Victor J. Dzau, M.D., has been named to be the next president of the
Institute of Medicine, the National Academy of Sciences announced today.
Currently chancellor for health affairs at Duke University, president and CEO
for Duke University Health System, and James B. Duke Professor of Medicine,
Dzau will succeed Harvey V. Fineberg, who has served as IOM’s president for 12
years. Dzau's six-year term as president will begin July 1, 2014.
Dzau is highly regarded as a trailblazer in translational research, health
innovation, and global health care strategy and delivery. He was the guiding
force in establishing the Duke Translational Medicine Institute, Duke Global
Health Institute, Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore, and Duke Institute for
Health Innovation. Dzau’s own seminal research laid the foundation for the
development of angiotensin-converting-enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, which are used
globally for the treatment of high blood pressure and congestive heart failure.
He pioneered gene therapy for vascular disease, being the first to introduce
DNA decoy molecules to block transcriptions as gene therapy in humans.