Lenora Johnson

Lenora Johnson, Dr.P.H., M.P.H., is the Acting Associate Director for Strategic Engagement and Education within the Immediate Office of the Director at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). In this capacity she oversees efforts that strengthen the organization’s ability to respond to emerging priorities, communicate NHLBI scientific information effectively, engage key audiences, and support critical research programs.

Dr. Johnson has supported NIH research for more than 20 years having spent the initial part of her tenure at NIH with the National Cancer Institute for more than a decade of leadership service to that Institute as the director for communications and education before joining NHLBI in 2013. For close to 30 years, she directed initiatives focusing on translating scientific information for use by those for whom it stands to benefit most. This passion has supported issues related to optimizing health in communities experiencing greater burden of disease, research dissemination, behavior and treatment decision support, global surveillance of health risk behaviors, broadening states’ capacity for health-related social marketing, and capacity building for health promotion and public health education programming and health behavior risk reduction. She has extensive experience in working at the national and local levels translating health information into materials, messages, and interventions that reach the most vulnerable populations. These experiences expand settings from health care delivery systems to non-traditional community-based organizations. Dr. Johnson’s programs have been implemented through the Lombardi Cancer Center in Washington, DC, the Directors of Health Promotion, the American Public Health Association, the Kaiser Permanente Health Plan, the American Cancer Society, and numerous partnership efforts with community-based organizations serving many constituents and stakeholders.

Dr. Johnson’s training and research concentration is in behavioral sciences. She is professionally trained in health promotion, health marketing, communication science, community-engaged research, and research dissemination. Her practice emphasis rests in the application of theory and evidence in the development, implementation, and evaluation of communication, education, and research dissemination programs, products, tools and applications.