Elias Zerhouni

Elias Zerhouni, M.D., is a Professor Emeritus in Radiology and Biomedical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Zerhouni was most recently the President, Global Research & Development, and a member of the Executive Committee for Sanofi from January 2011 to July 2018.

Dr. Zerhouni’s academic career was spent at the Johns Hopkins University and Hospital where he was professor of Radiology and Biomedical Engineering and senior adviser for Johns Hopkins Medicine. He served as Chair of the Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, Vice Dean for Research, and Executive Vice Dean of the School of Medicine from 1996 to 2002 before his appointment as Director of the National Institutes of Health from 2002 to 2008. In that position, he oversaw the NIH’s 27 Institutes and Centers with more than 18,000 employees and a budget of $29.5 billion (2008).

In November 2009, President Obama appointed Dr. Zerhouni as one of the first presidential U.S. science envoys. Dr. Zerhouni also served as a senior fellow to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation from 2009 to 2010 and senior advisor to the CEO of Sanofi.

Dr. Zerhouni has founded or co-founded five start-up companies, authored more than 200 publications, and holds several patents. He has assumed positions on several Boards, including most recently, the board of the Lasker Foundation, Research America, and the NIH Foundation. He is also a member of the U.S. National Academy of Medicine and the U.S. National Academy of Engineering. He received the prestigious Legion of Honor medal from the French National Order in 2008, and was elected in 2010 as a member of the French Academy of Medicine, and was appointed as Chair of Innovation at the College de France in 2011.