President Trump has appointed Alicia Jackson, PhD, as Director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), according to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Rachel Riley, a former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) advisor, was appointed to lead the Office of Naval Research (ONR). These two federal agencies both draw from FABBS disciplines and offer potential funding opportunities.
Jackson replaces Jason Roos, PhD, who had served as the agency’s Acting Director since February, when the Trump Administration fired Renee Wegrzyn, PhD, the inaugural director (Politico). Former President Joe Biden championed the creation of ARPA-H, which Congress approved in 2022. The agency’s mission is to “accelerate better health outcomes for everyone by supporting the development of high-impact solutions to society’s most challenging health problems.”
After earning her PhD at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Jackson spent five years at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the research and development agency of the Department of Defense, during the Obama Administration. She eventually became the deputy director of the agency’s Biotechnology Office. Jackson left DARPA to work as a health technology entrepreneur. She currently serves as the founder and CEO of Evernow, a digital platform for women’s midlife health, as well as the co-founder of Drawbridge Health, a company that makes at-home blood sampling devices.
When ARPA-H was first established, FABBS advocated for the inclusion of our disciplines in the research agenda. The HEalth care Rewards to Achieve Improved OutcomES (HEROES) Program sought to implement behavioral interventions to improve preventative healthcare and reduce critical health problems but was cancelled by the Trump Administration earlier this year, as part of an effort to slash the agency’s budget.
Riley, a former DOGE official who advocated for major staff cuts at HHS, succeeds Rear Admiral Kurt Rothenhaus at ONR and will oversee the agency’s $2.5 billion budget. ONR’s Attention Control program—which studied how soldiers operate during critical, emergent tasks—was another program cancelled by the Trump Administration.
