NIAAA/NIH Staff
Pamela Wernett, Ph.D., P.M.P.
Editor in Chief and Contracting Officer’s Representative
Pamela joined ARCR in 2018 as an Associate Editor and advanced to Editor in Chief for the journal in 2021. She has managed the journal contract with IQ Solutions as the Contracting Officer’s Representative since 2020. Pamela also serves as a Senior Health Science Policy Analyst within NIAAA’s Science Policy Branch, Office of Science Policy and Communications, a position she has held since 2018. In this role, she supports various mission-critical efforts for NIAAA.
Prior to joining ARCR and NIAAA, Pamela was a Health Science Policy Analyst in the NIH Office of the Director, Office of Science Policy, specializing in clinical research and bioethics policy development and program management. She was also a Health Program Specialist at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, where she supported several neurodegeneration portfolios. Pamela has been with NIH since 2012.
Pamela received her Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA. She is also a certified Project Management Professional through the Project Management Institute.
Laura C. Manella, Ph.D.
Associate Editor
Laura joined ARCR in 2023 as an Associate Editor. She also serves as a Health Science Policy Analyst within NIAAA’s Science Policy Branch, Office of Science Policy and Communications. In this role, Laura supports science policy and communications activities at NIAAA, including strategic planning, congressional reporting, press relations, science writing, and social media management and analytics.
Laura received a Ph.D. from Cornell University in neurobiology, and then completed a postdoctoral teaching fellowship at Cornell. She entered the NIH workforce in 2017 as an American Association for the Advancement of Sciences Science Policy Fellow at the National Institute on Deafness and Communication Disorders before joining NIAAA.
Devin Plote, Ph.D.
Associate Editor
Devin joined ARCR in 2023 as an Associate Editor. She also serves as a Health Science Policy Analyst in NIAAA’s Science Policy Branch, Office of Science Policy and Communications. In this role, Devin is the lead on legislative and congressional activities, and supports other policy and critical activities for NIAAA.
Prior to joining ARCR and NIAAA, Devin was a policy analyst at America’s Health Insurance Plans, working on legislative and regulatory health care policy and advocacy. She also served as a subject matter expert on issues related to women’s and maternal health, aging, prevention, and population health. Devin was a University of Texas Graduate Archer Fellow, where she interned with the National Association of City and County Health Officials. She also has experience working in the pharmaceutical industry at Immunomedics, Inc., in New Jersey.
Devin received her Ph.D. in cancer biology, with a focus in cancer immunotherapy, from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Contract Staff (IQ Solutions, Inc.)
Michael D. Sova
Managing Editor
Michael joined ARCR as Associate Managing Editor in September 2022 and became the Managing Editor in August 2024. He brings more than 12 years of experience in the medical publishing industry. Previously, he worked as a Developmental Editor for Springer Nature, managing a wide variety of clinical medicine publications while building strong relationships with the publisher's growing list of clients.
Michael has a B.A. in English from Kean University, Union, NJ.
Justin Peeples
Associate Managing Editor
Justin joined ARCR as Associate Managing Editor in October 2024, bringing with him more than 10 years of experience in medical publishing. He previously worked as a Production Editor for Wolters Kluwer Health, overseeing a broad portfolio of journals, and coordinating work between authors, editors, medical societies, and publishers.
Justin has a B.A. in English from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), Baltimore, MD.
Susanne Hiller-Sturmhoefel, Ph.D.
Senior Science Editor (consultant)
Susanne has supported the journal for more than 20 years, first in its prior iteration Alcohol Research & Health and now in its current form as ARCR. Throughout her tenure, she has authored 35 articles and several Alcohol Alert newsletters for the journal.
Susanne brings more than 25 years of experience as a science writer and editor, as well as in collaborating with researchers to promote published research articles. She also served as a Senior Science Editor and writer for NIDA Notes, a National Institute on Drug Abuse publication describing leading research advances in the field of substance use disorder.
Susanne has a Ph.D. in molecular biology from the University of Heidelberg, Germany. She has authored numerous articles in various peer-reviewed scientific journals.
Riggin Waugh, M.F.A.
Lead Copy Editor
Riggin joined ARCR as lead copy editor in 2020. She has 40 years of experience providing writing and editorial support to numerous NIH institutes and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services agencies.
In addition to a graduate-level certificate in publication management from George Washington University, Riggin has an M.F.A. in creative writing from American University, Washington, DC.
Supporting Staff
Rinal Patel, M.P.H.
Project Manager
IQ Solutions, Inc.
Deepa Chhatwal, M.S., P.M.P.
Corporate Monitor
IQ Solutions, Inc.
Martín Castillo
Graphic Designer/Production Specialist
IQ Solutions, Inc.