- The National Institutes of Health has created the role of chief partnerships officer and appointed Kristen Honey to the position
- Honey will operate within the NIH Office of the Director’s Division of Program Coordination, Planning and Strategic Initiatives
- The new role is expected to support NIH efforts to strengthen public-private partnerships and synchronize the agency’s institutes and centers
Kristen Honey, former chief data officer of the Department of Health and Human Services, has been appointed as the first-ever chief partnerships officer within the National Institutes of Health Office of the Director’s Division of Program Coordination, Planning and Strategic Initiatives, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT announced Tuesday.
In her new role, Honey will focus on fostering public-private partnerships designed to accelerate biomedical research and bolster collaboration across NIH institutes and centers.
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Why Did the NIH Create the Position?
DPCPSI plays a central role in identifying emerging scientific opportunities, addressing evolving public health priorities and coordinating initiatives that span multiple NIH institutes and centers. Through Honey’s leadership, NIH aims to develop stronger partnership frameworks, improve transparency, reduce duplicative efforts and help move innovative concepts into implementation more efficiently.
The new position will also support broader coordination efforts with the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT and across the HHS, as NIH works to strengthen collaboration among public and private sector stakeholders.
What Is Kristen Honey’s Professional Background?
Prior to her appointment as chief partnerships officer, Honey was chief data officer and assigned to senior executive service at the HHS. She also worked as chief data scientist from 2020 to 2025. In 2017, Honey was a senior policy analyst at the Office of Management and Budget. Before that, she served as science and technology policy fellow at the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Honey was a senior research scholar and affiliated researcher at Stanford University from 2012 to 2015. At the same time, she was a post-doctoral researcher at the California Collaborative Fisheries Research Program. She worked for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as a large marine ecosystem coordinator and natural resource scientist. She was also a biologist for the U.S. Geological Survey and an environmental scientist for consulting firm Eastern Research Group.
