Dr. Andrew Louden received his Ph.D. degree in genetics from Howard University, where his predoctoral research focused on regulating signal transduction pathways in tumorigenic cell lines. At the Center for Scientific Review, Dr. Louden served as an SRO in the Population Sciences and Epidemiology Branch and ran the Behavioral Genetics and Epidemiology study section. In this capacity, he oversees the scientific review of research on the epidemiology and genetics of psychiatric disorders, psychological and mental health conditions, alcohol and substance abuse and recovery in large human populations. Prior to joining CSR, he served as an extramural research program officer at the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD). At NIMHD, Dr. Louden fronted the Institute’s response to the opioid epidemic, which included community outreach, FOA development and participation on the NIH Pain Consortium. He was also part of an NIMHD effort to establish common data elements for social determinants of health to help inform effective interventions to reduce health disparities. As a program official for the NIMHD in the Division of Clinical and Health Services Research, he managed a diverse portfolio of grants and served as project scientist on NIMHD-funded cooperative agreements. From 2009 to 2017, he was an SRO at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), where he helped set up and run the agency’s newest study section, Healthcare Safety and Quality Improvement Research (HSQR). As SRO of this study section, he managed the scientific review of research applications relating to identifying risks and hazards that lead to medical errors and threats to patient safety. Dr. Louden’s research interests include patient safety, social determinants of health, health inequity and the opioid epidemic and its impact in ethnic minority populations.