Victor J. Dzau, M.D., is President of the National Academy of Medicine (NAM), formerly the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and Vice-Chair of the National Research Council.
Dr. Dzau is the Chair of the NAM Action Collaborative on Clinician Well-Being and Resilience, of which ASHP is an original sponsor. ASHP also works with NAM as a formal sponsor of the NAM Action Collaborative on Countering the U.S. Opioid Epidemic and an invited participant in the NAM Medical Product Shortages during Disasters: Opportunities to Predict, Prevent, and Respond Workshop. At the National Academies, Dr. Dzau has led initiatives such as the Commission on a Global Health Risk Framework for the Future, the Human Genome Editing Initiative; and Vital Directions for Health and Health Care. The NAM Grand Challenge for Healthy Longevity, a worldwide movement to improve physical, mental, and social well-being for people as they age, represents his vision to inspire across disciplines and sectors to coalesce around a shared priority and audacious goal to advance health.
An internationally acclaimed scientist, Dr. Dzau maintains an active National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded research laboratory. His seminal work in cardiovascular medicine and genetics laid the foundation for the development of ACE inhibitors. He pioneered gene therapy for vascular disease and was the first to introduce DNA decoy molecules to block transcriptions in humans in vivo. His cardiac regeneration research led to the Paracrine Hypothesis of stem cell action and the strategy of direct cardiac reprogramming using microRNA.
Dr. Dzau is Chancellor Emeritus and James B. Duke Professor of Medicine at Duke University and past President and CEO of the Duke University Health System. He led innovative efforts to improve health, including the development of the Duke Global Health Institute, the Duke-National University of Singapore Graduate Medical School, and the Duke Institute for Health Innovation. He served as a member of the Advisory Committee to the Director of NIH, chaired the NIH Cardiovascular Disease Advisory Committee, and currently chairs the NIH Cardiovascular Stem Cell Biology and Translational Consortia.
Dr. Dzau is the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including the American Heart Association’s Distinguished Scientist Award, the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, and the Henry Freisen International Prize. He has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the European Academy of Sciences and Arts, and Academia Sinica and received 16 honorary doctorates.
