Karen DeSalvo, M.D., MPH

Karen DeSalvo is professor of medicine and population health at Dell Medical School. DeSalvo served as acting assistant secretary for health at the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in the Obama administration. Under her leadership, HHS set and met historic goals in payment reform, supported transformed models of care delivery, including in primary care, and changed the approach to information distribution in the health system.

She also served as the national coordinator for Health Information Technology, where she set national strategy and policy on health IT and championed interoperability in health settings. Prior to joining HHS, DeSalvo served as New Orleans Health Commissioner where she led a transformational effort to address health challenges, including violence, nutritional and physical fitness and mental health, and led the re-establishment of a community public hospital.

DeSalvo was previously professor of medicine and vice dean for community affairs and health policy at the Tulane School of Medicine. She is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission and serves on the board of directors for Humana. She was inducted as a master of the American College of Physicians in 2019 and was awarded the Joseph F. Boyle Award for Distinguished Public Service in 2017. She earned her medical degree and Master of Public Health from Tulane University, and master’s degree in clinical epidemiology from Harvard School of Public Health.