Contact

Duke Health News

919-660-1306

DURHAM, N.C. – Victor J. Dzau, M.D., chancellor for health affairs at Duke University and president and chief executive officer for the Duke University Health System, has been named president of the Institute of Medicine (IOM). Dzau will be leaving Duke on June 30, 2014, and will succeed current IOM president Harvey V. Fineberg, M.D., Ph.D., effective July 1, 2014.

Dzau is recognized nationally and internationally for his visionary and transformational leadership across Duke Medicine’s renowned academic, research and clinical care enterprises. He is also an acclaimed voice in academic health systems, national health policy, health care innovation and global health. Dzau has served as an advisor to universities, corporations and foreign governments, and is a member of the Board of Health Governors and chair of the Global Agenda Council on Personalized and Precision Medicine for the World Economic Forum.

“I’m deeply honored to become the next president of the IOM and recognize the critically important role that the IOM will have in improving the health of the nation at a time of extraordinary evolution in biomedical research and health care delivery,” Dzau said. “The explosion of new data resources, novel technologies and breathtaking research advances make this the most promising time in history for driving innovations that will improve health care delivery, outcomes and quality.”

Under the congressional charter of the National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Medicine is recognized widely as a primary source for independent, scientifically informed analysis and recommendations on health issues. IOM provides advice to government policymakers, health professionals, and the public on issues such as health care delivery and quality, the obesity epidemic, vaccine safety, nutrition, cancer prevention and management, and military and veterans’ health.

In his nearly 10 years at Duke, Dzau has been the driving force behind the creation of the Duke–National University of Singapore Graduate Medical School, as well as the Duke Global Health Institute, Duke Institute for Health Innovation, Duke Cancer Institute and the Duke Translational Medicine Institute. Most recently, under his leadership, Duke University Health System has undergone a historic system-wide transformation of its clinical information systems to a single, state-of-the-art electronic health record. Dzau also led a transformation of the Duke Medicine campus that has added the new Duke Cancer Center facility, the Duke Medicine Pavilion, the Trent Semans Center for Health Education, a new Duke University School of Nursing facility, and a Duke Eye Center building that is under construction.

"Victor Dzau has been a visionary leader and, in collaboration with outstanding faculty and staff, has made Duke one of the country’s leading centers of biomedical research and patient care," said Duke University President Richard H. Brodhead. "He has guided Duke Medicine through a rapidly changing health care landscape with strength, imagination and unflagging energy. He has been an outstanding citizen of the university, the city, and the region, and a major voice for health care innovation globally through the World Economic Forum. We will miss him at Duke, but we appreciate the well-deserved honor of his new position at the Institute of Medicine, which will give a national scope for his leadership skills."

Dzau has also maintained an active research laboratory focused on the molecular and genetic mechanisms of cardiovascular disease and the development of new gene and stem cell-based therapies to regenerate and repair tissue damage from heart attack and heart disease. His research work has earned numerous awards and recognitions over the years, including the Henry G. Friesen International Prize in Health Research; the Gustav Nylin Medal from the Swedish Royal College of Medicine; the Polzer Prize from the European Academy of Sciences & Arts; the Ellis Island Medal of Honor; and the Distinguished Scientist Award of the American Heart Association. He has received six honorary degrees.

Dzau is a past chairman of the Association of Academic Health Centers (AAHC) and has published widely on the need to transform America’s academic medical and health centers. He has also served in leadership roles on numerous voluntary community and statewide boards in North Carolina, and will continue to reside in Durham and maintain an active role in the community.

“It has been a distinct honor to serve such an outstanding university and health system, and Duke will always have a very special place in my heart,” Dzau said. “I am proud of the achievements of the team at Duke – faculty, staff and management – over the past nearly 10 years and believe Duke is positioned for even greater successes in the future.”