Henri R Ford

Henri R. Ford, M.D., M.H.A., is the Dean and Chief Academic Officer of the University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine. He holds academic appointments in the DeWitt Daughtry Family Department of Surgery and previously served as Chair of Surgery at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. His leadership roles include past presidency of the American College of Surgeons (ACS), Society of Black Academic Surgeons, and Association for Academic Surgery. He is a Fellow of multiple surgical colleges and a member of the National Academy of Medicine.

Education: B.A. from Princeton University (1980), M.D. from Harvard Medical School (1984), Master of Health Administration (M.H.A.) from USC (2009). Postgraduate training includes residencies at Weill Cornell Medical College and fellowships at the University of Pittsburgh and Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.

Research: For three decades, Dr. Ford focused on necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) pathogenesis, particularly molecular mechanisms of gut barrier failure. Though he closed his lab to focus on leadership, his work established foundational knowledge in pediatric critical care. He is now dedicated to mentoring underrepresented minorities in academic surgery, with over 300 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters.

Awards: Recipient of the Gold Humanism in Medicine Award (AAMC), Owen Wangensteen Scientific Forum Award (ACS), and the Arnold Salzberg Mentorship Award (AAP). The Henri Ford Junior Faculty Research Award was created in his honor to support minority researchers.

Leadership Contributions: Increased NIH funding at the Miller School from $128M (2018) to $175M (2024). Chaired the AAMC Council of Deans and serves on Princeton University’s Board of Trustees. Advocates for value-based healthcare systems and global surgical equity, including pioneering twin separation surgeries in Haiti.