Biography

Jessica Walrath is a health science policy analyst in the Policy Branch of NCATS’ Office of Policy, Communications and Education (OPCE), where she supports the Center’s mission by working with the policy branch chief and other staff, as well as across other OPCE branches and NCATS’ Divisions and Offices.

Prior to joining NCATS, Walrath worked as a health science policy analyst at the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI). She worked in NIDCR’s Office of Science Policy and Analysis for five years, leading all of the Institute’s budgetary and narrative reporting activities to ensure the highest level of public accountability. At NCI, she served as a knowledge expert and reviewed projects for a portfolio of 50 scientific categories in NIH’s Research, Condition, and Disease Categorization (RCDC) scientific coding system. Prior to joining NIH, Walrath worked as a science policy analyst at a small nonprofit agency that focused on developing and implementing policies to improve the approval pathway for cancer therapeutics.

Walrath earned her Bachelor of Science in biochemistry at the University of Notre Dame and her doctorate in cancer genetics from the University of Florida, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at the NCI campus in Frederick, Maryland.

Professional Interests

Walrath enjoys analyzing policy and research areas relevant to translational sciences and using that data to improve the translation of scientific research into new and better treatments for patients.