Irene O. Aninye, PhD

Dr. Irene Aninye is the Chief Science Officer at the Society for Women’s Health Research, a national nonprofit dedicated to improving women’s health through science, policy, and education. She steers SWHR’s science programs to increase investment in research on biological sex differences and awareness of health conditions and diseases that differently, disproportionately, or exclusively affect women. Prior to SWHR, Aninye led strategy teams for the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) to build research capacity and competitiveness and evaluate STEM research and training programs for universities and national consortia. Dr. Aninye’s research background in endocrinology and metabolism investigated sex steroid hormone-receptor action in development, reproduction, and disease. She also brings expertise in facilitating scientific and leadership development training for researchers and professionals across all career stages, and service on advisory boards for organizations such as the National Institutes of Health, American Cancer Society, National Health Council, and Endocrine Society USA. A Washington, DC, native, Aninye earned her BS in Biochemistry as a Meyerhoff Scholar at the University of Maryland Baltimore County and a PhD in Molecular and Integrative Physiology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.