Research!America President & CEO Mary Woolley to Step Down in Early 2026
Arlington, VA – Research!America President & CEO Mary Woolley today announced that she will step down from her role in early 2026, having completed her thirty-fifth year leading the non-profit medical and health research advocacy alliance.
“Few leaders in any sector, industry, or discipline have had the impact of Mary Woolley,” said Sudip Parikh, PhD, chair of the Research!America Board of Directors and chief executive officer of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. “For the last three and a half decades, Mary has led a coalition of advocates to tremendous heights. You cannot think of the success of the biomedical research enterprise over the last three decades without thinking of Mary. From working on doubling the NIH budget to keeping a pulse on public opinion to building trust between scientists and the public, Mary has been at the center of it all, while acknowledging that advocacy is very much a team sport.”
Woolley said, “The success of Research!America over the last 35 years is thanks to the incredible leadership of generations of boards, staff, members, and supporters who have dedicated their time and treasure as advocates for science, discovery, and innovation to achieve better health for all. I am grateful to all of them. Playing a part in that success has been a joy and an honor, and while my work isn’t yet finished – and there is so much more to be done – it is time for the next generation of advocacy leaders to carry us forward.”
Prior to joining Research!America, Woolley served as a project director for the then-largest clinical trial ever funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial (MRFIT). In 1986, she became chief executive of the Medical Research Institute of San Francisco. During her tenure there, she also served as the elected president of the Association of Independent Research Institutes (AIRI), a coalition of independent biomedical and behavioral research institutes. It was around this time that Woolley found a passion for advocacy that would bring her to the nation’s capital. She joined the one-year-old Research!America as its chief executive in 1990.
Research!America soon issued its first call for the doubling of the budget for the NIH. It took eight years of work to realize the first success in that goal: a 15% increase for NIH in the Fiscal Year 1998 budget. Woolley and her Research!America board colleagues the Hon. Paul G. Rogers and John Whitehead were recognized by The Wall Street Journal for their tireless advocacy. The doubling of the NIH budget was completed five years later, in 2003.
Under Woolley’s leadership, Research!America has commissioned annual public opinion surveys that demonstrate Americans’ overwhelming support for health research and has established groundbreaking programs in science, civic, and public engagement. An innovator in advocacy, Woolley pioneered awards to advocates for science, creating an annual program now approaching its 30th year in Washington.
“Mary is a superb bridge-builder,” said Georges C. Benjamin, MD, vice chair of the Research!America Board of Directors and executive director of the American Public Health Association. “She can find and build consensus in even the most challenging circumstances—whether it’s between different political ideologies, different scientific viewpoints, or between scientists and non-scientists. For decades, Mary has led the quest to advance scientific discovery that provides hope that cures are on the way. The research community is stronger and more resilient for her efforts, but more importantly so is the public’s health.”
Woolley’s impact is not limited to biomedical research. She is widely recognized across the science and technology community for her commitment to building relationships and driving joint advocacy, including with the natural, physical, and social sciences and engineering communities. In 2011, she co-founded, and continues to co-chair, a group of 120 STEMM society chief executives. Initially established as a monthly convening, the group has met weekly for nearly a decade.
In addition, in 2020 Woolley established with Keith Yamamoto of the University of California, San Francisco, and Ron Daniels of Johns Hopkins University, the Science and Technology Action Committee (STAC), which she continues to co-chair with Yamamoto, Parikh, and Bill Novelli of Georgetown University. STAC is a group of 25 non-profit, academic, foundation, and corporate leaders working to dramatically strengthen U.S. science and technology. Most recently, STAC released the Vision for American Science and Technology (VAST).
A prolific writer and spokesperson, Woolley has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post,Science, Nature, Issues in Science and Technology, The New England Journal of Medicine, The Journal of the American Medical Association, The Scientist, Women’s Health, and others. She is a sought-after speaker and is frequently interviewed by science, news, and policy journalists and has received recognition by PBS as an “Unsung Heroine.” For more than a decade, Woolley has reached tens of thousands of science advocates through her weekly email—which will have reached edition 750 by the time of her retirement.
Woolley is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine and served two terms on its Governing Council. She is a recipient of the Adam Yarmolinsky Medal for distinguished contributions to the mission of the Academies over a significant period. She has served on several boards and task forces for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, including the Board on Higher Education and the Workforce.
A Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Woolley has received dozens of honors and awards for her leadership in advocacy, policy, and public engagement, including the AAAS Philip Hague Abelson Prize, the American Hospital Association Silver Touchstone Award for Public Affairs Programming, the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons Dean’s Award for Distinguished Service, the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology Special Award for Science Advocacy, the Friends of the National Institute for Nursing Research Health Advocacy Award, the Awareness and Advocacy Award from the Clinical Research Forum, the Friends of the National Library of Medicine Paul G. Rogers Public Service Award, the National Advocacy Leadership Award from the Lupus Foundation of America, and the AcademyHealth Chair Award. Woolley holds honorary degrees from the Ichan School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Wayne State University, and Northeast Ohio Medical University.
Research!America’s board of directors will launch a national search for Woolley’s successor. “One of the things I most admire about Mary is that she has invested the time needed to cultivate and mentor the next generation of advocacy leaders,” Parikh said. “While it is certainly difficult to imagine Research!America without Mary at the helm, she has put in the work to make sure there is a deep bench of advocates within the community who are ready to step up.”
Contact Glenn O’Neal, Senior Director of Communications, at 571-482-2737 or [email protected] with press inquiries.