Samuel O. Thier, M.D.

Samuel O. Thier, M.D., chaired the Commonwealth Fund Board of Directors from 2003 to 2007. A widely published authority on internal medicine and kidney disease, he is equally known for his expertise in national health policy, medical education, and biomedical research.

Professor Emeritus of Medicine and Health Care Policy at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Thier served as president and chief executive officer of Partners HealthCare System, president of Massachusetts General Hospital, president of Brandeis University, and president of the Institute of Medicine (renamed the National Academy of Medicine). For 11 years, he chaired the Department of Internal Medicine at the Yale University School of Medicine, where he was Sterling Professor.

Dr. Thier holds 16 honorary degrees and is the recipient of the UC Medal of the University of California, San Francisco. He has served as president of the American Federation of Clinical Research and chair of the American Board of Internal Medicine and is a Master of the American College of Physicians, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a member of the American Philosophical Society.