Joel Kupersmith, MD,
Chief Research and Development Officer, Veterans Health Administration

Dr. Kupersmith is the Chief Research and Development Officer of the Veterans Health Administration where he oversees the VA vas medical research program. He is a graduate of New York Medical College where he also completed internal medicine training. Subsequently, he completed a cardiology fellowship at Beth Israel /Harvard Medical School. After research training in the Dep’t of Pharmacology, Columbia College of P. & S, he rose to the rank of Professor and Director of Clinical Pharmacology at the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine After this he became Chief of Cardiology at the Univ. of Louisville, Chair, Dep’t of Medicine, Michigan State University and then Dean, School of Medicine and Graduate School, VP for Clinical Affairs & CEO of Faculty Practice at Texas Tech University. Under his leadership as Dean, there were many advances in research, education and clinical care as well as the initiation of a process for a new medical school in El Paso, TX. Dr. Kupersmith was then a Scholar-in-Residence at both the IOM and the AAMC before assuming duties as Chief Research and Development Officer at VHA. At the IOM he completed projects and published papers on a number of health and research policy projects including Comparative Effectiveness Research.

Dr. Kupersmith has 158 publications and 2 books. His earlier research interests were in the area of electrophysiology, heart rhythm abnormalities and implantable cardioverter defibrillators. Most recently he has published on health policy issues and Comparative Effectiveness Research. Dr. Kupersmith has been on many national and international committees involved in heart disease and journal editorial boards. He is a member of numerous professional organizations including the American Society for Clinical Investigation. Dr. Kupersmith is a winner of an Affirmative Action Award from the University of Louisville and an Alumni Association distinguished achievement award from New York Medical College. He is also a member of the Federal Coordinating Council on Comparative effectiveness Research and the National Advisory Research Resources Council of NIH. Dr. Kupersmith has also been a Visiting Scholar at the Hastings Center for ethics. He is listed in Who’s Who in America and several others.