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Dr. Henri Ford Named President-Elect of the American College of Surgeons

Pediatric surgeon and Miller School of Medicine dean will bring knowledge, experience, and empathy to leading surgical organization.

Henri R. Ford, M.D., M.H.A.
Henri R. Ford, M.D., M.H.A.

Henri R. Ford, M.D., M.H.A., dean and chief academic officer of the Miller School, has been named the 2022-2023 president-elect of the American College of Surgeons (ACS). As president-elect, Dean Ford will advance the organization’s mission of improving care of surgical patients and upholding the highest ethical standards of practice. Following a year-long term as president-elect, Dean Ford will be installed as the ACS president in October 2023.

“This is a tremendous privilege,” said Dean Ford. “It has been extremely meaningful to be part of the ACS, an organization with a rich history of inspiring quality and guiding generations of surgeons. I am honored to step into this role and continue our essential work.”

This month, he was also inducted into the ACS’s Academy of Master Surgeon Educators for consistently demonstrating the highest level of leadership and excellence in surgical education.

Most recently, Dean Ford has been accepted into the National Academy of Medicine (NAM), one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine that recognizes individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievements and commitment to service.

“Henri continues to be an exemplary leader, surgeon, and mentor in his field,” said UM President Julio Frenk. “The fact that he is so highly recognized and awarded by his peers is evidence of his impact in academic medicine. The University of Miami Miller School is richer for having him as its leader.”

Longtime Leader

Dean Ford has long been an international leader in pediatric and adolescent surgery. He has conducted groundbreaking research on a variety of medical issues, including necrotizing enterocolitis, a deadly gastrointestinal condition that affects premature infants. He has received numerous grants to support his work from the National Institutes of Health, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and others, and has published more than 300 research papers.

During his accomplished career, Dean Ford has consistently focused on addressing health care inequality. Born in Haiti, Dean Ford moved to the U.S. with his family as a teenager. In 2010, he traveled back to his home country on an emergency mission to care for survivors following a devastating earthquake. In 2015, he performed the first successful conjoined twins’ separation in Haiti. He regularly returns to teach and lead surgical teams and provide crucial medical assistance.

Dean Ford has long been a fellow in ACS and a member of the organization’s board of regents. He is also a fellow in the Royal College of Surgeons, the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma, and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

‘Devotion to Excellence’

Dean Ford earned his bachelor’s degree in public and international affairs from Princeton University, received his M.D. from Harvard Medical School, and was trained in general surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City. He completed pediatric surgical training at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.

He has received countless honors, including the Gold Humanism in Medicine Award from the Association of American Medical Colleges. He is past president of the Society of Black Academic Surgeons, the Association for Academic Surgery, the Surgical Infections Society, and the American Pediatric Surgical Association. Earlier this year, he added chair of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Council of Deans to his many accolades.

“Dean Ford is highly esteemed both in our UM community and around the world,” said Jeffrey Duerk, University of Miami executive vice president for academic affairs, provost, and chief academic officer. “This honor reflects his incredible devotion to excellence in surgery, equity, and the highest standards of quality care. He has brought these same leadership attributes to our Miller School of Medicine. We are fortunate to have him guiding our medical school.”


Tags: Academy of Master Surgeon Educators, American College of Surgeons, Dean Henri Ford, Miller School of Medicine, National Academy of Medicine, President Julio Frenk, Provost Jeffrey Duerk