Elena Fuentes-Afflick

Elena Fuentes-Afflick, MD, MPH, is the Association of American Medical Colleges’ (AAMC) Chief Scientific Officer and leads the association’s programs that support medical research and the training of physician-scientists and researchers in academic medicine. 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 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 for 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, the diversity committee, was elected to the governing council and was elected Home Secretary. In 2020, Dr. Fuentes-Afflick was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2023, she received 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, followed by a research fellowship at the UCSF Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies.