NIH's leading Information Technology authority, Adele Merritt, has departed from the organization.
Adele Merritt Departs National Institutes of Health, Takes Up Role at University of Maryland
Adele Merritt, who was appointed as the Chief Information Officer (CIO) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in December, has left her position, according to reports from Federal News Network and FedScoop. Merritt's departure marks a change in leadership in the position, which has been without a permanent official for approximately two years.
Merritt's last day at the NIH was on Friday, according to a Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) official. Prior to her role at the NIH, Merritt served as CIO of the intelligence community. She is now a visiting research scientist at the Applied Research Lab for Intelligence and Security at the University of Maryland.
The University of Maryland declined to comment on Merritt's new position. HHS did not respond to a request for comment on Merritt leaving or who is serving as acting CIO. The current acting CIO of the NIH is Jon Henke, who stepped in after Merritt's resignation in 2025. Henke also serves as the CIO of the National Human Genome Research Institute.
The Trump administration's restructurings have affected technology leadership roles in federal agencies, including the HHS. Secretary Robert F. Kennedy announced plans to cut 10,000 workers from the HHS agency. Since January, approximately 18% of the HHS workforce has left.
The administration has also sought to reduce the federal workforce and reshape federal agencies, including the HHS. The Department of HHS has plans to consolidate IT leadership. However, no information was provided about who is serving as acting CIO at the NIH following Merritt's departure.
The Food and Drug Administration's Office of Digital Transformation's leadership team, including its CIO, were impacted by the reduction-in-force. The impact of these changes on the NIH and the broader HHS remains to be seen.
