Yvonne T. Maddox is an American academic who is President and CEO of the T.A. Thornton Foundation. She previously served as vice president for research at the

Uniformed Services University Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) is a health science university and professional school of the U.S. federal government. The primary mission of the school is to prepare graduates for service to the U.S. at home and abroa ...

. Prior to joining USUHS, she was the acting director of the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Her career at the NIH also includes leadership roles as acting deputy director of the agency and deputy director of the

Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development The ''Eunice Kennedy Shriver'' National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) is one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the United States Department of Health and Human Services. It supports and conducts research ai ...

Education

Maddox received her Bachelor of Science degree in biology from

Virginia Union University Virginia Union University is a Private university, private Historically black colleges and universities, historically black university in Richmond, Virginia. History The American Baptist Home Mission Society (ABHMS) founded the school as Rich ...

in 1965. During her senior year, Maddox was accepted into medical school; her father's illness caused her to give up medical school aspirations and take a position as a technician at the

Medical College of Virginia The VCU Medical Center (VCU Health), formerly known as the Medical College of Virginia (MCV), is the medical campus of Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), located in downtown Richmond, Virginia, United States. As MCV, VCU Medical Center merged ...

in order to provide for her parents and two brothers. Later, after marrying and becoming a mother, Maddox enrolled in graduate school, and in 1981 she received her Ph.D. in physiology from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

. Maddox was a

National Research Service Award The Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards (usually referred to as NRSA) are a family of grants provided by the United States National Institutes of Health (NIH) for training researchers in the behavioral sciences and health sciences. ...

Postdoctoral Fellow and an assistant professor of physiology in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at Georgetown. She also studied as a visiting scientist at the

French Atomic Energy Commission The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission, or CEA (French: Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives), is a French public government-funded research organisation in the areas of energy, defense and secur ...

in Saclay, France, and graduated from the Senior Managers in Government Program of the John F. Kennedy School of Government,

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

Career

Maddox's career has focused on healthcare equity for minorities, women, and children, in both the United States and abroad. She first started working in 1965 as a blood bank technician in the Department of Medicine at the Medical College of Virginia. From 1968 to 1985, she worked as a researcher, instructor, and visiting scientist in various institutions including the Department of Inhalation Toxicology, the Department of Ophthalmology at the Washington Hospital Center, the Department of Biology at

American University The American University (AU or American) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Its main campus spans 90-acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, in the Spri ...

, the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at

Georgetown University Medical Center Georgetown University Medical Center is a Washington, D.C.–based biomedical research and educational organization affiliated with Georgetown University that is responsible for over 80% of the university's sponsored research funding and is led ...

, the French Atomic Energy Commission, and the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at Georgetown. In 1985, Maddox began work as a health scientist administrator at the

National Institute of General Medical Sciences The National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) is one of the National Institutes of Health, National Institutes of Health (NIH), the principal medical research agency of the United States Federal government of the United States, Fe ...

, where she became deputy director of the Biophysics and Physiological Sciences Program and chief of the Pharmacology and Physiological Sciences Section, and acting director of the Minority Access to Research Careers Program from 1993 to 1994. Yvonne T Maddox and Maria Shriver

From 1995 to 2014, Maddox was the deputy director of the

(NICHD). As deputy director, she led many federal and international efforts to improve maternal and child health, including the NICHD

Safe to Sleep A safe (also called a strongbox or coffer) is a secure lockable enclosure used for securing valuable objects against theft or fire. A safe is usually a hollow cuboid or cylinder, with one face being removable or hinged to form a door. The ...

(formerly the Back to Sleep campaign), the NIH Down Syndrome Consortium, and the Global Network for Women's and Children's Health Research. While deputy director of NICHD, she was also acting director of the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research and the institute's acting associate director for Prevention and International Activities. Maddox was the NIH acting deputy director from January 2000 to June 2002. In 2014, Maddox became the acting director of the

National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities The National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) is an American government health institute. It is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The stated mission of the NIMHD is to "lead scientific research to improve ...

. In June 2015, Dr. Maddox became the Vice President for Research at the

Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) is a health science university and professional school of the U.S. federal government. The primary mission of the school is to prepare graduates for service to the U.S. at home and abroa ...

Awards and honors

*United States Presidential Distinguished Executive Rank Award *United States Presidential Meritorious Executive Rank Award *Public Health Service Special Recognition Award *

United States Department of Health & Human Services The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the US federal government created to protect the health of the US people and providing essential human services. Its motto is " ...

Secretary's Award *United States Department of Health & Human Services Career Achievement Award *

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in 1887 and is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Service ...

Director's Award *

American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation The American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (AAPM&R) is the national medical specialty society in the United States for physicians who specialize in physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R). These physicians are called "physia ...

Distinguished Public Service Award *HeLa Award from the

Morehouse School of Medicine Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) is an independent and private historically-Black medical school in Atlanta, Georgia. Originally a part of Morehouse College, the school became independent in 1981. History MSM was established at the sugges ...

*2014 National Caucus on Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Health Disparities’ Vanguard Award for Scientific Leadership in Health Disparities Maddox was inducted into the

Historically Black Colleges and Universities Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of serving African Americans. Most are in the Southern U ...

Hall of Fame in recognition for her contributions in the field of medicine. She has also received several honorary degrees, served on public service and academic boards, and delivered national and international keynote scientific lectures.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maddox, Yvonne 1943 births Living people Virginia Union University alumni American University alumni Georgetown University School of Medicine alumni National Institutes of Health people NIH Women Scientists Project Harvard Kennedy School alumni 20th-century American scientists 21st-century American scientists 20th-century American women scientists 21st-century American women scientists American medical researchers American women medical researchers 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American scientists 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American scientists