David Stevenson, PhD, MS, professor of Health Policy, has been named chair of the Department of Health Policy at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, effective Oct. 1.
Stevenson began serving as interim chair in July, succeeding former chair Melinda Buntin, PhD. He has been a member of the Department of Health Policy since it was established in 2013. The department includes a multidisciplinary group of scholars who conduct research to inform improvements in health care delivery and population health.
A 14-member committee, led by Steven Webber, MBChB, MRCP, James C. Overall Professor and Chair of the Department of Pediatrics, conducted a national search to identify the department’s permanent leader.
“I want to thank Dr. Stevenson for his service as interim chair and welcome him as the newest member of our leadership team. I am confident that with his vision and leadership skills the department will continue to advance as a national leader, providing vital insights that will help shape the quality and delivery of health care,” said Jeff Balser, MD, PhD, President and CEO of VUMC and Dean of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.
“I also want to express my appreciation to Dr. Webber and the other members of the search committee for their important work on this search.”
In 2018, Stevenson was promoted to professor of Health Policy, and in 2019 he was honored with an inaugural Endowed Directorship in Health Policy Education. Before joining VUMC, he served on the faculty of the Department of Health Care Policy at Harvard Medical School.
Stevenson received a bachelor’s degree in religion from Oberlin College and a master’s degree in health policy and management from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He earned a doctorate in health policy from Harvard University. He has worked in various research and policy settings, including the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Urban Institute and Medstat.
Stevenson has served as vice chair for Education in the Department of Health Policy, as director of Health Policy Education and co-directs the Health Policy Track in the Master of Public Health Program at the School of Medicine. He also serves as faculty co-chair of the Medical School Committee for Admissions.
He is a national expert in long-term care and end-of-life care policy research and was a member of the consensus committee that produced the 2022 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine report on Nursing Home Quality. He now serves as committee co-chair of the Moving Forward Nursing Home Quality Coalition, a national initiative to realize the vision of this report.
“I’m honored to have the opportunity to serve as chair of the Department of Health Policy,” said Stevenson. “We have a great foundation to build on because of the amazing faculty and staff who work in the department. This foundation is further strengthened by the support we have from Dr. Balser, Dr. Pietenpol, and others across the Medical Center with whom I look forward to collaborating.
“I’m excited to support the department’s continued work in producing high quality, impactful research and training the next generation of health policy and public health scholars. Working together, I’m confident that we can identify new opportunities for excellence and expand our impact even further.”