Sherrie Hans, PhD: Deputy Chief Ethics in Health Care Officer

In May 2003 Dr. Hans joined the Veterans Health Administration as program director in the office of the Deputy Under Secretary for Health for Health Policy Coordination (DUSH/HPC). In that position, Dr. Hans acted as Deputy Director to the DUSH/HPC and was responsible for initiating and managing health policy projects that extended to other federal agencies and outside groups, with a particular focus on partnership opportunities with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The position's responsibilities included leading the development of activities and programs under a Memorandum of Understanding with the Indian Health Service to enhance and expand services to American Indian and Alaska Native veterans that resulted in more than 150 programs and activities in fiscal year 2005. Dr. Hans was recognized by the Director, Indian Health Service, for her contributions to improving health care for American Indian and Alaska Native veterans. In addition, Dr. Hans worked with the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services on the Surgical Care Improvement Project and with VHA staff and leadership to develop recommendations on obesity prevention initiatives with HHS. Dr. Hans further provided policy guidance and recommendations to VHA leadership in the areas of rural health policy, health care financial management, and strategic planning.

Prior to joining VHA, Dr. Hans was Senior Health Policy Advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Health at HHS. In that position, Dr. Hans provided policy guidance and input to the Assistant Secretary on a wide range of public health policy issues, including human genetics, health workforce policy, health care quality improvement and information technology, performance planning under the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA), geriatric polypharmacy, xenotransplantation, and human research protections. From 1996 to 2001 Dr. Hans was a program officer in the health and human services division of The Pew Charitable Trusts, a private philanthropic organization. As a national program officer at the Trusts, Dr. Hans was responsible for identifying and developing national grant making strategies and projects for consideration by the board of trustees. Dr. Hans was also responsible for managing a portfolio of more than $70 million in grants covering such topics as leadership development in the basic biomedical sciences, cognitive neuroscience research, health professions education and training, bioethics, clinical research policy, and agricultural biotechnology policy.

Dr. Hans has a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of California, San Francisco where she conducted her thesis work under the direction of J. Michael Bishop, M.D. on mechanisms of oncogenesis in human hematopoietic cells. Her undergraduate degree in Microbiology was conferred by the University of California, Santa Barbara where she graduated with highest honors and was recognized for her research contributions to the understanding of human reovirus.