The National Academy of Medicine today announced that Emilie Marcus, PhD, has been appointed as the Leonard D. Schaeffer Executive Officer effective August 24, 2026.
Emilie Marcus
Marcus will serve as the NAM’s chief operating executive, working closely with NAM president Monica M. Bertagnolli, MD, and the Academy’s governing Council to advance strategic priorities, oversee programs and operations, strengthen partnerships and resource development, support member engagement and governance, and ensure that the NAM continues to deliver trusted, evidence-based leadership on the nation’s most pressing health challenges.
Marcus joins the Academy from the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where she served as Senior Associate Dean for Strategy. Before joining UCLA, she spent two decades at Cell Press, where she served as Chief Executive Officer and Editor-in-Chief of Cell. Throughout her career, Marcus has been recognized for advancing excellence in scientific communication, championing research integrity and reproducibility, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration, and helping organizations navigate periods of scientific and technological transformation. She holds a PhD in biology from Yale University and completed postdoctoral training at the University of California, San Diego, and the Salk Institute.
“Dr. Marcus brings a distinctive combination of scientific insight, strategic vision, and organizational leadership,” said Bertagnolli. “At a time when the NAM is focused on strengthening the biomedical and health ecosystem, translating research into action, and leading multidisciplinary partnerships to improve health for all, Dr. Marcus is the type of leader we need. I am delighted to welcome her to the Academy.”
“I have long admired the work of the National Academy of Medicine and its uniquely effective approach to evidence synthesis, consensus building, and collective action,” said Marcus. “I am honored to join this storied institution and excited to support NAM members and staff across the National Academies in achieving our shared goals.”
Marcus will succeed J. Michael McGinnis, MD, who has served as the NAM’s Leonard D. Schaeffer Executive Officer since 2015. McGinnis will continue in his role as Senior Scholar and Executive Director of the NAM Leadership Consortium, which focuses on advancing the application of evidence, data, and innovation to improve health and health care.
“Dr. McGinnis has done so much to strengthen the Academy in the past decade,” Bertagnolli said. “He championed NAM’s vision of a nationwide learning health system by developing its collaboration framework and establishing partnerships across the US health sector that drive progress in biomedical research and health care delivery. His leadership has had a profound influence on health policy and practice, and I am grateful that he will continue to oversee the NAM’s Leadership Consortium.”
The National Academy of Medicine (NAM) was established in 1970 as the Institute of Medicine under the congressional charter of the National Academy of Sciences to provide independent, evidence-based advice on health, medicine, and biomedical science.
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