diversity inclusion for pain research, sickle cell anemia, patient lived experience, community-engagement, and population health outcomes
Marlene Peters-Lawrence is a Clinical Research Project Manager within the Division of Clinical Research at the National Institutes of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). In this position, she leads large network clinical trials operations. Her research portfolio areas include diversity and inclusion for pain research, sickle cell anemia, implementation science, community-engagement, and population health outcomes. Ms. Peters-Lawrence oversees clinical trial operations for the Helping to End Addition Long-Term (HEAL) Initiative and Early Phase Pain Investigation Clinical Network. She has experience in both the intramural and extramural programs and is subject matter expert for development and implementation of person-centered recruitment and retention strategies to engage racial and ethnic communities in research.
Prior to joining NINDS, Ms. Peters-Lawrence worked in several roles at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). She serves as a member of the trans-NIH Task Force for COVID-19 and the RECOVER Communication and Engagement committee, and co-chairs the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary of Health, Office of Minority Health, Sickle Cell Disease Stakeholder Engagement workgroup. Her leadership and advocacy have been recognized in numerous awards from institute directors, and she is also the recipient of several NIH Director’s Awards. Ms. Peters-Lawrence holds a master’s degree in Population Health Management from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, a bachelor’s in Nursing and an associate’s degree in Cardiopulmonary Care.