Judith Greenberg

April 2, 1947 – July 24, 2025

Judith Greenberg passed away peacefully at home on July 24, 2025, after a long and hard-fought battle with cancer. She was surrounded by her immediate family. She was 78 years old.

Judith was born on April 2, 1947, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Monty Horovitz and Evelyn Cohen Horovitz. She grew up as an only child in Margate, New Jersey, and attended Atlantic City High School for three years before beginning college.

She received her B.S. from the University of Pittsburgh in 1967, her M.A. in Biology from Boston University in 1969, and her Ph.D. in Biology from Bryn Mawr College in 1972.

Judith met her dear husband, Warren Greenberg, on a flight from Boston to Philadelphia in 1967.

They were married in 1969. She and Warren moved to Bethesda, Maryland in 1971.

Judith completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the American Red Cross Blood Research Laboratory and began working at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 1974. She started in a lab at the National Institute of Dental Research and later became an administrator at the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS).

Before her retirement in October 2020, Judith served as the deputy director of NIGMS and as acting director of the Division of Biophysics, Biomedical Technology, and Computational Biosciences. She also served twice as acting director of the Institute and was previously the director of the former Division of Genetics and Developmental Biology.

A developmental biologist by training, Judith had a deep interest in bioethics, research training, and career development. She advised NIH on issues including human embryonic stem cells, gene therapy, and the advancement of women in biomedical research. Additionally, she was a principal leader of the NIH Director's Pioneer Award program and of the NIH Director’s New Innovator Award program. Judith served for nearly three decades as the project officer for the NIGMS Human Genetic Cell Repository, a vital resource for genetic research. She led the development of NIGMS’s 2008 strategic plan and the development and implementation of its 2011 strategic plan for training. Upon her retirement, NIGMS established the Judith H. Greenberg Early Career Investigator Lecture in recognition of her long-standing support for career development.

Judith is survived by her only daughter, Elyssa, her son-in-law, Shaked, and her grandchildren, Andy and Danielle. Her husband, Warren, passed away in 2015.

Judith had many personal interests including attending concerts, going to museums and the theater. Other hobbies included reading, running, writing short stories, cooking, entertaining and traveling.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in Judith’s memory may be made to any of the following organizations that were meaningful to her or wherever you wish:

Congregation Beth El of Montgomery County: https://www.bethelmc.org/give/

Americans for Ben-Gurion University: https://americansforbgu.org/donate-now/

Jewish Federation of Greater Washington: https://www.shalomdc.org/?form=donate

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: https://www.ushmm.org/online/ihrd-2024/