As chief scientific officer, Elena Fuentes-Afflick, MD, MPH, leads AAMC programs that support medical research and the training of physician-scientists and researchers in academic medicine. In this role, she provides leadership and vision for addressing research and science policy and other related critical issues facing academic medicine, medical schools, teaching health systems, and teaching hospitals.
Before joining the AAMC, Dr. Fuentes-Afflick served as professor of pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and vice dean for the UCSF School of Medicine at Zuckerberg San Francisco General (ZSFG) Hospital. She previously served as chief of pediatrics at ZSFG and vice dean for academic affairs for the UCSF School of Medicine.
Dr. Fuentes-Afflick’s scholarly work has focused on the broad themes of Latino health, acculturation, immigrant health, health disparities, faculty misconduct, faculty development, and diversity in academic medicine. She has outlined strategies to advance diversity in pediatrics and academic medicine. Dr. Fuentes-Afflick has served in national leadership roles as council member and president for both the Society for Pediatric Research and the American Pediatric Society. In 2010, she was elected to membership in the National Academy of Medicine and has served on numerous consensus committees, the membership committee, and the diversity committee; was elected to the governing council and the executive committee of council; and was elected home secretary. In 2020, Dr. Fuentes-Afflick was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2023, she was awarded the Joseph W. St. Geme, Jr. Leadership Award from the Federation of Pediatric Organizations for sustained, impactful contributions to child health.
Dr. Fuentes-Afflick earned her undergraduate and medical degrees at the University of Michigan and a master’s degree in public health (epidemiology) from the University of California, Berkeley. She completed her pediatric residency and chief residency at UCSF and later pursued a research fellowship at the school’s Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies.