Elisabeth (Lis) Handley, the former Director of ORI, has accepted a new role as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health (PDASH) in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH). Dr. Wanda Jones will continue to lead ORI by serving as the Acting Director. Dr. Jones has been with ORI since December 2017, first as the Interim Director, then serving as the permanent Deputy Director since June 2019.

ORI will continue to conduct oversight review of institutional research misconduct proceedings and engage with the research community to promote research integrity. Despite the pandemic challenges of the past year, ORI has continued to support institutions and the research community through its grant program and several new initiatives. These include the launching of the ORI File Transfer System (ORI-FTS), releasing the FY 2020 Annual Report, announcing several funding opportunities for responsible data management practices and conferences/workshops on research integrity, and providing an informational document with several hypothetical case examples for institutions determining the scope of research misconduct in their proceedings.