Diana Finzi, Ph.D., M.P.H.

Diana Finzi, Ph.D., M.P.H. (Acting)
December 2023-October 2024

Diana Finzi, Ph.D., M.P.H., served as Acting Associate Director of AIDS Research and Acting Director of OAR from December 2023 to October 2024. She led OAR in coordinating the NIH HIV research program to end the HIV pandemic and improve the health of people with HIV.

During her tenure at OAR, Dr. Finzi shaped the development of the next NIH Strategic Plan for HIV and HIV-Related Research and continued OAR’s strong support of signature programs focused on the intersection of HIV with women, aging, technology, and the next generation of HIV researchers. She emphasized the importance of basic science research within the NIH HIV research program, with particular emphasis during her tenure on HIV prevention and cure. In addition, Dr. Finzi facilitated partnerships key to the success of OAR, including those with institutes and centers across NIH, the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, and the White House Office of National AIDS Policy.

Click on the following links to see commentary from Dr. Finzi on the importance of investments in basic science, centering women’s health across HIV research, and timely research highlights.

Dr. Finzi joined OAR from her position as Director of the Basic Sciences Program in the Division of AIDS within the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a role that she maintained during her time as Acting Director of OAR. In this role, Dr. Finzi oversees an extensive global HIV research portfolio with grants and contracts in structural biology, basic science, pathogenesis, targeted interventions, cure, and epidemiology.

Dr. Finzi is known for her contributions in identifying the role of latency in the persistence of HIV in treated individuals. Under her leadership, the Basic Sciences Program at NIAID focused on expanding research funding toward HIV cure and played a leading role in guiding NIH research toward the Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S. (EHE) initiative, a 10-year plan to reduce new HIV infections in the United States.

Dr. Finzi earned a Ph.D. in immunology from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and an M.P.H. from the Yale School of Public Health.