16 April 2020

Dr. Audrey Lau, M.P.H., Ph.D. has been selected as the Chief of the Immunology (IMM) Integrated Review Group at the Center for Scientific Review. Dr. Lau joined NIH in 2016 as a scientific review officer at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and has recently served as the Acting Branch Chief and Acting Senior Scientific Review Officer for the HIV/AIDS Review Branch in NIAID’s Division of Extramural Activities. In addition to expertise in peer review policy, Dr. Lau will bring to the position a fresh perspective on managing staff across the organization and strong communication skills.

DrLauWhile at NIAID she has led development of strategies to increase diversity within the HIV/AIDS review branch and she has had an active role in designing and improving training for peer review staff. Dr. Lau has also been active in outreach to the extramural community and contributed to trans-NIH committees.

As IMM chief, Dr. Lau will oversee seven standing panels and four recurring special emphasis panels that range from a focus on cellular and molecular immunology to vaccine development.

Dr. Lau earned a M.P.H. at the University of California, Berkeley and a Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology at the University of Maryland. She then did post-doctoral research at the University of California, Los Angeles and Washington State University. Before joining the NIH, she was an Associate Professor in the Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology at Washington State University where her research program focused on human disease pathology by eukaryotes using the parasite Babesia as a model system and drug discovery/translational medicine.