Biography

Joanne M. Lumsden, Ph.D., is a scientific program manager in NCATS’ Division of Rare Diseases Research Innovation. She currently provides scientific and programmatic support for the Rare Diseases Clinical Research Network. Previously, she worked in the Office of Drug Partnership Programs on the New Therapeutics Uses program, Accelerating COVID-19 Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccines (ACTIV) public–private partnership and the Antiviral Program for Pandemics.

Prior to joining NCATS in 2020, Lumsden was a scientific program manager, providing oversight and support for discovery, concept development and clinical research projects for the Naval Medical Research Center’s Malaria Vaccine Development Program. She also worked as an immunologist at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, where she studied immune responses to candidate malaria vaccines in preclinical and clinical studies and served as a research associate for AgResearch, Ltd., of New Zealand, contributing to the development of the first ovine genetic linkage map.

Lumsden received her B.S. (with first-class honors) in microbiology and her Ph.D. in immunology from the University of Otago, New Zealand. She was a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Richard J. Hodes at the National Cancer Institute, where she conducted research on the role of costimulatory molecules for T- and B-cell development, activation and effector function. Lumsden also is a certified Project Management Professional.

Research Topics

Lumsden’s scientific expertise and research interests include basic and clinical immunology, vaccine development, and infectious diseases. Professionally, she enjoys combining her scientific and operational experience with project management expertise to manage relationships among diverse scientific and administrative partners.