Dr. Henri Ford

October 24, 2023 – World-renowned pediatric surgeon, prolific physician-scientist, and dean and chief academic officer of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Henri R. Ford, M.D., M.H.A., was installed for a one-year term as the 104^th President of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) on October 22. Reflecting his commitment to building a diverse professional workforce that embraces the concept of inclusive excellence, Dr. Ford has chosen the theme, “Achieving Our Best Together,” to guide his time as president of the ACS.

“The past three decades have not only reinforced the concept that we achieve our best together but have also demonstrated convincingly and unequivocally that inclusive excellence is essential to accelerate progress and heal all patients with skill and trust,” Dr. Ford said. “It is our pledge to carry the mantle in the struggle for health equity and to never waver from our core values as surgeons. This is our duty, this is our purpose, this is our calling.”

In his presidential address to the ACS Clinical Congress 2023, one of the largest educational meetings of surgeons in the world, Dr. Ford asserted that a bold and courageous embrace of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives help surgeons fulfill their mission of ensuring better outcomes for all patients.

“I believe that we are stronger and more vibrant today because of our intentional efforts, but the quest for health equity is far from over,” he said. “We must commit to the relentless pursuit of inclusive excellence, to ensure better outcomes for all patients.”

Since joining the Miller School of Medicine in 2018, Dr. Ford has focused on developing the next generation of transformational leaders who will shape the future of medicine. Under Dr. Ford’s leadership, the Miller School has increased its research funding from the National Institutes of Health from $128 million in 2018 to more than $175 million in 2022. The Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research ranked the Miller School 38th in the nation and No. 1 in Florida for these federal research grants. In addition, US News & World Report cites the Miller School as one of the most diverse in the nation. 

Background and career highlights

Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Dr. Ford moved with his family to Brooklyn, New York, when he was 13 years old. He excelled in high school and received a full scholarship to Princeton University, where his interest in medicine burgeoned. He graduated cum laude from Princeton in 1980 with a bachelor of arts degree in public and international affairs, then earned his medical degree from Harvard Medical School. Dr. Ford completed his surgical internship and residency at New York/Presbyterian-Weill Cornell Medical College and — inspired to pursue a career in academic surgery — he also completed a research fellowship in immunology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and a clinical fellowship in pediatric surgery at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.

Dr. Ford is an internationally recognized authority on necrotizing enterocolitis, a lethal disease that causes inflammation of intestinal tissue in premature infants. He is the author of more than 300 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, invited articles, abstracts and presentations. He has a strong reputation for mentoring physicians and physician-scientists, and he regularly returns to Haiti to teach, lead operating teams, and assist in developing surgical systems. In 2015, he performed the first successful separation of conjoined twins in Haiti alongside surgeons he helped train.

Honors and awards

In 2022, Dr. Ford was elected to the prestigious National Academy of Medicine — an honor that reflects his remarkable professional achievements and commitment to service in health and medicine. In addition, Dr. Ford chairs the Council of Deans of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), leading 157 medical school deans in North America.

His other notable positions include serving on the Board of Trustees of Princeton University and the Board of Directors of the AAMC. In addition, he is past president of the Society of Black Academic Surgeons, and the first Black president of the Surgical Infection Society, the American Pediatric Surgical Association, and the Association for Academic Surgery, which established the “Henri Ford Junior Faculty Research Award” in his honor.