Assistant Executive Director, Federal Affairs

As Assistant Executive Director of Federal Affairs, Dr. Mary Ellison oversees and coordinates all projects and deliverables related to UNOS' contract to operate the national Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network. In this role, she also facilitates communication between UNOS staff and HRSA staff with regard to UNOS' contractual responsibilities and the successful conduct thereof.

Prior to serving as Assistant Executive Director of Federal Affairs, Dr. Ellison served as UNOS' OPTN Project Director and Director of Research. As Director of Research, she oversaw a staff of SAS programmers, biostatisticians, and policy analysts; directed operations of the UNOS Research Department; supervised all OPTN-directed data analysis and research activities; and managed the OPTN data request system. Prior to becoming Director, Dr. Ellison worked for two years as the Assistant Director of Research, and before that was a senior policy analyst for three years, from 1991 to 1994.

Dr. Ellison has been an Assistant Professor of Anatomy at the Medical College of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University for the past 17 years, the same university where she earned her M.S. in Health Administration and Ph.D. in Anatomy. She holds a B.A. in Biology from Hollins University.