Dr. Charlene A. Liggins joined the Office of Disease Prevention (ODP) in December 2019 as a Senior Advisor for Disease Prevention. In this role, she leads efforts to systematically monitor National Institutes of Health (NIH) investments in prevention research and on assessing the progress and results of that research.

Prior to joining the ODP, Dr. Liggins served over 10 years as a Senior Scientific Program Analyst at the National Institute on Aging (NIA). She led the Institute's efforts to develop and implement portfolio analyses and other assessment processes and tools to inform strategic planning efforts, assess research progress, and support opportunities to collaborate with other funders of aging research (including public, private, and international).

Her key accomplishments at NIA included coordinating the development of the International Alzheimer’s and Related Dementias Research Portfolio project, Trans-NIH Native American/Alaska Native Research Interest Work Group, Alzheimer’s Disease and Alzheimer’s Disease-Related Dementias (AD+ADRD) Research Implementation Milestone Database, and an interagency collaboration with the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs. She was also an active member of the Alzheimer's Disease Bypass Budget Work Group, where she annually coordinated the professional judgment budget development process.

Before NIA, Dr. Liggins served in other diverse roles across the federal government including Special Assistant in National Cancer Institute’s Office of Science Planning and Assessment, Public Health Advisor in Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development’s Office of Communications, and Program Officer in the Assistant Secretary’s Office for Planning and Evaluation.

Dr. Liggins holds a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in biology and African American studies from Washington University in Saint Louis, Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) from Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health, Master of Public Administration (M.P.A.) from University of South Carolina, and Doctor of Public Health (Dr.P.H.) from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.