It is my pleasure to announce that Angela L. Brown, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of Cardiology in the Department of Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine has been appointed as Vice Chair for Health Equity for the Department of Medicine. In this new role, Dr. Brown will lead our diversity, equity, inclusion and antiracism activities. She will work closely with Dr. Sherree Wilson, the Associate Vice Chancellor and Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion of Washington University School of Medicine and Dr. Joe Pangelinan, Director of Cultural Awareness and Diversity in the Department of Medicine to accelerate our equity and antiracism efforts for faculty, trainees and staff in the Department of Medicine. Dr. Brown will expand our diversity and inclusion organizational structure and resources and develop steering committees and Directors focused on the needs of faculty, staff, fellows and residents. Dr. Brown is a long-standing and valued member of the Washington University community. She received her medical degree at WUSM and completed her internship and residency at Jewish Hospital. She joined the faculty in 1995, and became Professor of Medicine in 2019.
Dr. Brown has served the institution in many capacities. She has extensive experience in community engagement and is Co-Director of the Center for Community Health Partnership and Research (CCHPR) within the Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences and Institute of Public Health. As the co-director of CCHPR and lead for the Research Engagement to Advance Community Health (REACH) Initiative, she has direct responsibility for developing and maintaining relationships with community-based organizations and key community stakeholders. Dr. Brown is very involved in faculty development and, since 2013, has served as the Director of the Office of Faculty Development (OFD) in the Department of Medicine. The OFD provides internal medicine faculty with resources to support both their professional and personal growth and development in clinical care, education and teaching, research, scholarship and leadership, and supports university and department initiatives to advance faculty satisfaction and to recruit and retain a diverse faculty. Dr. Brown is a member of the Dean’s Task Force for the Advancement of Women and serves on the WUSM Committee on Admissions and the Committee on Research Integrity. She has served as a member of the WUSM Faculty Diversity Committee, the WU Center for Health Policy, and the WUSM Executive Committee of the Faculty Council, as well as multiple other committees of the institution.
Dr. Brown is the Director of the Hypertension Section in the Division of Cardiology. She supervises fellows and residents in clinic and develops educational materials for patients. Her clinical and research interests are in the evaluation and management of patients with difficult to control hypertension, as well as hypertension and its relationship to other cardiovascular risk factors and heart function. In addition to drug therapy, clinical and research emphasis is placed on lifestyle modifications and cardiovascular risk assessment and management. In addition to her involvement within the institution, Dr. Brown is active in numerous local, regional, and national/international academic efforts. She is an active member of the American Heart Association, serving as President of the Greater St. Louis Division from 2013-2015. She served as a Board Member and Officer for both the American Society of Hypertension and the International Society of Hypertension in Blacks.
Dr. Brown is exceptionally qualified to take on this new role within the Department of Medicine. Please join me in congratulating Dr. Brown on her new position as the Vice Chair of Health Equity in the Department of Medicine.
Victoria J. Fraser, MD
Adolphus Busch Professor of Medicine
Department of Medicine