Pamela L. Thornton, Ph.D.

I serve as the Acting Senior Advisor for Workforce Diversity and Health Equity Research for the Office of the Director, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). In this role, I co-led the NIDDK Working Group of Council’s inaugural Health Disparities and Health Equity Research Report planning process and I am leading efforts to implement the Report’s scientific recommendations which include embedding equity-focused principles into the fabric of NIDDK’s research processes.

I also co-chair the NIDDK Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Civility (IDEA-C) initiative to advance inclusive excellence in the workforce. I provide programmatic oversight of the NIDDK Centers for Diabetes Translation Research, which are designed to translate efficacious interventions on type 2 diabetes into real world healthcare and community settings and promote career development of early stage investigators. My background includes a focus on scientific workforce development, addressing the social determinants of health in chronic disease prevention and treatment, and promoting health equity in diverse communities.