Debra Niehoff, PhD, is the Director of Research & Grants for AFTD, where she oversees AFTD’s research portfolio and coordinates networking, training, and mentorship opportunities to support the FTD research community. Dr. Niehoff holds a PhD from Johns Hopkins University and a background in behavioral neuroscience, particularly the neurochemical and neuroanatomical basis of fear, aggression, and violence. Prior to joining AFTD, she developed and served as the coordinator for one of the first two-year neuroscience programs in the U.S. She is the author of The Biology of Violence: How Understanding the Brain, Behavior, and Environment Can Break the Vicious Circle of Aggression and The Language of Life: How Cells Communicate in Health and Disease, serves on the editorial board for the journal Violence and Gender, and has conducted workshops on the neurobiology of violence for the FBI Critical Incident Response Group as well as law enforcement and educational professionals.