Vice Dean, Duke University School of Medicine
Adrian Hernandez, MD, MHS, was named Vice Dean and Executive Director of the Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI) in 2020. In this role, he provides visionary and strategic direction to the DCRI; supports and strengthens its research and teaching agendas; and continues to raise its national and international profile. Among many key responsibilities, Dr. Hernandez oversees the DCRI to ensure the continuance of a broad spectrum of clinical research programs, clinical trials, clinical and pre-clinical education, and shared data and repositories.In his Vice Dean role, Dr. Hernandez provides leadership to the Duke School of Medicine’s Dean’s Office for clinical research strategy and also provides oversight of the Duke Institute for Health Innovation (DIHI) and participates in the School’s leadership team for data science and AI Health.
From 2017 to 2020, Dr. Hernandez served as Vice Dean for Clinical Research for the Duke School of Medicine. Prior to that, he served the DCRI as a Faculty Associate Director and the Director of Health Services and Outcomes Research.
Dr. Hernandez is a cardiologist and an internationally recognized leader in clinical research, ranging from clinical trials to health services and policy research. He has served as the steering committee chair or principal investigator of multiple large studies with goals to improve the health of patients with cardiovascular disease or diabetes. He has published over 600 articles and is an elected member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation and the Association of American Physicians.
Dr. Hernandez received his bachelor’s degree from Rice University and his medical degree from the University of Texas-Southwestern School of Medicine. He completed his residency in internal medicine at the University of California-San Francisco School of Medicine and then completed a fellowship in cardiology at Duke University. He joined the Duke faculty in 2004 as an assistant professor.