Elizabeth G. Nabel, MD, president of Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, will speak at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine’s 154th commencement on Thursday, May 23 at 3:30 p.m. in the Grand Ballroom at Navy Pier.
Since arriving at BWH, Nabel launched a comprehensive strategic plan focused on healthcare reform. The proposal includes new care models, implementing new electronic health records, and developing new community partners.
“We are thrilled to have Dr. Nabel as the commencement speaker this year,” said Eric G. Neilson, MD, vice president for medical affairs and Lewis Landsberg dean. “Elizabeth is a distinguished clinician, innovative researcher, and extraordinary leader. Our students will benefit greatly from listening to her experiences and advice.”
As a physician-scientist, Nabel made significant contributions to the understanding of molecular genetics in cardiovascular diseases. Her work has clarified fundamental processes of cell division and growth of vascular smooth muscle cells in blood vessels. More recent studies have focused on a rare premature aging disorder, Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome. Nabel has characterized the cell defect that leads to premature heart attack and stroke in this disease.
Nabel attended Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City and completed her internal medicine and cardiovascular training at BWH. She has held faculty positions at the University of Michigan Medical School, where she directed the Division of Cardiology and the Cardiovascular Research Center. Before joining BWH in 2010, Nabel was director of the National Institutes of Health’s National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. A strong advocate for global health and research programs in non-communicable diseases, she co-founded the Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases.
She is a member of the American Academy of the Arts and Sciences, the Institute of Medicine, the Association of American Physicians, the America Society of Clinical Investigation, and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She is a partner in 17 patents and the author of more than 250 scientific publications.
