Janine Austin Clayton, M.D.
NIH Associate Director for Research on Women’s Health
Director, NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health

Janine Austin Clayton, M.D., Associate Director for Research on Women’s Health and Director of the Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is the architect of the NIH policy requiring scientists to consider sex as a biological variable across the research spectrum. This policy is part of NIH’s initiative to enhance reproducibility through rigor and transparency. In 2021, Dr. Clayton was elected to the Board of Directors of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). As co-chair of the NIH Working Group on Women in Biomedical Careers with the NIH Director, Dr. Clayton also leads NIH’s efforts to advance women in science careers.

Prior to joining the ORWH, Dr. Clayton was the Deputy Clinical Director of the National Eye Institute (NEI) for seven years. A board-certified ophthalmologist, Dr. Clayton’s research interests include autoimmune ocular diseases and the role of sex and gender in health and disease. She is the author of more than 120 scientific publications, journal articles, and book chapters.

Dr. Clayton, a native Washingtonian, received her undergraduate degree with honors from Johns Hopkins University and her medical degree from Howard University College of Medicine. She completed a residency in ophthalmology at the Medical College of Virginia. Dr. Clayton completed fellowship training in cornea and external disease at the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins Hospital and in uveitis and ocular immunology at NEI.

Starting in 2023, Dr. Clayton has been instrumental in leading NIH efforts for the White House Women’s Health Research Initiative, established by Executive Order 14120, for which she serves as a co-chair for Data Standards and Research Methods.

Dr. Clayton has received numerous awards, including the Senior Achievement Award from the Board of Trustees of the American Academy of Ophthalmology in 2008 and the AMA Nathan Davis award for Outstanding Government Service in 2017. In 2023, Dr. Clayton received the American Medical Women’s Association AMWA Presidential Award. In 2024, Dr. Clayton received the Society for Women’s Health Research Health Public Service Visionary Award and was recognized as a Precision Medicine World Conference (PMWC) Luminary Honoree.