Former Biden administration official Shereef Elnahal is under consideration to become the next president of Oregon Health & Science University, after the other finalist dropped out Wednesday.
Elnahal served until January as Under Secretary for Health at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs after being appointed in 2022. Before that, he'd served as New Jersey's commissioner of health and as head of University Hospital in Newark.
In a virtual address hosted by OHSU Thursday morning, Elnahal said he knows the institution faces serious challenges, but said “these challenges aren’t insurmountable.”
Cuts to federally funded research loom over OHSU. Elnahal said his first order of business, if selected as president, would be “working tirelessly to prevent the worst in Washington through my relationships in Congress and other academic medical institutions nationally.” But he said it’s likely that federal funding cuts will occur, and he would work with OHSU’s research restructuring group “to manage what comes next and mitigate the risks.”
He emphasized that scientific research is a core mission and key differentiator for OHSU, and his goal as leader would be “preserving that mission.”
In the Thursday morning town hall, Elnahal spoke about the importance of inclusiveness and the need to “accelerate” innovation. And he told listeners his appointment to lead OHSU “would be the professional honor of my life.” His job, he said “would primarily be to make you successful.”
OHSU has been seeking a permanent president since the abrupt resignation last fall of Danny Jacobs, who stepped down amid litigation and criticism. The OHSU board was poised to replace him with Dr. Nate Selden, OHSU School of Medicine Dean, but Gov. Tina Kotek stepped in and urged the board to engage in a national search.
Elnahal paid tribute to Selden Thursday, citing his “incredible academic leadership.”
Elnahal’s introduction to stakeholders Thursday is the latest development during a tumultuous period at OHSU. Last month, in the face of financial losses and threats to its grant funding, OHSU abandoned its controversial effort to absorb the Portland-based Legacy Health system. Also last fall, star medical researcher Brian Druker resigned from OHSU, saying the institution had “forgotten its mission.”
Steve Stadum, a former OHSU executive, returned to the institution as interim president in November. He oversaw the national search for a permanent president.
Elnahal served two stints at the VA, most recently as under secretary, but from 2016 to 2018, as assistant deputy under secretary for health for quality, safety and value, and from 2015-16 as a White House fellow at the VA. In those capacities, Elnahal helped oversee operations at the VA’s 170 medical centers, including the one adjacent to OHSU on Marquam Hill in Portland. OHSU and the VA are partners in clinical work and research, such as in efforts to combat malaria.
