Dzau To Leave Duke Medicine for U.S. Institute of Medicine

A statement from Duke University Medicine News dated Feb. 19, 2014

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.

Victor Dzau. Image courtesy Duke Medicine

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.