Dr. Joyce O.

Dr. Ohiri worked as a research assistant at the University of Maryland School of Medicine Department of Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics in college before working as a research assistant at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Cancer Institute. She then served as a clinical research analyst at Children’s National Medical Center, where she created a comprehensive needs assessment and screening tool designed to increase access to quality care for children and adolescents with complex medical needs. 

Building on her scientific training, Dr. Ohiri has applied her research skill set to strategy roles in biotech and pharma. She previously served as a Business Strategy and Operations Manager for Oncology, Oncology Early Development, and Biotherapeutics and Genetic Medicine (BGM) within Discovery Research at AbbVie. She also served as Project Manager for Pathway to Cures, an internal incubator focused on turning cross-functional ideas into therapeutic solutions. Dr. Ohiri also managed business operations and played a major role in BGM’s growth by supporting their efforts to provide innovative tools and technology platforms to advance the pipeline across oncology, immunology, and neuroscience. 

Dr. Ohiri is currently an Associate Director on the Patient Engagement Data Insights team at Eli Lilly & Company, where she leads data-driven strategies for clinical trial country allocation across neuroscience, cardiometabolic health, and oncology. In this role, she guides cross-functional teams and communicates strategy to senior leadership, bringing a research-trained, evidence-first mindset to complex decision-making.

Throughout her training, Dr. Ohiri has received multiple awards and recognitions. She secured the Cardiomyopathy Genomes Diversity Supplement Grant and the MARC U-STAR Award from the NIH. the Cancer Research Training Award, and the AACR Thomas J. Bardos Science Education Award, among other accolades. Dr. Ohiri’s research has been published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, Heart Failure Clinics, and PLoS Genetics. 

Mentorship has been a defining thread in Dr. Ohiri’s career. She has served as a graduate research mentor at Northwestern University and an undergraduate research mentor at the University of Maryland, where she obtained a BS in biological sciences and a BA in biomedical ethics. Students Dr. Ohiri has mentored have been accepted to programs at institutions including Cornell University, Northwestern University, and the University of Maryland.