Vivian Ota Wang, PhD, was awarded a Presidential Citation for her pioneering work in genetics, race and racial identity in science policy.
As a psychologist and geneticist, Wang brings her keen understanding of race and racial identity and her deep knowledge of genetics and nanotechnology into both science policy and research participation at the National Institutes of Health and the President’s National Science and Technology Council under Presidents Bush and Obama. She has received national and international recognition by governmental agencies, colleges and universities, and professional associations, including the Asian American Psychological Association’s Distinguished Contributions Award and the American Psychological Association’s Board of Scientific Affairs Meritorious Research Service Commendation. Wang is a fellow of the American Medical Association and APA Div. 17 (Society of Counseling Psychology) and Div. 45 (Society for the Psychological Study of Culture, Ethnicity and Race), a diplomate of the American Board of Genetic Counseling and the American Board of Medical Genetics. She brought her expertise working within large systems to APA serving on the Implementation Work Group, with its goal of bringing organizational effectiveness to APA governance.