Lori Wiener PhD, DCSW, LCSW-C

Lori Wiener, Ph.D. is co-director of the Behavioral Health Core and head of the Psychosocial Support and Research Program. As both a clinician and behavioral scientist, Dr. Wiener has dedicated her career to the fields of oncology and pediatric HIV/AIDS. Dr. Wiener received her Ph.D. in social work from New York University in 1988. She joined NIH in 1986 and then NCI's Pediatric Oncology Branch in 2006 where she developed a robust clinical and research program. Prior to joining NCI, Dr. Wiener worked with adults undergoing treatment for cancer at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and as a pioneer in the early AIDS epidemic, running the first support groups with persons living with what was then referred to as gay-related immune disease (GRID) and AIDS-related complex (ARC).

Dr. Wiener has dedicated a substantial part of her career to applying knowledge from her clinical experience and psychosocial studies to create innovative resources such as therapeutic workbooks for children with cancer, their siblings, bone marrow donors, and children living with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1); therapeutic games for medically challenged children, siblings and children whose parents have cancer (ShopTalk); and an advance care planning guide for adolescents and young adults (Voicing My CHOiCES). Each of these resources is distributed worldwide and is widely utilized in pediatric centers. The Psychosocial Support and Research Program also developed and hosts the Pediatric Psycho-Oncology Professionals website.

Dr. Wiener was one of the founders of The Children’s Inn at NIH. She is the federal liaison for the Board of Trustees of the American Psychosocial Oncology Society where she chairs the Pediatric Special Interest Group (SIG) and the American Psychosocial Oncology Social Workers where she chairs the Research and Publication Committee. Dr. Wiener was selected as a 2019 NYU Alumni Changemaker for “Visionaries who have leveraged creativity and entrepreneurial spirit for the greater good”; with an NIH Director’s Award for Clinical Care and an NCI Director’s Award for “Scientific and medical excellence and the outstanding, compassionate care for patients and those who love them”. She has been given the distinction of Fellow at the American Psychological Association in recognition of Outstanding and Unusual Contributions to the Science and Profession of Psychology and at the American Psychosocial Oncology Society in Recognition of Outstanding Contributions in Psycho-Oncology. Dr. Wiener has been a part of the leadership team that has developed the first evidence-based psychosocial standards of care for children with cancer and their family members.