Career Center

Chief Medical Research Officer

National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute

National Institutes of Health

Department of Health and Human Services

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) at the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), is seeking exceptional candidates for the positions of Chief Medical Research Officer (CMROs) in one of three extramural divisions: Division of Cardiovascular Sciences, Division of Lung Diseases, and Division of Blood Diseases and Resources.

The CMRO positions offer exciting opportunities to provide high level leadership, strategic planning, and detailed oversight and management for the extramural clinical portfolios in research on the causes, prevention, and treatment of cardiovascular, pulmonary, blood diseases and sleep disorders. NHLBI assumes a major responsibility in supporting research, training, and education programs to promote the prevention and treatment of heart, lung, blood diseases, and sleep disorders to enhance the health of all individuals so that they can live longer and more fulfilling lives.

The NHLBI clinical trials research programs in cardiovascular, pulmonary, blood diseases, and sleep disorders have grown substantially. These mission-critical research areas require a clinician-scientist with advanced expertise and experience in clinical research in outpatient, community, hospital, and/or critical care environments, including design and execution of different types of trials (early phase, efficacy, effectiveness, and implementation), risk management and mitigations, as well as experience in clinical care.

The CMRO will be responsible for providing oversight over extramural clinical studies and clinical trials in their respective Divisions, and will contribute to the development of NHLBI-wide clinical research policies and processes in collaboration with the NHLBI Office of Clinical Research. They will have institute-wide leadership responsibility as a member of the NHLBI's clinical trials Optimization and Coordination Team.  As a member of the Divisional leadership team, the CMRO contributes to the overall strategic direction of the clinical research portfolio.

Specific skills, education and experiences candidates must possess include:

• M.D. or equivalent with background in a subspecialty related to NHLBI-focused research areas, such as:
• Cardiology and related subspecialties
• Pulmonology, pulmonary critical care, and related subspecialties
• Classical hematology and related subspecialties
• Sleep disorders and related subspecialties
• Primary care, internal medicine, or other specialty with clinical experience caring for individuals with conditions related to NHLBI-focused research
• Pediatrics with clinical experience caring for individuals with conditions related to NHLBI-focused research
• Pediatric subspecialties related to NHLBI-focused research
• Active engagement in clinical research including the design and conduct of clinical trials and management of the regulatory, safety, and data issues involved in those clinical trials
• Experience in applying quantitative and qualitative approaches or processes to understand program success and threats (e.g. experience developing processes to improve efficiency and ensure success/safety or experience with quality improvement at a health care institution)
• High level of experience and skill regarding clinical trials human safety management and mitigations
• Significant experience with regulatory requirements in research including experience in research ethics and compliance requirements involved in human subjects’ research (e.g., Institutional Review Boards, Data and Safety Monitoring Boards), and FDA regulations and polices.
• Experience in working with practitioners, patients and professional societies/advocacy groups in cardiovascular, pulmonary, hematological, or sleep disorders medicine communities (specific experience with implementation science preferred)
• Management/supervision of faculty or staff clinically and in research programs
• Presentations at major national or international meetings, committee, initiatives or symposia

This position is under the Silvio O. Conte Senior Biomedical Research and Biomedical Product Assessment Service (SBRBPAS) Title 42 U.S. Code?§ 237 Authority.  Under this authority, the official title is Supervisory SBRBPAS Expert. This specific position fills an indefinite excepted service position; SBRBPAS employees serve at the will of the agency and do not serve trial or probationary periods.

If you are a current Federal title 5 employee, you must have one year of equivalent experience at the GS-14 level or above. The successful candidate for this position will be appointed at a salary commensurate with experience and accomplishments, and full Federal benefits, including leave, health and life insurance, retirement and savings plan (401K equivalent) will be provided.

Applicants must submit the following documents on the NIH Specialized Scientific Jobs site at https://specializedscientificjobs.nih.gov/nih-ssj.do#/vacancy/26faa5443bf10b10ed13c70864e45a8d   by July 27, 2026 for consideration:

Cover letter (not to exceed three pages) addressing:

• Your education, experiences and specific skills that align with the requirements necessary for the role of CMRO.
• Your specific interest in one or several of the specific extramural research focus areas mentioned above
• Your experience with implementation science
• The manner in which you are actively engaged in clinical research that is considered outstanding by peers in the field of clinical research evaluation
• Your experience leading others
• A Vision Statement of how you would approach this role
• Your mentoring and outreach activities

CV/Resume – To be eligible for this position, candidates must be a U.S. citizen or U.S. national and indicate U.S. citizenship status on their resume.

Please see https://hr.nih.gov/careers/open-positions/job-cdb5de7f-c535-4a26-8fbd-03dc62d08a76 for more information.

For questions please contact Joanna Derksen Bare at nhlbicareers@mail.nih.gov.

HHS, NIH, and NHLBI are equal opportunity employers.

About National Heart Lung and Blood Institute

About National Heart, Lung and Blood InstituteThe National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, a component of the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Health and Human Services provides global leadership for a research, training, and education programs to promote the prevention and treatment of heart, lung, and blood disorders and enhance the health of all individuals so that they can live longer and more fulfilling lives.

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