Obama to nominate Murthy as surgeon general

President Barack Obama will nominate Vivek Hallegere Murthy, MD, as surgeon general, the White House announced.

Murthy is co-founder and president of Doctors for America and an attending physician and instructor in medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital at Harvard Medical School. In 2011, he was appointed to serve as a member of the surgeon general’s advisory group on prevention, health promotion, and integrative and public health, according to a press release. Murthy also is co-founder of VISIONS Worldwide, a nonprofit focused on HIV/AIDS education in India and the United States.

“We congratulate Dr. Vivek Murthy on his nomination to be the next surgeon general of the United States,” Alice Chen, MD, Doctors for America executive director, said in a separate press release. “He has been a tireless leader in bringing together 16,000 doctors and medical students from all 50 states for the common cause of improving the health of the nation. He brings two decades of experience as a champion in improving health, building coalitions and bringing diverse people together to bring better health to communities.”

If confirmed, Murthy would succeed Regina Benjamin, MD, who served as surgeon general from 2009 until July.