March 11, 2021
Dear Trojan Community,
It’s my pleasure to announce the appointment of Dr. Steven Shapiro to the newly created position of Senior Vice President for Health Affairs, effective May 15. In this new role, he will directly oversee Keck Medicine of USC and Keck School of Medicine (KSOM) with oversight of associated biomedical research programs.
Dr. Shapiro is joining us from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), where he most recently served as Executive Vice President and Chief Medical and Scientific Officer, as well as President of UPMC’s Health Services Division. He will report to me and be part of my senior leadership team and will work closely with Provost Charles Zukoski, as well as serve as a key member of the USC Health System Board.
This is an exciting time for our health sciences enterprise, and we are delighted to welcome such a seasoned leader. By creating a new leadership structure for Keck Medicine and KSOM, coupled with our recently established Health System Board, we are poised to unlock our full potential. Dr. Shapiro has the right background and leadership experience to lead us into an era of greater collaboration, integration, and alignment across the university, increasing the positive impact we can have on our community and bolstering our growth.
In this critical time for health care, he will lead the development of strategic priorities for USC’s health and biomedical sciences programs and work with the leadership team to position us as a top player in the increasingly competitive Los Angeles health care market. His team will drive a research engine with considerable resources, take advantage of the great advances in science to provide improved clinical care, and lead the health sciences to educate the next generation of leaders shaping the future of health care.
Before joining USC, Dr. Shapiro spent 15 years at UPMC serving in a number of roles. Most recently, he led the health services division that encompasses 40 hospitals and over 7,000 employed and affiliated physicians, and he worked closely with the UPMC health plan providing value-based care for the $23 billion health care provider and insurer. In addition, he and the Dean of the medical school stressed important innovative research that enabled the school to become a top-six institution in research funding.
A physician-scientist who has remained active clinically and at the lab bench, he has focused his research on novel molecular pathways of inflammation, tissue destruction and host defense in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), infectious diseases, vascular disease, and lung cancer. His efforts have led to several new potential therapies that are in clinical trials.
Dr. Shapiro received his undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of Chicago. He then completed an internal medicine residency, chief residency, and fellowship in respiratory and critical care at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Prior to UPMC, he was the Parker B. Francis Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and the chief of the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
In addition to his institutional leadership, he knows how to build partnerships among people with disparate perspectives. We believe he will succeed in creating a meaningful sense of community and purpose for our entire medical enterprise.
Before closing, I would like to thank the members of our search committee comprised of leaders from Keck Medicine, KSOM, and the university, and chaired by Provost Charles Zukoski. Their diligence and leadership were critical to the success of this process. I would also like to thank Rod Hanners, Interim CEO of Keck Medicine, for his help and for the monumental efforts he and his team made over the past year to care for patients in our community. Search committee members include:
- Lourdes Baez-Conde, PhD – Professor of Preventive Medicine, Associate Dean for Community Initiatives, Associate Director for Community Outreach and Engagement
- Donna Elliott, MD – Vice Dean for Medical Education, Professor of Clinical Pediatric and Medical Education, Chair, Medical Education
- Sarah Gehlert, PhD – Dean, USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work
- Caryn Lerman, PhD – Director, USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, H. Leslie Hoffman and Elaine S. Hoffman Chair in Cancer Research, Associate Dean for Cancer Research
- Jay Lieberman, MD – Chair and Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, Chief of Orthopaedic Surgery Service
- Brandon McFarlin – Fourth Year Medical Biology PhD candidate
- Andy McMahon, PhD – W. M. Keck Provost and University Professor of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine and Biological Sciences, Chair of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Director of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research of USC
- David Peng, MD – President, USC Care Medical Group, Chair of Dermatology
- Narsing Rao, MD – Interim Dean, Keck School of Medicine of USC
- Marty Sargeant, Chief Operating Officer, USC Hospitals
- Bob Shaddy, MD – Chair and Professor of Pediatrics, Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles
- Jim Staten, Senior Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer, USC
- Felicia Washington, Senior Vice President, Human Resources, USC
Please join me in welcoming Dr. Shapiro, his wife, Nicole, and their three daughters to our Trojan Family.
Sincerely,
Carol L. Folt
President