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John Killen, Jr., M.D.

Director, Office of International Health Research

John (Jack) Killen, Jr., M.D.John (Jack) Killen, Jr., M.D. is Director of the Office of International Health Research (OIHR) where he is responsible for fostering international research collaborations studying complementary, alternative, and traditional medical interventions. Dr. Killen is also currently the Acting Deputy Director of NCCAM and Acting Director of NCCAM's Division of Extramural Research and Training.

Dr. Killen's 26-year career at NIH has centered on the design, implementation, and management of multi-disciplinary clinical research programs and on the ethics of clinical research, beginning in 1980 when he joined the National Cancer Institute. In 1986, he left NIH to serve as Medical Director of the Whitman-Walker Clinic, a community-based HIV/AIDS services organization in Washington, D.C. He returned to the NIH in 1987 to join the Division of AIDS in the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) where he served as Deputy Director (1987 to 1993) and then as Director (1994 to 2001).

During that time he played a leadership role in the creation and evolution of many of the major HIV/AIDS research programs of the NIH, and served on numerous domestic U.S. and international committees and advisory bodies relating to HIV/AIDS research. He later served as Associate Director for Research Ethics, NIAID, and Head of the International Research Section in the Department of Clinical Bioethics at the NIH's Warren Magnuson Clinical Center, focusing on ethical aspects of clinical research in the developing world. Immediately prior to joining NCCAM in 2003, Dr. Killen headed NIAIDS's Office of Biodefense Research.

Dr. Killen holds a B.A. degree from Kenyon College (1971), and an M.D. degree from Tufts University (1975). He is board-certified in internal medicine and medical oncology, and has pursued additional training in end-of-life care and mind-body medicine. He has received multiple awards including the NIH Merit Award, the NIH Director's Award, the U.S. Public Health Service Special Recognition Award, the PHS Superior Service Award, and the Senior Executive Service Meritorious Executive Rank.