Contributor

Judith A. Salerno

Physician and Public Health Leader

Judith A. Salerno, M.D., M.S., is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Susan G. Komen®, responsible for the day-to-day operation of the organization and for setting Komen’s strategic vision. Dr. Salerno brings extensive experience in research, public health policy and community health to the role. Before joining Komen, she was the Leonard D. Schaeffer Executive Officer of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies, serving as executive director and chief operating officer of the Institute.

In that role, she was responsible for directing the IOM’s research and policy programs and guiding the Institute’s operations on a daily basis. She also oversaw the National Cancer Policy Forum – a consortium of government, industry, academic, consumer, and other representatives that identifies and examines emerging high-priority policy issues in cancer.

Before joining the IOM, Dr. Salerno was Deputy Director of the National Institute on Aging (NIA) at the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. She oversaw the Institute’s research into aging, including research on Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases, frailty and function in late life, and the social, behavioral and demographic aspects of aging.

A board-certified physician in internal medicine, Dr. Salerno earned her M.D. degree from Harvard Medical School in 1985 and a Master of Science degree in Health Policy from the Harvard School of Public Health in 1976. She is an avid baseball fan.