David C. Miller, MD, MPH, Chief Executive Officer of Michigan Medicine and Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs for the University of Michigan, has been chosen to succeed Jeff Balser, MD, PhD, as the next President and CEO of Vanderbilt Health and Dean of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. Miller will assume the role at Vanderbilt on Jan. 1, 2027. 

Earlier this year, Balser announced plans to retire on Dec. 31, after serving Vanderbilt in both leadership roles for nearly two decades.

Miller’s selection as the new senior leader for Vanderbilt Health (VH) and Vanderbilt University School of Medicine (VUSM) finalizes an extensive national search by the VH Board of Directors to identify Balser’s successor.  

“From an incredibly strong field of applicants, Dr. Miller’s personal warmth, prior leadership experiences, and commitment to organizational culture stood out. David has presented an exciting vision for advancing the Medical Center’s missions and is the ideal candidate to succeed Dr. Balser.  We look forward to welcoming David, his wife, Inge, and family to the Nashville community,” said Edie Carell Johnson, JD, Chair of the VH Board of Directors. 

“On behalf of the Board, I want to again express my deep appreciation to Dr. Balser for his many years of dedication to the Medical Center’s growth and success. Jeff will be remembered for his commitment to excellence and as a leader whose contributions will continue to impact generations of patients and families now and into the future.”

Miller has spent the bulk of his career with the University of Michigan and Michigan Medicine where he has held a variety of administrative and academic roles and has been instrumental in enhancing quality, safety and patient experience and expanding access to health care services across Michigan through operational growth and strategic partnerships.

Similar in size and scale to Vanderbilt Health, Michigan Medicine is a statewide academic health system with 12 hospitals, 5,800 clinicians, 2,500 physicians-in-training, 97,000 annual discharges, 4.7 million outpatient visits and $820 million in annual research awards.

As the new leader of VH and VUSM, Miller will be responsible for shaping the institution’s core missions of advancing health care delivery, scientific discovery, health care training and education, and community engagement while championing a culture of collaboration, service and clinical excellence amidst a period of rapid growth.    

“Serving as CEO and Dean has been tremendously rewarding, and I’m forever grateful for everyone’s support. I want to congratulate Dr. Miller and welcome him into the Vanderbilt family,” said Balser. “David is a seasoned leader with deep, career-long experience in our core missions of health care, research and teaching. He joins us at an exciting and transformative moment in history. I am confident he will sustain our positive momentum while nurturing the distinctive and caring culture we all treasure.”   

Miller will be responsible for the development, implementation and fulfillment of strategies spanning VH and VUSM and will be central to maintaining the scholarly activities shared by the Medical Center and University. 

“Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt Health together form one of the largest and most eminent research enterprises in American higher education — one that turns discovery into better treatments and educates the next generation of physicians and scientists,” said Daniel Diermeier, PhD, Chancellor, Vanderbilt University. “Our School of Medicine sits at the heart of that work, which is why this appointment matters well beyond our campus. I am delighted to welcome Dr. Miller as its Dean and a partner in this transformative work, and I look forward to what we will accomplish together.”

Prior to his service as the CEO of Michigan Medicine, Miller served as Executive Vice Dean for Clinical Affairs for the University of Michigan Medical School and President of U-M Health, a clinical enterprise with approximately 20,000 employees caring for more than 1.3 million patients, where he oversaw all aspects of strategic, operational, clinical, cultural and financial performance. During his tenure at Michigan Medicine, Miller also led the clinical, business and cultural integration of the statewide academic health system.

Before serving as U-M Health’s President, Miller served as Chief Clinical Officer for Michigan Medicine’s University Hospital and the Frankel Cardiovascular Center. As a Professor in the Department of Urology, he also maintained a clinical practice focused on the diagnosis and management of patients with prostate cancer. 

Miller has been awarded research funding for urologic cancer by the National Institutes of Health, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and the American Cancer Society. A frequently invited speaker on urologic cancer, Miller is the author or co-author of more than 300 peer-reviewed articles, editorials and abstracts. In addition to his clinical practice, Miller served as Director of the Michigan Urological Surgery Improvement Collaborative (MUSIC) from 2011 through 2020, a coalition of more than 40 urology practices improving urological care in Michigan.  

“I am honored to be named the leader of one of the most highly regarded academic health care organizations in the country,” Miller said. “Vanderbilt is synonymous with exemplary patient care and world-leading innovation and medical education; I am humbled to be following in Dr. Balser’s footsteps. I am eager to begin meeting faculty, staff and students to learn what makes Vanderbilt such an exceptional organization with an unparalleled culture. My wife, Inge, and I are also excited about getting to know Nashville and the entire state.”

Miller earned a Bachelor of Science from the University of Michigan, Doctor of Medicine from Washington University School of Medicine, and a Master of Public Health with emphasis in epidemiology from the University of Michigan School of Public Health. His residency training in urology was at the University of Michigan, followed by a health services research and clinical fellowship in urologic oncology at the University of California, Los Angeles.   

Related

About half of likely Michigan Democratic primary voters hold an unfavorable view of the pro-Israel group the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, according to a new statewide poll, but respondents overall didn’t rate a candidate’s position on Israel and Gaza as of great importance when choosing a Senate nominee.

“It is not of high interest, despite the national narrative,” pollster Richard Czuba said, referring to national news coverage of the Michigan U.S. Senate contest.

“As you ask voters to look across the spectrum about issues that matter to them, this isn’t one of them.”

More: Stevens gains edge in Dems’ Senate race that remains ‘wide open,’ poll finds

The Detroit News/WDIV-TV (Channel 4) poll of 500 likely Michigan Democratic primary voters was conducted last week by Czuba’s Glengariff Group and had a margin of error of plus-minus 4.4 percentage points.

A majority of respondents said antisemitism against Jewish Americans has risen, that they support both a Palestinian state and Israel’s right to exist, and believe Israel has “gone too far” in its war against the militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah.

Overall, the likely Michigan Democratic primary voters rated a Senate candidate’s position on Israel and Gaza at 5.6 on a 10-point scale. Czuba said a measurement over 7 usually indicates some level of importance, while 8 is considered demonstrating a high level of importance.

Supporters of Michigan Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed of Ann Arbor rated the issue a 6, while those backing U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens of Birmingham rated it 5.2. Undecided voters in the survey were at 5.7.

“That’s not surprising to me at all,” said consultant Adrian Hemond, a Democrat and CEO of Grassroots Midwest.

“It’s hard to get Americans to care about foreign policy while American troops are not getting shot, and that’s not happening right now. That’s not to say they don’t care about it at all, but in terms of what influences their voting behavior? Nah.”

Half of Michigan Democrats sour on AIPAC

Israel and Gaza have been a point of contrast and contention between El-Sayed and Stevens: Stevens is a staunch supporter of Israel who has voted for U.S. military aid for that country, while El-Sayed has called Israel’s actions in Gaza a genocide. He wants to end the U.S. practice of subsidizing foreign militaries, including Israel’s.

El-Sayed has also repeatedly hit Stevens on the $49 million of outside spending — including $26 million from an AIPAC-aligned group — that’s flowed into the race to help boost her bid, according to recent ad-tracking figures.

“Explain what you’ve given away for AIPAC support in this race,” El-Sayed demanded in last week’s televised debate in Grand Rapids.

“No one owns my vote, and no one owns my policies,” Stevens shot back.

More: Pro-Israel PAC uses ‘loophole’ to quietly fund Haley Stevens in Democratic U.S. Senate primary

In the debate last week, Stevens pointed to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s criticism of her and said Netanyahu had “failed” in securing long-term peace and in providing humanitarian aid in Gaza. The remark appeared to be an effort to put some distance between herself and the support she’s getting from AIPAC that has turned off some Democrats.

“I can say that Israel has a right to peacefully exist alongside the people of Palestine and in Gaza,” she said.

The poll conducted last week found that 49% of Democratic primary voters have an unfavorable opinion of AIPAC. About 12% view AIPAC favorably, and 39% were neutral ― with no opinion of the pro-Israel lobby group ― or said they didn’t know. About 34% of voters expressed a “very” unfavorable opinion of AIPAC.

About 65% of El-Sayed’s supporters expressed an unfavorable view of AIPAC, with 8% favorable and 26% neutral, while fewer Stevens’ voters, 38%, view AIPAC unfavorably and 16.5% favorably, with 45% neutral.

The group does not seem to be a motivating issue for undecided voters, 65% of whom were neutral on AIPAC, according to poll results.

“What this issue has become is virtue-signaling to the far left that you’re one of us,” Czuba said of AIPAC opposition.

Scott Cruz, 61, of South Lyon, said he learned about AIPAC about six months ago, but has been concerned for decades about the amount of money the U.S. gives to Israel. In more recent years, what started as Israel’s understandable response to the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas has advanced far beyond that, said Cruz, who participated in the poll.