Christine K. Cassel

Christine K. Cassel, MD, President and CEO of the American Board of Internal Medicine and ABIM Foundation, was previously Dean of the School of Medicine and Vice President for Medical Affairs at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, Oregon. She is a leading expert in geriatric medicine, medical ethics and quality of care.

Among her many professional leadership positions, Dr. Cassel is past-Chair of the ABIM Board of Directors and ABIM Foundation, served as Chair of the Board of the Greenwall Foundation, which supports work in bioethics; is immediate past-President of the American Federation for Aging Research; and was a member of the Advisory Committee to the Director at the National Institutes of Health. She is a member of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) Governing Council and has served on previous IOM committees responsible for influential reports on quality of care and medical errors, chaired a recent report on end-of-life care, and co-chaired a report on public health. In 1997-98, Dr. Cassel served on the President's Advisory Commission on Consumer Protection and Quality in the Health Care Industry.

Dr. Cassel was formerly Chair of the Department of Geriatrics and Adult Development and Professor of Geriatrics and Medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. During 10 years at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, Dr. Cassel was Chief of the Section of General Internal Medicine, Professor of Geriatrics and Medicine, Founding Director of the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program, and Founding Director of the Center for Health Policy Research.

Books
She has edited and authored a number of books, including Medicare Matters: What Geriatric Medicine Can Teach American Health Care (2005), Ethical Patient Care (2000), Geriatric Medicine (Fourth Edition), A Practical Guide to Aging (1997), Approaching Death (1997), Encyclopedia of Bioethics (1995), Ethical Dimensions in the Health Professions (1993), and Nuclear Weapons and Nuclear War: A Sourcebook for Health Professionals (1984).

Education
Dr. Cassel received her medical degree from the University of Massachusetts Medical School and completed a residency in internal medicine at the Children's Hospital of San Francisco and a fellowship in geriatrics at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Portland, Oregon. Additionally, she completed a bioethics health policy fellowship program at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Cassel is board certified in internal medicine and geriatric medicine.