AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges) President and CEO David J. Skorton, MD, and Chief Public Policy Officer Karen Fisher, JD, issued the following statement regarding President Biden’s appointment of Ashish Jha, MD, MPH, to be the next White House COVID-19 response coordinator:
“The AAMC commends President Biden on his decision to appoint Ashish Jha, MD, MPH, as the new COVID-19 response coordinator for the White House. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Jha has served as a trusted voice in medicine and public health, providing effective public information related to pandemic preparedness and response.
As the dean of Brown University’s School of Public Health and through his experience in his previous role leading the Harvard Global Health Institute and as a professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Harvard Medical School, Dr. Jha’s extensive background in medicine, health policy research and practice, and public health make him uniquely qualified for this role overseeing the nation’s response to COVID-19 as the pandemic continues to evolve. This transition will require a strong collaboration between the public, private, and academic sectors.
Dr. Jha, who will take over for current COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients next month, serves on the external advisory committee of the AAMC Research and Action Institute, which advises the Institute on its research priorities.
The AAMC and the nation’s medical schools and teaching hospitals are proud to have worked with Dr. Jha on multiple projects over the years and have appreciated his guidance in tackling complex health policy issues and developing straightforward solutions to improve the health of our communities through the AAMC Research and Action Institute. We look forward to continued work together to ensure the safety, health, and wellbeing of people everywhere as we navigate these new challenges brought in through the next phase of the country’s response to COVID-19.”