Director's Biography

Geri R. Donenberg, Ph.D. 
Associate Director for AIDS Research and
Director, Office of AIDS Research
National Institutes of Health

Geri R. Donenberg, Ph.D., is the NIH Associate Director for AIDS Research and Director of the NIH Office of AIDS Research (OAR). In this role Dr. Donenberg works closely with NIH Institutes and Centers as she leads OAR to coordinate the NIH HIV research program to achieve pandemic control, prevent new transmissions, and improve the health of people with HIV.

As a clinical psychologist specializing in adolescent mental health and HIV prevention, Dr. Donenberg brings more than 25 years of HIV research experience to NIH, emphasizing health equity, global impact, and the structural determinants of health. Her scholarship has focused on understanding factors that influence HIV transmission among adolescents and young adults, as well as comorbidities associated with poorer health outcomes. Her studies have addressed each stage of the HIV continuum and prioritized inclusion of diverse populations affected by HIV, such as minoritized adolescent and young adult groups living in complex, resource-constrained settings in the United States, China, Indonesia, and select countries in Africa; Black adolescent girls and young women; young men who have sex with men; and people who inject drugs.

Dr. Donenberg’s research has spanned the translational spectrum by illuminating HIV transmission dynamics, conducting clinical trials, and evaluating effectiveness and implementation strategies, both nationally and internationally. An implementation scientist, Dr. Donenberg has conducted studies to identify the determinants and processes driving the reach, uptake, adoption, acceptability, feasibility, delivery, and sustainability of evidence-based interventions in low-resource environments. Dr. Donenberg has also conducted hybrid trials to optimize implementation outcomes and improve clinical effectiveness.

Dr. Donenberg has led dozens of research projects, including NIH-supported studies. She was among the first to establish the relationship between adolescent mental health and risk behavior associated with HIV acquisition, as well as to design and implement HIV prevention interventions for youth with mental health conditions. Throughout her career, she has actively trained and mentored students and faculty, including supervising psychology interns, medical students, MD/PhD candidates, and postdoctoral fellows in their clinical work and research with children, youth, and families. Dr. Donenberg has been a mentor for 24 NIH-funded career development awards, actively building research capacity among junior scholars, and strengthening the workforce of racial, ethnic, and sexual and gender minoritized groups.

Prior to joining NIH, Dr. Donenberg served at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) as the Chair of Scholarly Activities in the Department of Medicine, the Associate Dean of Research in the School of Public Health, and a tenured professor of medicine, psychology, and epidemiology and biostatistics. She also founded and directed the Center for Dissemination and Implementation Science in Health Disparities and the Healthy Youths Program at UIC.

Dr. Donenberg earned her B.A. in psychology and political science from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and her M.A. and Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). She completed her psychology internship at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute. From 2006-2007, Dr. Donenberg was a Fulbright Scholar in Cape Town, South Africa. She has been an active NIH grant reviewer and chair for NIH study sections and has authored more than 170 publications.