Elias Zerhouni

"Zerhouni" redirects here. For other people with this surname, see Zerhouni (surname).

Elias Zerhouni (Arabic: إلياس زرهوني, born April 12, 1951) is an Algerian-born American scientist, radiologist, biomedical engineer, entrepreneur, and pharmaceutical industry executive.

Elias Zerhouni
Elias Zerhouni
15th Director of the National Institutes of Health
In office May 2, 2002 – October 31, 2008
President	George W. Bush
Preceded by	Harold Varmus
Succeeded by	Francis Collins
Personal details
Born	(1951-04-12) April 12, 1951 (age 74) Nedroma, Algeria
Citizenship	United States of America
Nationality	Algerian American
Alma mater	University of Algiers
Known for	Former Director of the National Institutes of Health Former Physician-Scientist, Radiology Chair, and Executive Vice Dean at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Former President of Global R&D at Sanofi Current President of OPKO Health and Co-founder of ModeX Therapeutics
Awards	see "Awards and International Recognition" below
Scientific career
Fields	Medical imaging
Institutions	Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

Zerhouni was a member of the faculty of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, serving as an executive vice dean from 1996 to 2002. He served as the 15th director of the National Institutes of Health from May 2, 2002, to October 31, 2008, under the George W. Bush administration.^[1] In 2009, under the Obama administration, he was one of the first presidential science envoys, working to foster scientific and technological collaboration with other nations.^[2] He was a senior fellow for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation from 2009 to 2010.^[3] From January 2011 until his retirement on June 30, 2018, he was president of global research and development at the pharmaceutical company Sanofi.^[4]

In October 2020, Zerhouni co-founded ModeX Therapeutics, a privately held biotechnology company developing multi-specific immune therapies for cancer and infectious diseases.^[5] In 2022, ModeX was acquired by OPKO Health, and Zerhouni was appointed president and vice chairman of OPKO Health.^[5]

Education and Career

Zerhouni was born on April 12, 1951, in Nedroma, Algeria. He grew up during the Algerian War of Independence. After earning his M.D. from the University of Algiers School of Medicine in 1975, Zerhouni immigrated to the United States to study radiology at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.^[6]

From 1981 to 1985, he was vice chair of the Department of Radiology at Eastern Virginia Medical School and its affiliated DePaul Hospital. In 1985, Zerhouni returned to Johns Hopkins as co-director of body CT and MRI and was promoted to associate professor.^[7] He was appointed director of the MRI division in 1988 and promoted to full professor in 1992.^[7] In 1995, he also became a professor of biomedical engineering at Hopkins. In 1996, Zerhouni was named chair of the radiology department at Johns Hopkins.^[7] Zerhouni was appointed executive vice dean of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in 1996,^[8] then serving as vice dean for Clinical Affairs and president of the Clinical Practice Association (1996-1999) and vice dean for Research (1999–2002).

In the early 1980s, Zerhouni established Computerized Imaging Reference Systems (now part of Mirion Technologies), which manufactures tissue-equivalent phantoms used in medical imaging and radiation therapy. He also established the Advanced Medical Imaging Institute, an integrated outpatient medical imaging center. Zerhouni co-invented an image-guided breast biopsy method for diagnosing breast cancer, which led to the creation of Biopsys Medical (acquired by Johnson & Johnson in 1997).^[9] He also co-founded a company with community-based radiologists that focused on providing advanced outpatient imaging services, later acquired by the American Radiology Services (ARS). ^[10]

Zerhouni served on the National Cancer Institute's Board of Scientific Advisers (1998-2002), was a consultant to the White House under President Ronald Reagan (1985), and was a consultant to the World Health Organization (1988).

National Institutes of Health (2002–2008)

Zerhouni was appointed as the 15th Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) by President George W. Bush.^[11][12] He was confirmed by the Senate in April 2002 and served until October 2008^[13] becoming the first immigrant to serve as NIH Director.^[14] During his tenure, the agency's activities included:

1. Establishing the NIH Roadmap for Medical Research.^[15]
2. The passage of the NIH Reform Act of 2006.
3. Supporting the NIH Neuroscience Blueprint.
4. Establishing an NIH-wide research initiative on obesity.
5. Prioritizing research into health disparities.
6. Helping create the Working Group on Women in Biomedical Careers.
7. Supporting research related to women's health and the development of a vaccine against human papillomavirus (HPV).
8. Ensuring public access to NIH-funded research results.
9. Creating the NIH Director's Pioneer Award Program and the NIH Director's New Innovator Award in 2007.
10. Reforming peer review to support early-stage investigators.

Zerhouni is on the board of the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health.^[16]

Legion of Honour, Presidential Envoy, Senior Fellow

In 2008, French President Nicolas Sarkozy awarded Zerhouni the Legion of Honour, France's highest order of merit, for fostering collaboration between the National Institutes of Health and the Pasteur Institute.

In 2009, he served as a presidential science and technology envoy.^[2] He also served as a senior fellow for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation from 2009 through 2010.^[3]

During this period, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and Science magazine launched Science Translational Medicine, of which Zerhouni was a founding editor. He also served on the board of Actelion Pharmaceuticals.

President, Global R&D of Sanofi

Sanofi appointed Zerhouni as the head of Research and Development in 2011.^[17] He retired from Sanofi in June 2018.^[18]

Foundation work and corporate boards

Following his retirement from Sanofi, Zerhouni joined several boards, including the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, Research! America, and the Lasker Foundation. He also became a founding board member of the Davos Alzheimer's Collaborative (DAC).

Zerhouni joined the management board of Waypoint Capital (now B-FLEXION, chaired by Ernesto Bertarelli), and continued to serve on the board of Danaher Corporation.

ModeX and OPKO Health

In 2020, Zerhouni co-founded ModeX Therapeutics with Gary Nabel, Zhi-yong Yang, Ronnie Wei, Chih-Jen Wei, and Elizabeth Nabel.^[19] ModeX focuses on multi-specific biologic drugs for cancer and infectious diseases.^[5] The ModeX portfolio includes cancer immunotherapies, programs developing treatments for viral diseases such as HIV, SARS-CoV-2, and a vaccine for the Epstein-Barr virus.^[5]

In 2022, ModeX was acquired by OPKO Health, to which Zerhouni was appointed President and vice chairman.^[5] In 2023, ModeX signed a deal with Merck & Co to develop an EBV vaccine.^[20] That same year, ModeX was awarded a contract from the U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to advance candidates addressing public health threats from viral infectious diseases. In 2025, ModeX announced the dosing of the first participant in the Phase I study of an EBV vaccine candidate being developed with Merck & Co.

Memberships

Zerhouni served on the board of trustees of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology.

Zerhouni is an elected member of the U.S. National Academy of Medicine and U.S. National Academy of Engineering, an emeritus public trustee of the Mayo Clinic, a member emeritus of the Radiological Society of North America, professor emeritus of radiology and biomedical engineering at Johns Hopkins University, a member of the board of fellows of Stanford Medicine, and a member of the board of directors of Research! America, the Foundation for the NIH, and the Lasker Foundation. He is also a founding board member of the Davos Alzheimer's Collaborative and a member of the French Academy of Medicine.