Biography

Jennifer M. Beierlein, Ph.D., 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, Beierlein was a postdoctoral fellow in the Biochemistry Department at Brandeis University, where she studied yeast models of neurodegenerative diseases. She then accepted a postdoctoral fellowship and adjunct faculty position at Bentley University, where she studied the scientific and business factors affecting drug discovery and clinical development.

After her postdoctoral fellowships, Beierlein was a 2017–2019 AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow at the National Science Foundation in the Directorate of Engineering. From 2019 to 2021, Beierlein was a health program specialist in the Division of Clinical Research at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, where she supported the Early Phase Pain Investigation Clinical Network — part of the Helping to End Addiction Long-term^® Initiative, or NIH HEAL Initiative^®.

Beierlein received her doctorate in medicinal chemistry from the University of Connecticut.

Research Topics

Beierlein’s research interests are focused on accelerating drug discovery and development. She has conducted research projects in structure-based drug design and model organisms, as well as the innovation ecosystems required for translational science.

NIH HEAL Initiative and Helping to End Addiction Long-term are registered service marks of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.