Mark Roltsch, Ph.D. received his undergraduate degree from Virginia Military Institute in civil
engineering. He worked in the field of construction management for several years responsible for
building many of the roads and bridges around Northern Virginia and Washington, DC. He had a
change in career direction and spent the next five years as a professional ski and snowboard
instructor in Steamboat, CO in the winters. In the summers he was a partner in a small
construction company in Nantucket, MA. All good things have to come to an end and he went
back to school. He received his MS in kinesiology from James Madison University and his PhD
from the University of Maryland in exercise physiology. He spent 2 years at the Howard
University Cancer Center as a post-doc investigating the physiological and biochemical
mechanism by which regular physical activity interventions lead to reducing the risk of cancer.
After finishing his post-doc he accepted a position for a NASA contractor as a Peer Review
Administrator in charge of all NASA grant reviews related to humans in space. Most of the
science was addressing bone and muscle loss as well as other physiological changes that stem
from being in space for extended periods of time. An opportunity became available for Mark at
the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and in July 2005 he joined the Office of
Scientific Review at NHLBI as a Scientific Review Officer. Over the course of several years he
rose to the position of Deputy Chief of the Clinical Trials and Training Branch in the Office of
Scientific Review (OSR). His responsibilities included organizing and managing the
comprehensive scientific and technical merit review of grant applications pertaining to diseases
of the heart, blood vessels, lung, and blood. He led and organized over 80 peer review study
sections mostly related to training awards. In 2010 Mark moved from the OSR to the Division of
Cardiovascular Sciences as a Program Director in the Office of Research Training and Career
Development. He was responsible for promoting opportunities for investigators, early in their
research careers to perform basic, preclinical or clinical cardiovascular research. He also
managed and supported the NHLBI training and career development programs in cardiovascular
research that are offered to individuals at all educational levels from high school students to
academic faculty, including programs for individuals from diverse populations. When he left
NHLBI his portfolio consisted of 283 training and research grants that he oversaw. One lasting
legacy that he is very proud of was working with his colleagues to form the NIH Special Interest
Group on Exercise Research. This NIH special interest group is open to anyone who would like
to join who has an interest in exercise. The mission of the group is to promote exercise and
physical activity research to prevent and treat diseases. On August 1, 2012 Mark was excited to
join St Mary’s University as the Executive Director of the Office of Academic Research and
Sponsored Projects and as faculty member in the Department of Exercise and Sport Science. His
research interests are in preventing and reducing diseases by increasing the level of physical
activity levels of children and adults. He is a member of the American College of Sports
Medicine (ACSM) and will be the chair for developing the ACSM 2013 Graduate Career Day at
the national conference in May 2013. He’s also member of the Professional Ski Instructors of
American but life doesn’t allow him to ski 100 days a year anymore. He is still an avid
snowboarder and outdoorsmen, enjoying hiking, mountain biking, swimming and doing
activities with his children. He was inducted into the Virginia Military Sports Hall of Fame for
spring board diving in 2000. He now has settled into San Antonio with his wife, Orapin, who he
met in Thailand when lecturing, and 3 children, Chanon 14, Jazmin 6, and Lily 4.