Julia strengthens the ability of JPEO to identify and bring forward the best technology available into fieldable capabilities that protect and unburden military personnel and their missions and enable realization of national security objectives. This includes developing ways to action JPEO leadership, Chemical and Biological Defense Program (CBDP) and DOD initiatives and strategies. Julia partners closely with JPEO technical and programmatic staff on their efforts and challenges, and she is enthusiastic about leading positive teaming with staff and leadership of other organizations.

From 2022 to present Julia has led JPEO’s efforts towards CBDP Medical Enterprise Architecture development and implementation, and evaluating, optimizing, and codifying technology transition processes that span the entire CBDP portfolio – two transformation efforts that involve enhancing teaming between JPEO and its major S&T partner, promoting deliberate planning and assessment activities, informing portfolio-based decision making, and streamlining execution. Additional areas of her focus have included Defense Health Agency-JPEO COVID-19 response efforts, and the progression of JPEO’s enabling medical programs. Julia also launched and ran JPEO’s SPARK innovation initiative, which will be entering its 8th year as a platform to try out exploratory technical- and process-based means to accelerate development of CBRN countermeasures.
Julia is currently serving as an IPA from Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab (JHU APL). Prior to that, she directly supported JPEO-CBRND since 2015. From 2012-2014 she served as an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science and Technology Policy Fellow in support of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Defense Programs (ASD(NCB)) and the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Chemical and Biological Defense (DASD(CBD)). During her AAAS Fellowship, Julia provided scientific advising and coordination for biological defense, military health, and global health security, particularly in biosurveillance and biopreparedness, including active cross-NCB, cross-DOD, interagency and international collaboration.

Julia is a laboratory-trained scientist who received her MS and PhD in Pathobiology at the University of Washington School of Public Health where she researched the cell biology and biochemistry of virus assembly in 2002 and 2006. Afterwards she conducted a post doc on molecular mechanisms of cancer at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. In 2011 she completed a Christine Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy Fellowship at the National Academies and Institute of Medicine, assisting with studies on omics-based research challenges. Julia graduated magna cum laude from Tufts University with her BS in Biology and minor in English.

Her husband is a 22-year veteran of the US Navy, as an aviator, test director, and R&D lead. Julia is a mom of two lively elementary school boys. Her passion is also helping teenagers and young adults in Baltimore City who face significant challenges and low resources to find paths out of poverty, away from situations of violence, and into healthy and sustainable job paths and independence.
Julia Dooher, PhD Chief Scientist, Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Defense
Julia strengthens the ability of JPEO to identify and bring forward the best technology available into fieldable capabilities that protect and unburden military personnel and their missions and enable realization of national security objectives. This includes developing ways to action JPEO leadership, Chemical and Biological Defense Program (CBDP) and DOD initiatives and strategies. Julia partners closely with JPEO technical and programmatic staff on their efforts and challenges, and she is enthusiastic about leading positive teaming with staff and leadership of other organizations.