Dr. Mary Roary is a public health epidemiologist who focuses on infectious and chronic diseases. Dr. Roary is currently the Director of the Office of Behavioral Health Equity (OBHE) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) – Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). She is also an Adjunct Professor at The Catholic University of America. She has worked across government, academia, and the private industry.
Dr. Roary has worked in two components of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) since 2013 as a Program Director and Officer. At NIH, Dr. Roary was responsible for Health Promotion, Disease Prevention, Environmental Influences, Health Disparities, low resources in the “IDeA States” and Child Health portfolio. Dr. Roary has developed national funding opportunities, overseen complex budgets, mentored investigators in developing project grants, and disseminated research findings to stakeholders.
Dr. Roary previously served as the data lead for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Minority Health Committees on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Healthy People 2020, and Environmental Justice. She was the Principal Investigator and Co-Principal Investigator for multiple community-based participatory research grants at Johns Hopkins University and the University of Arizona.
Dr. Roary earned her Ph. D. in Epidemiology and was an Epidemiology and Biostatistician CDC fellow at the University of Arizona. She holds several Master’s Degrees from Johns Hopkins University. She is also a Professor at Catholic University of America (CUA). Her ultimate goal is to become an influential champion of eliminating health disparities by identifying and implementing data-driven best practices that promote health equity and wellness.