Dr. Nancy J. Brown, the Jean and David W. Wallace Dean of Medicine and C.N.H. Long Professor of Internal Medicine at Yale, has been reappointed for a second term as dean of the Yale School of Medicine (YSM), President Maurie McInnis and Provost Scott Strobel announced on Monday. Her second five-year term begins July 1.
The reappointment recognizes Brown’s success over the past five years in leading the advancement of the school’s mission and in elevating its reputation nationally and globally, McInnis and Strobel wrote in a message to the Yale community.
“Yale is fortunate to have brought on such a distinguished leader, scientist, and clinician in March 2020 — just moments before the start of a global health crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic,” they wrote. “We are thankful for Nancy’s leadership and guidance in helping the school, university, and medical community navigate this complex time. We are also grateful to the YSM community for its expertise, hard work, and contributions in making the past five years a time of progress and transformation.”
Since 2020, YSM has made advances critical to building a vibrant community of future leaders in medicine and science, McInnis and Strobel said. Under Brown’s leadership, the school has reached important milestones toward its goal of providing a debt-free medical education for all individuals with demonstrated financial need. In 2023, the school announced a pledged gift of $25 million from the Starr Foundation. This funding, together with the development of innovative alumni outreach initiatives, has enhanced the school’s ability to recruit extraordinary students from across the country and world.
Yale is fortunate to have brought on such a distinguished leader, scientist, and clinician in March 2020 — just moments before the start of a global health crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic.
Recently, YSM also has expanded resources to support faculty in balancing their teaching responsibilities, enhanced institutional funding for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, and revamped the Master of Health Sciences program.
“To nurture creativity and dialogue, the school has renovated space for students to study and connect with their classmates, residents, fellows, faculty, and alumni,” McInnis and Strobel noted in the message. “Further fostering an inclusive learning community, the school launched six student advisory houses to provide academic and career advising and to facilitate mentorship, research opportunities, and career exploration for students.”
The Liaison Committee on Medical Education, an accrediting body for medical education programs leading to the M.D. degree, in 2023 reaccredited YSM’s educational program for another eight years, recognizing its high quality and integrity.
Brown has also led important advancements in YSM’s clinical mission, the president and provost wrote.
Over the last five years, YSM has collaborated with Yale New Haven Health System (YNHHS) to create their first joint strategic plan, outlining the alignment of their operations, care delivery, and initiatives. A key milestone in this work was the creation of a new Aligned Clinician Enterprise that partners YSM and YNHHS clinicians in delivering care that meets the highest standards of quality, safety, and efficiency.
In addition, YSM and YNHHS enacted a new “funds flow model” that increases reinvestment in research and clinical care. YSM’s clinical chairs, now established as physicians-in-chiefs across the health system, are joining with other leaders in the system to optimize care in their respective specialties.
Meanwhile, YSM has also expanded its research capacity and impact. During Brown’s first term as dean, McInnis and Strobel wrote, she has led the school to secure increased research funding and recruit world-renowned scientists, clinicians, and leaders.
As part of an overarching space plan, YSM developed research space at 100 College Street, 300 George Street, and 101 College Street, while continuing to build core technologies, clinical research infrastructure, and tools for emerging areas such as artificial intelligence. YSM also has diversified ways to support faculty research — such as by joining Chan Zuckerberg Biohub New York, a biomedical research hub that aims to bioengineer immune cells to detect the earliest stages of diseases — and has established numerous programs and centers to advance the school’s mission and realize the broader university science strategy.
“It is an honor to be part of the extraordinary institution and community that is Yale School of Medicine,” Brown said. “Our faculty, students, trainees, and staff are advancing knowledge and improving health at a remarkable pace, even as we nurture future leaders in science and medicine.”
In their message, McInnis and Strobel thanked members of the YSM community who participated in the reappointment review process, noting that a wide range of comments and ideas were submitted during the process.
“Many expressed appreciation for Nancy’s highly principled leadership style and commitment to YSM’s mission,” they wrote. “Members of the YSM community were particularly pleased with the school’s progress in increasing support for medical education, transforming clinical operations, and promoting innovative and collaborative research.
“Nancy has told us that the heart of YSM’s mission is its community,” they added. “In her second term, she will redouble her commitment to listen to the YSM community to foster an environment that values, respects, and leverages everyone’s strengths. We are confident that Nancy’s continued leadership will steer YSM through both challenge and celebration, advancing your work to improve the health of all people.”
