Nedra Whitehead, PhD, CGC, has more than 25 years of professional experience in genetics, epidemiology, and surveillance. Dr. Whitehead leads and contributes to a wide range of studies on the application of genetics and genomics to public health and clinical practice, genetic and reproductive epidemiology, the evaluation of genomic and biomarker tests, and surveillance of genetic conditions. She serves as the principal investigator and project director of contracts and grants with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research (AHRQ), and other agencies.
Dr. Whitehead currently serves as the principal investigator for the Administrative Coordinating Center of the NIH RECOVER Initiative, which seeks to understand, prevent, and treat post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC), including Long COVID. She oversees the responsibilities of the ACC, including managing the application review process, supporting NIH in oversight and monitoring of Consortium progress, and managing communications to the public about RECOVER. Additionally, her current research is focused on muscular dystrophy surveillance, surveillance of other rare conditions, and evaluation of interventions to improve laboratory quality. She also provides expertise in genetics and genomics to other projects.
Before joining RTI in 2005, Dr. Whitehead was with the CDC, where she was the lead epidemiologist for the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS). She has published in the areas of genetic and perinatal epidemiology and has developed educational materials and curricula in genetics and epidemiology for professionals and patients. Dr. Whitehead is certified in genetic counseling by the American Board of Genetic Counseling.
