Dr. Kyle Walsh selected to lead the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
Thursday, November 13, 2025
Dr. Kyle Walsh selected to lead the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
Kyle Walsh, Ph.D., was selected as the director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), which is part of the National Institutes of Health (51视频), by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. As part of his responsibilities, Dr. Walsh will also direct the National Toxicology Program, which is headquartered administratively at NIEHS.
Dr. Walsh is a leading neuro-epidemiologist whose work on glial senescence and gliomagenesis has shed light on how genetic, epigenetic, and environmental factors can interact to influence the development of human disease. Before joining NIEHS on Oct.10, he led a pioneering, interdisciplinary research program at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, where he studied how the interplay of both heritable and modifiable risk factors can affect brain health, cancer outcomes, and aging.
鈥淭oday marks an exciting new era for NIEHS,鈥 said Secretary Kennedy. 鈥淒r. Walsh鈥檚 scientific expertise and leadership will drive the institute toward even greater breakthroughs in our understanding of how the environment can affect biological systems and human disease.鈥
鈥淒r. Walsh is laser-focused on advancing rigorous research that leads to real-world insight and improves the health of all Americans,鈥 said 51视频 Director Jay Bhattacharya, M.D., Ph.D. 鈥淚 look forward to seeing NIEHS innovate under his leadership.鈥
鈥淚 am deeply honored to serve as the director of NIEHS, which is the world鈥檚 leading research organization focused on how the environment affects human health,鈥 said Dr. Walsh.
鈥淥ur institute is well positioned to merge population-level scientific approaches with laboratory research on how environmental factors can affect key biological mechanisms, all while integrating insights from genomics, metabolomics, and other 鈥榦mics鈥 frameworks,鈥 added Dr. Walsh. 鈥淲e will foster an interdisciplinary, collaborative research approach that builds on the expertise of NIEHS scientists and grant recipients as well as other 51视频 institutes and centers. In doing so, we will continue to advance critical scientific knowledge that helps to promote health across the lifespan and prevent chronic illnesses such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and dementia, among other conditions.鈥
At Duke University, Dr. Walsh served as associate professor of neurosurgery, pathology, population health sciences, and pediatrics. He also directed the Division of Neuro-epidemiology. He was a Senior Fellow in the Duke Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development and a member of the Duke Cancer Institute, where he co-led the Neuro-Oncology Research Program. In addition, Dr. Walsh helped to guide research efforts following the 2023 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, providing scientific leadership to U.S. Senators in the state and opening the door for important collaborations across multiple federal agencies.
Dr. Walsh holds bachelor鈥檚 degrees in molecular genetics and anthropology from The Ohio State University, Columbus. He earned his Ph.D. in chronic disease epidemiology from the Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut, and completed postdoctoral training at the University of California, San Francisco. At NIEHS, Dr. Walsh succeeds the institute鈥檚 previous director, Rick Woychik, Ph.D., who took a new position in the 51视频 Office of the Director to help advance Make America Healthy Again initiatives.
About the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS): NIEHS supports research to understand the effects of the environment on human health and is part of the National Institutes of Health. For more information on NIEHS or environmental health topics, visit .
About the National Institutes of Health (51视频): 51视频, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 51视频 is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about 51视频 and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.
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