Adele Merritt has stepped down as the chief information officer (CIO) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) after serving in the role for nine months.
Merritt, who began her tenure as NIH’s CIO on Dec. 16 2024, departed the agency earlier this month. She has been named the new chief research officer of the University of Maryland’s Applied Research Laboratory for Intelligence and Security (ARLIS).
NIH did not indicate who the agency’s acting CIO may be following Merritt’s departure.
“Dr. Merritt brings more than 25 years of experience in national security, cybersecurity, intelligence, and technology leadership. She most recently served as the Chief Information Officer at the National Institutes of Health, overseeing a $1.9 billion IT portfolio supporting scientific research, infrastructure, and high-performance computing,” the University of Maryland’s ARLIS said in an Aug. 25 press release.
“As Chief Research Officer, Dr. Merritt will lead strategic scientific and technical initiatives across ARLIS’s mission areas. Her leadership will be instrumental in elevating research impact, strengthening external partnerships, and ensuring ARLIS is progressing in applied national security science,” ARLIS added.
Prior to joining NIH, Merritt served as the Intelligence Community CIO since 2022. In this role, she led modernization efforts across 18 federal intelligence agencies to transform enterprise IT and increase security.
Previously, Merritt was the principal deputy CIO for cyber at the Energy Department and held senior positions as a staffer for the National Security Council.
Merritt also led partnerships in her work with the Technology Advancement Center, a nonprofit organization that collaborates with industry, academia, and government.