NEW HYDE PARK, N.Y.– Said Ibrahim, MD, MPH, MBA, a respected clinician-investigator with a focus on closing the health disparities gap, has been appointed senior vice president of Northwell Health’s Medicine Service Line. In that role, Dr. Ibrahim will also serve as chair of the Department of Medicine at Long Island Jewish Medical Center, North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset and the Donald & Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell.
Dr. Ibrahim joins the health system from Weill Cornell Medicine, where he was professor of Healthcare Policy & Research and the founding chief of the Division of Healthcare Delivery Science and Innovation at the Department of Healthcare Policy & Research. He also was Weill Cornell’s inaugural senior associate dean for Diversity and Inclusion.
Previously, Dr. Ibrahim had stints at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and served as chief of medicine at the Philadelphia VA Medical Center, where he led all medical subspecialties, primary care, emergency department, nursing home and geriatrics and the internal medicine residency program.
“He has the perfect mix of leadership experience, academic success and an engaging personality,” said Lawrence Smith, MD, executive vice president and physician-in-chief at Northwell Health and dean of the Zucker School of Medicine. “We are so excited to welcome him.”
Dr. Ibrahim, a onetime member of the Somalia national team, surreptitiously left the African nation for a better life in the United States and used basketball to attend college. He received his bachelor’s degree from Oberlin College in Ohio and his medical degree from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine (OH). He also holds a master’s degree in public health from Harvard University’s School of Public Health and a master’s degree in business administration from the MIT Sloan School of Management. Dr. Ibrahim completed his internship and residency training in internal medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (MA), a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School.
A National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded clinician-investigator, Dr. Ibrahim’s has researched health equity and disparities, particularly osteoarthritis care. As co-director of the VA National Center of Innovation for Health Equity Research and Promotion (CHERP) in Philadelphia, Dr. Ibrahim leveraged its $20 million research-funding portfolio to support 40 physician and doctorate investigators engaged in health services research at the VA.
“I am truly delighted and honored to become a member of the Northwell Health,” Dr. Ibrahim said. “I look forward to working with everyone in our mission of providing the highest quality patient care, to conduct cutting edge research and to train the future generation of scientists and health care providers.”
Dr. Ibrahim is a recipient of the Harold Amos Faculty Development Award from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the NIH K24 award to mentor future generations of investigators on patient-centered research in health care disparities. He has served as associate editor of the American Journal of Public Health and as a member of the Journal for General Internal Medicine’s editorial board. He’s currently associate editor for the JAMA Health Forum and a member of the NIAMS Advisory Council. In addition, he has authored more than 150 peer-reviewed papers and is a sought-after lecturer and speaker on the topic of health equity and disparities of care. Dr. Ibrahim has also mentored dozens of physicians and investigators.
