Patricia A. Grady, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N., was appointed Director of the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) on April 3, 1995. She earned her undergraduate degree in nursing from Georgetown University in Washington, DC. She pursued her graduate education at the University of Maryland, receiving a master's degree from the School of Nursing and a doctorate in physiology from its School of Medicine.

Under Dr. Grady's leadership at NINR, the Institute has more than doubled its budget and significantly increased the number of research and training grants awarded. Dr. Grady has supported several major NINR initiatives, including pain management, end-of-life care, self-management of chronic illness, and health disparities research. NINR collaborates with other NIH institutes and centers in investigations that better the health of the nation.

An internationally recognized researcher, Dr. Grady's scientific focus has been primarily in stroke, with emphasis on arterial stenosis and cerebral ischemia. She is a member of several distinguished scientific organizations, including the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of Science, the Society for Neuroscience, the American Academy of Nursing, and the American Neurological Association. She is also a fellow of the American Heart Association Stroke Council.

Before coming to NIH, Dr. Grady held several academic positions and served concurrently on the faculties of the University of Maryland School of Nursing and School of Medicine.

In 1988, Dr. Grady joined the NIH as an extramural research program administrator in the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) in the areas of stroke and brain imaging. Two years later, she served on the NIH Task Force for Medical Rehabilitation Research, which established the first long-range research agenda for the field of medical rehabilitation research. In 1992, she assumed the responsibilities of NINDS Assistant Director and, from 1993 to 1995, she was Deputy Director and Acting Director of NINDS. Dr. Grady served as a charter member of the NIH Warren Grant Magnuson Clinical Center Board of Governors.

Dr. Grady has authored or co-authored numerous published articles and papers on hypertension, cerebrovascular permeability, vascular stress, and cerebral edema. She is an editorial board member on the journals Stroke; Stroke and Cerebral Vascular Diseases; and Neurotherapeutics, The Journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics. Dr. Grady lectures and speaks on a wide range of topics, including future directions in nursing research, developments in the neurological sciences, and federal research opportunities.

Dr. Grady has been recognized with several prestigious honors and awards for her leadership and scientific accomplishments, including the first awardee of the Centennial Achievement Medal from the Georgetown University School of Nursing and Health Sciences. In 2005, Columbia University School of Nursing honored Dr. Grady with its prestigious Second Century Award for Excellence in Health Care. During that same year she also received Doctor of Science, Honoris Causa, degrees from Thomas Jefferson University and the Medical University of South Carolina.

Dr. Grady is a past recipient of the NIH Merit Award and received the Public Health Service Superior Service Award for her exceptional leadership.