OHSU President Danny Jacobs, M.D., M.P.H., shared this message with the OHSU community on Thursday, June 20, 2024.
Dear Oregon Health & Science University members,
It is my pleasure to announce that I have appointed Nathan R. Selden, M.D., Ph.D., as dean of the OHSU School of Medicine, effective immediately. Dr. Selden has had an accomplished record of contribution to our clinical, scientific and educational missions during his 24-year tenure at OHSU. His demonstrated leadership and deep connections across the School of Medicine, the university and the community make him the right person to serve in this role during a time of rapid change, significant challenges and important opportunities.
Dr. Selden joined OHSU and OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in 2000 as an assistant professor of neurological surgery. He has led major expansions of the neurosurgery residency training program, the division of pediatric neurosurgery and the department of neurological surgery, where he served as chair for the past 8 years. He is a professor of neurological surgery, holds the Mario and Edith Campagna Chair in Pediatric Neurosurgery and has served as interim dean of the School of Medicine since February of this year.
In addition, Dr. Selden has led the creation of impactful partnerships in the clinical neurosciences with Legacy Health. The relationships he has built with key Legacy Health leaders and his own experience as a staff neurosurgeon at Randall Children’s Hospital provide a strong foundation as OHSU and Legacy embark on the next steps of our groundbreaking integration.
Dr. Selden’s scientific research has focused on central mechanisms of pain sensation. He was the co-principal investigator and surgeon for the first-ever trial of human neural stem cell therapy. He also researches outcomes for neurosurgical care delivered to children with spinal congenital malformations and is an author of the Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury Guidelines, which are used around North America and in many countries around the world to improve the care of seriously injured children.
Dr. Selden has a national and international reputation for studying new methods of neurosurgical education and continuing education that promote patient safety and quality. He is a past-president of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, one of the largest neurosurgical professional organizations in the world, is currently president of the Society of Neurological Surgeons, the world’s oldest academic neurosurgical society, and is vice-chair of the American Board of Neurological Surgery. In 2013, he received the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education’s Parker Palmer Courage to Teach Award.
Dr. Selden earned a bachelor’s degree from Stanford University, a Ph.D. from Cambridge University as a British Marshall Scholar, and an M.D. from Harvard Medical School. He completed a residency in neurosurgery at the University of Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor, and a fellowship in pediatric neurological surgery at Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago.
Dr. Selden asked me to share this message with you: “I am grateful to serve the university that has encompassed my entire career and the state in which I grew up. While this is a time of real challenge in health care, it is also a time of generational change and opportunity for OHSU. I am delighted to join Dr. Jacobs’ leadership team as a permanent member. OHSU is its people, and you are the engine of our success. I will do everything I can to help as you advance our missions.”
Please join me in congratulating Dr. Selden.
Sincerely yours,
Danny Jacobs, M.D., M.P.H., FACS
President