Danilo Tagle is currently Director, Office of Special Initiatives at the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) where he leads efforts in developing innovative tools and technologies that can greatly accelerate development of diagnostics and therapeutics. These programs involve interdisciplinary collaborations between intramural and extramural components of NIH, and entail partnerships with other agencies, such as FDA, NASA, and DARPA, as well as with private sector. Some of the programs include tissue chips, 3D bioprinting, automated chemistry, electronic nose technology for disease diagnosis, quantum technologies, and the isolation and analyses of exosomes for biomarker and therapy development. He has served on numerous advisory and review committees and editorial boards.

He currently serves on the Biological and Physical Sciences Federal Advisory Committee, on the White House OSTP Microgravity Science and Technology Interagency Working Group, and serves as the point-of-contact for the liaison to the NASA/NIH/Department of Health and Human Services partnership. Dan obtained his PhD and MS in molecular biology and genetics from Wayne State University School of Medicine. He was an NIH National Research Service Award postdoctoral fellow in human genetics at the University of Michigan. Dan has authored many scientific publications and has garnered numerous awards, including more recently the Roscoe O. Brady Award for Innovation and Accomplishment; the Henry J. Heimlich Award for Innovative Medicine; the HHS Secretary's Award for Distinguished Service: Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) Initiative, and the NASA Silver Group Achievement Award.