Erika Barr, Ph.D.

Erika Barr, Ph.D., joined OHE as a program officer and intramural division liaison in 2024. She brings to the office her passion for increasing the number of underrepresented individuals in the biomedical sciences.

Dr. Barr’s previous NIH experience includes serving as the inaugural director of the NIH Community College Summer Enrichment Program and College Summer Opportunities to Advance Research in the NIH Office of the Director’s Office of Intramural Training & Education.

Following her undergraduate studies, Dr. Barr taught sixth grade science for the North Carolina public school system. She also served as an assistant coordinator for the Greensboro Area Math and Science Education Center (GAMSEC). The purpose of GAMSEC was to improve the math and science skills of middle and high school students from underrepresented backgrounds. Moreover, the center focused on encouraging the students to pursue an undergraduate degree in a science, technology, engineering, or math-related discipline.

Dr. Barr received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biology from North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University and her doctoral degree in biological sciences with a focus on immunology from Clark Atlanta University. She then completed two postdoctoral fellowships: the first at the Medical Research Council-London School of Hygiene and Tropical Disease in The Gambia, West Africa, and the second at the National Institute on Aging in Baltimore.