Biomedical Engineering; Computational Neuroscience; Data Science; Developmental Neurobiology; Diversity; Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD)

Elizabeth Powell is a Program Director in the Division of Neuroscience and Behavior at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). Her portfolio reflects her expertise in neurodevelopment and bioengineering, with projects on fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), adolescent development and alcohol use, stem cells, regenerative medicine, and computational approaches to the prevention and treatment of alcohol use disorder.

Dr. Powell leads research initiatives on alcohol tolerance and the prevention and intervention of FASD. Within NIAAA, she coordinates SBIR grants and contracts for the development of data science tools including artificial intelligence for improved use of scientific data and discovery. Dr. Powell leads the NIAAA Data Science Working Group and implementation of the NIH policy on data management and sharing. She has active roles in multiple teams of the BRAIN Initiative, Blueprint, and Common Fund. Dr. Powell is the NIAAA liaison for the Loan Repayment Program.

Dr. Powell holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering from Rutgers University and a BS in Biomedical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University. Prior to NIH, she was an Associate Professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, where she led an NIH-funded research program in neurodevelopmental disorders and engineered models of brain development.