David Lakey

David Lakey, MD, is Associate Vice Chancellor for Population Health and Chief Medical Officer for The University of Texas System. He is also Senior Vice President for Population Health, Isadore Roosth Distinguished Professor, and Dean of the School of Community Health and Health Professions with UT Health Northeast. He serves on a federal public health advisory committee for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Defense Health Board. Dr. Lakey served as Commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services from January 2007 to February 2015. As Commissioner, Dr. Lakey led one of the state’s largest agencies with a staff of 12,000 and an annual budget of $3.3 billion and oversaw programs such as disease prevention and disaster preparedness, family and community health services, environmental and consumer safety, regulatory programs and mental health and substance abuse prevention and treatment programs. During his tenure as Commissioner, Dr. Lakey served as president of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) in 2011‐2012, and received several national awards including the AMCHP President’s Award, the March of Dimes President’s Public Health Leadership Award, and the Arthur T. McCormack Award. As ASTHO president, Dr. Lakey issued ASTHO's 2012 Healthy Babies President's Challenge focused on reducing infant mortality and prematurity in the United States. Dr. Lakey was awarded the 2015 HHS Innovates award as part of a collaboration that also included ASTHO, the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs, CityMatCH, March of Dimes, HRSA's Maternal and Child Health Bureau, CDC, and CMS for their partnership on the CoIIN to Reduce Infant Mortality. In 2015, Dr. Lakey was elected by the March of Dimes to a five‐year term on its board of trustees. He earned a Bachelor of Science in chemistry, graduating with high honors from Rose‐Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Indiana, and received his medical degree with honors from Indiana University School of Medicine. Dr. Lakey was a resident in internal medicine and pediatric medicine and completed a fellowship in adult and pediatric infectious disease at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee.