Commander Michael Banyas is a Senior Officer in the U.S. Public Health Service and a Health Specialist at the National Institute of Minority Health Disparities (NIMHD). The mission of NIMHD is to lead the nation’s scientific research to improve minority health and reduce health disparities. In his role, he is the Program Director for NIMHD’s SBIR/STTR program and oversees an award budget of almost $20.5 million and over 100 awardees. CDR Banyas specializes in underserved health care and public health systems with a focus on implementation science, as well as women’s health and research and clinical trials. He has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Vermont, a Master in Public Administration in Health Management and Policy from New York University’s Wagner School of Public Service, graduate work in health informatics from Columbia University, and a Master of Arts at the U.S. Naval War College.
Previously, he served as a Public Health Analyst in NIH’s All of Us Research Program, where he led the Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) Pilot Project and co-led the Tribal Engagement Strategic, as well as operational process improvement.
Additionally, he served as a Project Officer in the Health Resources Services Administration for FQHCs and as the Communications Lead for the Office of Health IT and Quality. Additionally, he served as a Fellow on the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee’s Health Policy subcommittee and has worked in three academic medical centers.