Dr. Shereef Elnahal
President, Oregon Health & Science University
Dr. Shereef Elnahal commenced his tenure as OHSU’s sixth president on Aug. 11, 2025. He is a leader and expert in health care delivery in large, integrated health systems, with a career focused on serving vulnerable communities.
Prior to OHSU, he was appointed by President Joseph R. Biden to serve as Under Secretary for Health at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and confirmed by the United States Senate on July 21, 2022, with a bipartisan vote. In this role, he led the largest integrated health system in the nation alongside a team of nearly 400,000 professionals, delivering world-class care to 9 million enrolled veterans.
Prior to his role at VA, Dr. Elnahal served as President and Chief Executive Officer of University Hospital in Newark, New Jersey. University Hospital is a Level I trauma center, the principal academic medical center for Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, and New Jersey’s only public hospital. Dr. Elnahal led University Hospital through the COVID-19 public health emergency, and the hospital served as a model for urban and regional response efforts.
Prior to his time at University Hospital, Elnahal served as New Jersey’s 21st Health Commissioner, appointed to the state Cabinet post by Gov. Phil Murphy and confirmed unanimously by the New Jersey Senate. As Health Commissioner, he was responsible for running the state’s four psychiatric hospitals, and made strides in improving quality, patient safety and outcomes for New Jersey’s most vulnerable patients requiring mental health inpatient hospitalization. He also expanded the New Jersey Health Information Network, worked to improve infant and maternal health outcomes, and made strides in curbing the opioid epidemic.
Dr. Elnahal received his M.D. from Harvard Medical School and his M.B.A. with Distinction from Harvard Business School. He was also appointed by President Barack Obama to the 2015-16 class of White House Fellows. His perspective on the American health care system's COVID-19 response, including on matters of health equity, has been featured on national media outlets including CNN, MSNBC, The New York Times and Fox Business Network.
