Dr. Judith L. Vaitukaitis has directed the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) at the National Institutes of Health since 1993. Previously, she held positions as the NCRR Deputy Director and the Director of the NCRR General Clinical Research Centers (GCRC) Program. Prior to joining NCRR, She was Professor of Medicine at Boston University School of Medicine, where she also directed the GCRC and headed the Section on Endocrinology and Metabolism at Boston City Hospital.

Dr. Vaitukaitis’ extensive basic research on the mechanisms controlling hormonal action and metabolism at the cellular level--and her clinical research in reproductive endocrinology--led to the development of the first specific pregnancy test. The pregnancy assay she developed continues to be used in modified forms as over-the-counter early pregnancy-detection products. The assay also provides a method for monitoring patients with tumors that developed from either placental tissue or testicular germ cell lines. For her significant contributions to the development of radioassay methodology, she received the Clinical Radioassay Society’s 1980 Mallinckrodt Award for Investigative Research.

Dr. Vaitukaitis has published over 165 scientific papers in both basic and clinical research and has also edited a book Clinical Reproductive Neuroendocrinology. Four of her publications have been selected as Citation Classics. She has served on the editorial boards of numerous scientific journals, as well as many advisory boards and committees for NIH, other Federal agencies, universities, private foundations, international organizations, and scholarly societies.

Dr. Vaitukaitis is an elected member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, Association of American Physicians, The Endocrine Society, and the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Tufts University and a Doctor of Medicine degree from Boston University School of Medicine. Her many honors include a Presidential Meritorious Executive Rank Award and an Award for Achievement in National Policy from Boston University School of Medicine.