Institute of Medicine names next president

An expert in hypertension, congestive heart failure and gene therapy for vascular disease has been named the next president of the Institute of Medicine (IOM).

Victor J. Dzau, MD, currently is chancellor for health affairs at Duke University, president and CEO of Duke University Health System, and the James B. Duke Professor of Medicine. He will succeed Harvey V. Fineberg, MD, PhD, who has served as the IOM's president for 12 years. Dzau's six-year term as president will begin July 1.

The National Academy of Sciences established the IOM in 1970. It provides advice to government policymakers, health professionals, and the public on issues such as healthcare delivery and quality, the obesity epidemic, vaccine safety, nutrition, cancer prevention and management, and military and veterans' health. Dzau was elected to the IOM in 1998 and has served on several of its leadership committees.

Before joining Duke, Dzau was the Hersey Professor of the Theory and Practice of Physic (Medicine) at Harvard Medical School, chairman of the Department of Medicine and director of research at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Arthur Bloomfield Professor and chairman of the Department of Medicine at Stanford University. He has received numerous awards and recognitions, including the Max Delbruck Medal from Humboldt University, Charite, and Max Planck Institute; 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, among many others. Dzau received his undergraduate and medical degrees from McGill University.

Read the announcement from the Institute of Medicine.