Speaker Bio
Jerome M. Adams, MD, MPH, served as the 20th Surgeon General of the United States from 2017 to 2021. He is now a Distinguished Professor, Presidential Fellow, and Executive Director of Health Equity Initiatives at Purdue University. Dr. Adams, a board-certified anesthesiologist, served as Indiana State Health Commissioner from 2014 to 2017. He is a Maryland native and earned bachelor’s degrees in both Biochemistry and Psychology from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, a Master of Public Health degree from the University of California at Berkeley, and his medical degree from Indiana University School of Medicine.
As Surgeon General during a global pandemic, Dr. Adams brought a passionate commitment to fighting issues that his own family and community experienced, including limited healthcare access, chronic disease, substance use disorder and ensuing stigma, tobacco addiction, maternal health, mental illness, and the opioid epidemic.
Dr. Adams has served in leadership positions at a number of professional organizations, including the American Medical Association, the Indiana State Medical Association, and the Indiana Society of Anesthesiologists. He is the past chair of the Professional Diversity Committee for the American Society of Anesthesiologists.