The Art of Listening Award honors a caring, receptive health professional in the lives of individuals and families living with genetic conditions.

Steve Groft is the Director of the Office of Rare Diseases (ORD) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). His major focus is on stimulating research with rare diseases and developing information about rare diseases and conditions. To help identify research opportunities and establish research priorities, the Office has co-sponsored over 845 rare diseases-related scientific conferences with the NIH Research Institutes and Centers. Current activities include developing genetic tests for rare diseases, creating an inventory of bio-specimen repositories for research purposes, developing an educational module on rare diseases for school children, establishing a public information center on genetic and rare diseases, and providing a special-emphasis clinic with senior clinical staff for patients with undiagnosed diseases at NIH’s Clinical Research Center Hospital.

Steve received a BS in Pharmacy in 1968 and a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Duquesne in 1979.