Duane Alexander (Director, NICHD) 

Duane Alexander, M.D., was named NICHD Director on February 5, 1986, after serving as the Institute's Acting Director. Much of his career has been with the NICHD. After receiving his undergraduate degree from Pennsylvania State University, Dr. Alexander earned his medical degree from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Following his internship and residency at the Department of Pediatrics at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Dr. Alexander joined the NICHD in 1968, as a clinical associate in the Children's Diagnostic and Study Branch. Following his tenure with the Branch, Dr. Alexander returned to Johns Hopkins as a fellow in pediatrics (developmental disabilities) at the John F. Kennedy Institute for Habilitation of the Mentally and Physically Handicapped Child. His interests brought him back to the NICHD in 1971, when Dr. Alexander became Assistant to the Scientific Director and directed the NICHD National Amniocentesis Study.

Dr. Alexander is a diplomat of the American Board of Pediatrics and a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American Pediatric Society, and the Society for Developmental Pediatrics. For more than a decade, he also served as the United States' observer on the Steering Committee on Bioethics for the Council of Europe. As an officer in the Public Health Service (PHS), Dr. Alexander has received numerous PHS awards, including a Commendation Medal in 1970, a Meritorious Service Medal, and a Special Recognition Award in 1985. He also received the Surgeon General's Exemplary Service Medal in 1990, and the Surgeon General's Medallion in 1993 and 2002. In addition, Dr. Alexander is the author of numerous articles and book chapters, most of which relate to his research in developmental disabilities.