SUNY Downstate’s Dr. Jameela Yusuff Selected as Executive Leadership in Academic Healthcare Fellow

By Office of Communications and Marketing | May 10, 2023

ELH Fellowship Recognizes the Best and Brightest Women Leaders in Healthcare

BROOKLYN, NY— SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University today announced the selection of Jameela J. Yusuff, M.D., MPH, MSHCDL, FACP, Chief Medical Officer and Associate Professor of Medicine and Public Health as a member of the 2023-24 Executive Leadership in Academic Health Care (ELH) Program at the Drexel University College of Medicine. A track of the Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) Program, ELH is a transformative program that builds the health care leadership skills of the best and brightest women leaders in the healthcare field.

The Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) program at the Drexel University College of Medicine has been at the forefront of national leadership training programs for women in academic medicine for over two decades. The program is recognized by CEOs and deans for developing leaders who bring high value back to their institutions. ELH builds upon ELAM’s fellowship model to include the concepts, tools, and skills that enable women leaders to bring their expertise to healthcare organizations.

Dr. Yusuff serves as Chief Medical Officer at University Hospital at Downstate (UHD), and is the first female CMO in the hospital’s history. As a key member of the executive leadership team, she works to enhance the delivery of high quality and efficient medical care for every patient. Dr. Yusuff also serves as an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Department of Infectious Diseases at the Special Treatment and Research (STAR) Health Center.

“I extend my greatest congratulations to Dr. Yusuff on this tremendous achievement,” said University Hospital at Downstate CEO, David Berger, M.D., MHCM, FACS “Dr. Yusuff has an established track record of creating and implementing programs that consistently achieve excellence and has set a very high standard among our institution’s leadership. We anticipate her continued growth through the tools and skills that the Executive Leadership in Health Care Program will provide.”

Dr. Yusuff received her medical degree and master’s in Healthcare Delivery Leadership from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She received her master’s in public health from the SUNY Downstate School of Public Health.

About SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University

Downstate Health Sciences University (Downstate), located in Brooklyn, is one of four academic health centers in The State University of New York (SUNY) 64-campus system. It is the only SUNY academic medical center in New York City delivering health education, research, and patient care and primarily serves the borough’s 2.7 million residents. Downstate consists of five schools and colleges, a multifaceted biotechnology initiative, and University Hospital at Downstate (UHD), the 342-bed teaching hospital backed by Downstate’s outstanding medical school expertise and world-class academic center research facilities. Over 800 physicians, representing 53 specialties and subspecialties—many of them ranked as tops in their fields—comprise Downstate’s staff.

In addition to high-risk neonatal and infant services, pediatric nephrology, and dialysis (kidney diseases)—and offering the only kidney transplantation program in Brooklyn, among many other distinctive programs. Downstate comprises a College of Medicine, a College of Nursing, a School of Health Professions, a School of Graduate Studies, a School of Public Health, and a multifaceted biotechnology initiative, including the Downstate Biotechnology Incubator and BioBAT for early-stage and more mature companies, respectively. For more information, visit www.downstate.edu

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