The Office of Research Integrity (ORI) has named Dr. Ranjini Ambalavanar to serve as the Acting Director of the Division of Investigative Oversight (DIO) on a 120-day detail appointment. Since joining ORI in 2009, Dr. Ambalavanar has handled more than 100 allegations of research misconduct.  She replaces Dr. Ann Hohmann, who successfully completed her 120-day detail appointment. 

Prior to joining ORI, Dr. Ambalavanar was at the University of Maryland, Baltimore School of Dentistry, where she conducted research and taught and mentored graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. During her 19 years of experience as a neuroscientist, she explored the neural mechanisms of chronic craniofacial pain disorders and made important contributions to the field. 

Dr. Ambalavanar, a veterinarian from Sri Lanka, completed her Ph.D. in 1992 from the University of Liverpool, UK, and completed two years of postdoctoral training at Cambridge University, UK.  In 1994, she joined the National Institutes of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), as a Fellow, where she earned the NIDCD Research Excellence Award.