About the Acting Director/Chief Information Officer
Dennis Papula has served as the Deputy Director/Deputy CIO for the NIH Office of the Chief Information Officer since 2020. Prior to NIH, Dennis was the Chief Technology Officer for HHS's Program Support Center. For his PSC work, he was recognized with a Federal Computer Week's Federal 100 award and a FedScoop 50 award for Federal Leadership.
Dennis was previously the Director for Enterprise Strategy and Governance in the HHS Office of the Chief Information Officer. In this role, he led the HHS enterprise-level information technology architecture, strategic planning, governance, and policy functions, including Section 508; managed the creation of HHS's first unified IT strategic plan; and developed a revitalized IT portfolio governance/architecture for HHS's nearly $6 billion annual IT portfolio. He started his Federal career in a grants program at the US Department of Education and later spent almost a decade at the US General Services Administration in key IT and shared services leadership roles.
A native of Pennsylvania, Dennis received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and History from the University of Pittsburgh and a Master of Science in Information Management from Syracuse University. He is a graduate of the National Defense University's Chief Information Officer program and was selected in the inaugural class of the Federal CIO Council executive program.
About the Deputy Director, OCIO (Acting)
Archana has served as the Chief, Information Technology Management Branch and Chief Information Officer (CIO) for NEI since July 2019.
As the CIO, Archana leads the Information Technology (IT) initiatives to support and promote the mission of the NEI. She oversees the institute's IT investment by developing and implementing the IT strategic plan, managing IT operations, infrastructure, security, business process automation, and policy compliance to maximize the value and manage the risks of IT at NEI. She developed NEI’s first IT Strategic Plan and revised the IT Governance plan to address the increasing scientific IT needs, enhance customer relations, and streamline the processes in alignment with the NEI's strategic priorities. Archana serves on several trans-NIH committees to collaborate and promote IT optimization, efficiency, and strategic planning for the NIH IT investments to meet the mission of the NIH.
Archana came to NEI from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) where she served as the Chief Technology Officer from 2014 – 2019. In this role, she provided technical leadership, innovation, and overall IT program management to support the mission of NICHD. Prior to joining NICHD, Archana held increasingly responsible roles at the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) as a Project Manager and as a Systems Engineer in the private sector.
Archana received a Master’s of Science in Computer Science from the University of Bridgeport and a Bachelor’s of Science in Instrumentation and Control Engineering from Gujarat University, India. She completed the Leadership for a Democratic Society Program by the Federal Executive Institute (FEI), OPM, and both the NIH senior-level and mid-level leadership programs. She holds FAC-COR level-III and FAC-PPM Mid-level certifications, as well as Project Management Professional Certification (PMP).
About the Chief Information Security Officer Director (Acting)
Maureen Falvella is the Acting Director/Chief Information Security Officer (CISO). In this role, Maureen oversees Governance, Risk and Compliance, Cybersecurity Operations, and Infrastructure and Data Protection.
Maureen has over fourteen years of technical experience developing strategies, directing operations, and overseeing budgets to protect information assets at NIH. Most recently, Maureen served as CISO, at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). Previously, Maureen served as the Information System Security Officer (ISSO) at NHLBI.
Maureen has a Master of Science in Digital Forensics and Cyber Investigation and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, both obtained from the University of Maryland, Global Campus (UMGC).
About the Director of the Information Technology Policy Review Office
Jason Hitchcock has over 20 years of experience in working with IT policy and planning functions in the Federal government. For the past four years, he has served as the Director of the Information Technology Policy Review Office within the NIH Office of the Chief Information Officer. In this role, Jason provides leadership in areas of IT policy, governance, capital planning and investment control, and Section 508.
About the Director of the Office of IT Architecture
Robert Shirley currently serves as the Director for the Office of IT Architecture at the Chief Information Officer (OCIO). Previously he led critical programs at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), including the HALO platform for digital pathology analysis, Rob brings expertise in future technologies, cloud software development, and systems engineering process enhancement. With a background spanning software engineering, architecture, and instrument control, he has also made significant contributions to genomic research. Robert holds a Bachelor of Science in Math with a minor in Computer Science from Drexel University.