Joni L. Rutter, Ph.D., is the director of the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). She oversees the planning and execution of the Center’s complex, multifaceted programs that aim to overcome scientific and operational barriers impeding the development and delivery of new treatments and other health solutions. Under her direction, NCATS supports innovative tools and strategies to make each step in the translational process more effective and efficient, thus speeding research across a range of diseases, with a particular focus on rare diseases. By advancing the science of translation, NCATS helps to turn promising research discoveries into real-world applications that improve people’s health. In her prior role as the NCATS deputy director, Rutter collaborated with colleagues from government, academia, industry, and nonprofit patient organizations to establish robust interactions with NCATS programs. During her career, Dr. Rutter has earned a national and international reputation for her diverse and unique expertise via her journal publications and has received several scientific achievement awards, including the 2022 Rare Disease Legislative Advocates, RareVoice Award—Federal Advocacy and the 2022 FedHealthIT—Women in Leadership Impact Award. Rutter received her doctorate from the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Dartmouth Medical School, Hanover, New Hampshire, and completed a fellowship at the National Cancer Institute within the Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics.