Candace Tingen, Ph.D.

Dr. Candace Tingen was named GHDB chief in February 2024. She previously served as deputy chief since September 2023. Dr. Tingen joined GHDB in 2015 as the program director of the branch’s uterine fibroids research portfolio; she now directs portfolios in endometriosis, adenomyosis, uterine fibroids, and menstrual health. She also directs the Centers to Advance Research in Endometriosis, Specialized Centers for Research on Health Disparities in Uterine Leiomyoma, and the two NICHD sites of the Human BioMolecular Atlas Program. Through her work, she hopes to normalize conversation about gynecologic health, menstruation, and the phenomenal potential of menstrual blood as a diagnostic tool for women’s health.

Before coming to NICHD, Dr. Tingen was the team lead for science policy and evaluation in the Office of Science Policy, Planning, Data Analysis, and Reporting at NIH's National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities. She began her federal service as an American Association for the Advancement of Science Science &Technology Policy Fellow, serving 2 years in the NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health.

Prior to her time at NIH, Dr. Tingen served as director of research programs in the Institute for Women’s Health Research at Northwestern University, where she managed a diverse portfolio of biomedical research projects from grantees across Illinois and coordinated the Illinois Women’s Health Registry, with more than 6,200 participants and 20 research investigators.

In addition to highly cited basic research papers in the field of reproductive biology, Dr. Tingen has also been a lead author on several peer-reviewed articles published in high-impact journals, such as Nature and Science; these articles focus on diverse areas of health science policy, including sex equity in clinical trials and funding for gamete and embryo research.

Dr. Tingen received her undergraduate degrees in biology and women’s studies from Duke University and her Ph.D. in the laboratory of Dr. Teresa Woodruff at Northwestern University. Her doctoral work examined mechanisms of pre-pubertal ovarian follicle atresia and immune-cell mediated in vitro follicular growth and development.