Donald Vereen began duties as ONDCP Deputy Director on June 1, 1998. Prior to that time, he served as Special Assistant to the Director for Medical Affairs at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).

During his tenure at NIH, Dr. Vereen worked on the development of new research strategies to address public health issues like violence, drug abuse, and addiction. From 1992-1994 while at the National Institute of Mental Health, he was charged with the development of community-based research projects on violence. Dr.Vereen carried this interest over to the National Institute on Drug Abuse where he worked on interdisciplinary research projects dealing with the causes and consequences of drug abuse. This work lead to the development of research partnerships within NIDA, NIH, and HHS as well as with other institutions, most notably the Departments of Justice and Education. In addition, he was appointed to represent NIH on the District of Columbia Task Force on Health Affairs and worked with the Mayor's Health Policy Council.

Dr. Vereen was born on Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi. After graduating from Harvard College in 1980 with an A.B. in biology, he attended Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston where he received his M.D. degree. He then completed an internship in internal medicine at Salem Hospital, followed by a residency in psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital where he was appointed Chief Resident. His post-graduate work included a Masters in Public Health (M.P.H.) at the Harvard School of Public Health, an associate fellowship in health services research at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and Hygiene, and a research fellowship in “Clinically Relevant Medical Anthropology” in the Department of Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School.