Griffin P. Rodgers is a hematologist who has directed the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases at the National Institutes of Health since 2007, the first African American to lead the institute. He is widely credited for his role in developing hydroxyurea as the first effective FDA-approved therapy for sickle cell anemia, and later led work on a modified blood stem cell transplant regimen that reversed sickle cell disease in adult patients. He oversees an institute with a budget of roughly $2 billion and more than 600 employees.