Clarissa Alexander

Principal Strategist
Portfolio for Native Americans

Clarissa Alexander is the Native American Employment Portfolio Specialist at the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) at the National institutes of Health (NIH).

Clarissa started her government career in 2012 as a graduate student intern within the National Human Genome Institute (NHGRI) at NIH. Clarissa went on to work as a Pre-doctoral Cancer Research Training Award fellow at the National Cancer Institute in 2013. After her time at NIH Clarissa worked as research associate at George Washington University followed by working in various positions at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Clarissa is joining EDI from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) where she worked as a program analyst and sought to conduct analysis on the return on investment on NIDDK diversity related portfolio. Prior to joining NIDDK Clarissa worked at the Office of the Director within the “All of Us Research Program” at NIH.

Clarissa has also held positions as a managing editor for the journal The Qualitative Report, was a former instructor in academia; she has conducted research aboard in Peru, and the Amazon. Clarissa is a public health professional and bioinformatician who is a member of American Indian Science and Engineering Society, the American Public Health Association, NIH Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics, and Native American in Science (SACNAS) and has over 13 years of experience working in health disparities and S.T.E.M. outreach with philanthropic organizations. Clarissa has a passion for public health, bioinformatics, equity, diversity, and inclusion, and health disparities research.

Clarissa obtained her BA in Biological Sciences, and an MS in biomedical informatics with a concentration in medical informatics.