Women’s History Month
Leading Women in Healthcare
Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, M.D., Ph.D., M.A.S.
Chair and Vice-Chair, U.S. Preventive Services Task Force
2014-2017
Dr. Bibbins-Domingo is Professor and Chair of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, and the Lee Goldman, MD Endowed Chair and Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. She is the inaugural Vice Dean for Population Health and Health Equity in the UCSF School of Medicine. In addition, Dr. Bibbins-Domingo cofounded the UCSF Center for Vulnerable Populations at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital that focuses on actionable research to increase health equity and reduce health disparities in at-risk communities. She is also one of the Principal Investigators for the UCSF Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute and leads the newly launched UCSF COVID Community Public Health Initiative.
Helen Burstin, M.D., M.P.H., FACP
Former Director of the AHRQ Center for Primary Care, Prevention, and Clinical Partnerships
During her tenure with AHRQ, Dr. Burstin oversaw the development of an extensive research portfolio at the intersection of health information technology and quality of care. She also supported the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and research on primary care and prevention, as well as the development of the first National Healthcare Disparities Report. Dr. Burstin is widely recognized for her work in patient-reported outcomes, risk adjustment, disparities, and patient safety. She is now the Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of the Council of Medical Specialty Societies which represents 45 specialty societies with collective membership of almost 800,000 U.S. physicians.
Carolyn Clancy, M.D.
AHRQ Director
2003-2013
From leading AHRQ to her current role at the Department of Veterans Affairs, Dr. Clancy has had a broad influence on the Nation’s healthcare system. Under Dr. Clancy’s leadership as AHRQ Director from 2003 to 2013, AHRQ grew both its mission and budget, to include funding and activity in the areas of quality improvement and patient safety, prevention and chronic care, and healthcare value. She also supported expansion in the area of health information technology through AHRQ’s Health IT Initiative, which has been focused on improving healthcare decision making, supporting patient-centered care, and improving the quality and safety of medication management. Dr. Clancy holds an academic appointment at George Washington University School of Medicine and serves as a Senior Associate Editor for Health Services Research. In 2019, Dr. Clancy was honored by the Society for Women’s Health Research with the Health Public Service Visionary Award. Dr. Clancy’s compassionate approach to the mission of AHRQ still lives strong at AHRQ today.
Lisa Cooper, M.D., M.P.H.
Former AHRQ Grantee and Mentor to AHRQ Grantees
Dr. Cooper is a general internist, social epidemiologist, and health services researcher. She was one of the first scientists to document disparities in the quality of relationships between physicians and patients from socially at-risk groups. She has also led several clinical trials, funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, AHRQ, and the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, testing innovative interventions targeting physicians’ communication skills, patients’ self-management skills, and healthcare organizations’ ability to address patients’ needs. She has also been a devoted mentor to more than 60 individuals seeking careers in medicine, nursing, and public health. Dr. Cooper is the author of over 180 publications and has been the principal investigator of more than 15 Federal and private foundation grants.
Risa Lavizzo-Mourrey, M.D., M.B.A.
Deputy Administrator, Agency for Health Care Research and Policy (precursor to AHRQ)
Dr. Lavizzo-Mourey is the president emerita and former chief executive officer of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), a position she held for nearly 15 years. In January 2018, she was named the RWJF Penn Integrates Knowledge Professor of Population Health and Health Equity at the University of Pennsylvania, with appointments in the Perelman School of Medicine, the School of Nursing, and the Wharton School. A specialist in geriatrics, Dr. Lavizzo-Mourey came to RWJF from the University of Pennsylvania, where she served as the Sylvan Eisman Professor of Medicine and Health Care Systems. She also directed the University of Pennsylvania’s Institute on Aging and was chief of geriatric medicine. Dr. Lavizzo-Mourey worked as Deputy Administrator for the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research under President George H.W. Bush’s administration and continued to direct policy for the subsequent administration, serving as Quality of Care Chair for President Bill Clinton’s panels on healthcare.
Beth McGlynn, Ph.D.
Chair, AHRQ National Advisory Council
2015-2017
Dr. McGlynn serves as Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine’s Interim Senior Associate Dean for Research and Scholarships and as a professor. A member of the National Academy of Medicine, Dr. McGlynn is an internationally known expert on methods for evaluating the appropriateness and quality of healthcare delivery. She has conducted research on the quality and appropriateness of care delivered in the United States and in other countries. Dr. McGlynn has also led major initiatives to evaluate health reform options under consideration at the Federal and State levels.
Lisa Simpson, M.B., B.Ch., M.P.H., FAAP
AHRQ Deputy Director
1996-2002
Dr. Simpson has been the President and Chief Executive Officer of AcademyHealth since 2011. A nationally recognized health policy researcher and pediatrician, she is a passionate advocate for the translation of research into policy and practice. Her research, including over 90 articles and commentaries in peer-reviewed journals, focuses on the role of evidence and data to improve health and healthcare, particularly for children and vulnerable populations. Dr. Simpson serves on the Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Scholars Program National Advisory Council, the Board of Directors of the Institute for Accountable Care, the National Health Council, and the editorial boards for the Journal of Comparative Effectiveness Research and Healthcare: The Journal of Delivery Science and Innovation. In October 2013, Dr. Simpson was elected to the National Academy of Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine).
