A clinical psychologist once praised by the Chinese Communist Party as a “high-end expert” has been appointed the new head of the National Institutes of Health‘s Office of Behavioral and Social Science Research.
Jane Simoni will lead the NIH’s coordination efforts between institutes regarding elements of behavioral and social research relevant to treat chronic illnesses, according to an announcement on Thursday from the NIH’s clinical director, Lawrence Tabak.
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From 2015 to 2018, however, Simoni was awarded the honor of “high-end expert” by the Chinese government for NIH-funded research conducted in mainland China during her professorship at the University of Washington. Simoni also was recognized as part of China’s high-level talent program for her work.
“Dr. Simoni brings more than 25 years of experience in research focused on health disparities and resilience among populations that have been socially marginalized, including persons with HIV and other chronic illnesses, Latinx, LGBT and Indigenous peoples,” said Tabak.
(1/2) Pleased to announce that Dr. Jane Simoni will join #NIH as the new Director of the NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research, bringing >25 years of experience in health disparities and intervention research. Welcome, Dr. Simoni! https://t.co/mGdEXh0vfC
— Lawrence A. Tabak (@NIHDirector) July 6, 2023
The designation is part of the National Foreign Expert Project, a prong of the Belt and Road Initiative from Chinese President Xi Jinping to improve Chinese infrastructure and economic development as well as cultivate global power and influence.
Tabak took the position of acting director of the NIH in December 2021 after Director Francis Collins announced his retirement amid congressional questions regarding the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic and NIH funding for Chinese research laboratories.
In February, Tabak was commended by the Chinese Communist Party newspaper, China Daily, for rejecting the lab-leak hypothesis, denying that there was any U.S. funding used for gain of function research.
As the head of the NIH, Tabak resumed grant funding in May for the controversial EcoHealth Alliance, which had been directing funds to projects at the Wuhan Institute of Virology since 2014. The federal grant to EcoHealth was paused under the Trump administration in June 2020 during an investigation into the group’s head, Peter Daszak, for potential misuse of the funds.
President Joe Biden announced in May his decision to nominate Monica Bertagnolli to the NIH directorship in part because of her lack of political connection to COVID-19 controversies.
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Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), however, threatened last month not to move any of the administration’s health-related nominees through his Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee until the administration proposes a comprehensive plan to reduce the cost of prescription drugs.
Samoni’s position does not require congressional approval. She will take on her post on July 30, according to the announcement.
