH Director’s Award. 

Dr. James joined The Ellison Medical Foundation in 2001, where she served as Deputy Director, and director of the Global Infectious Disease program. She joined FNIH in 2004 and became Director of Science and Director of the Grand Challenges in Global Health initiative there in 2008, with responsibility for a broad infectious disease portfolio encompassing research to develop vaccines, immunotherapies, drugs and innovative vector control methods. She is principal investigator or program director of major research programs on malaria, dengue, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and other infectious diseases, and also serves as a foundation advisor to the Sports and Health Research Program.

Dr. James has served on advisory committees to the World Health Organization, the US Agency for International Development, the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, the Merck Foundation and the U.S.-Japan Cooperative Medical Sciences Program. In 1997, she was elected President of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, the largest international scientific organization dedicated to reducing the worldwide burden of tropical infectious diseases and improving global health.

Email address: sjames@fnih.org,

Phone: (301) 443-1598