ISMS Member to Lead the Illinois Department of Public Health!

July 15, 2022

Earlier this week, Governor Pritzker appointed long-time ISMS member Sameer S. Vohra, MD, as the new director of the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH).

“Dr. Vohra is a true public health advocate and is an excellent choice as the next leader of this vital department,” said ISMS President Clarence W. Brown Jr., MD, JD. “Congratulations Dr. Vohra! Your physician colleagues know the citizens of Illinois are in good hands with you looking out for their health and well-being.

The newly appointed IDPH director has strong Illinois roots. He earned his medical doctorate at the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine and completed a residency in pediatrics at the University of Chicago.

For the last seven years, Dr. Vohra has worked at SIU’s medical school and is the founding chair of the medical college’s Department of Population Science and Policy, which researches and develops solutions to improve health outcomes in central and southern Illinois communities.

Dr. Vohra served as ISMS Trustee from 2012-14. He currently hails from Springfield and will begin his new post on August 1, replacing Ngozi Ezike, MD, who stepped down this past March.