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)
Joe Henke is the Acting Deputy Director/CIO. Joe previously served as the CIO at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) and received recognition for his exceptional support during the COVID-19 pandemic. His federal experience includes roles such as Deputy Chief Information Security Officer at the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA), Information Systems Security Officer at NHGRI, and Deputy ISSO at the Center for Information Technology (CIT).
About the Chief Information Security Officer (Acting), Deputy Chief Information Security Officer
Maureen Falvella joined OCIO in 2023 as the Deputy Chief Information Security Officer. In this role, Maureen oversees the offices of Information Technology Policy and Review, IT Acquisitions Services, and Information Technology Architecture.
Maureen has 13 years of experience developing strategies, directing operations, and overseeing budgets to protect information assets at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Most recently, Maureen served as Chief Information Security Officer, Information Technology Security Section 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 Deputy Chief Information Security Officer (Acting)
Dr. Malissa Ross, Ph.D serves as the Acting NIH Deputy Chief Information Security Officer (DCISO) and the Chief for IT Support Services at the Center for Information Technology (CIT). She has been at the NIH for almost three years.
Prior to joining the NIH, Dr. Ross spent eight years at the Department of Labor, nine years at the United States Transportation Command and three years at the Air Force Network Integration Center. She is also a veteran of both the US Army and US Air Force.
Dr. Ross holds a Federal Acquisition Certification Contracting Officer’s Representative Level III and Sr. Level Federal Acquisition Certification for Program and Project Management. She received her Master of Human Relations from the University of Oklahoma and her Ph.D. in Organization and Management from Capella University.
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 for the Office of IT Architecture (Acting)
Robert Shirley currently serves as the acting 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.