Charles B. Cairns, MD

Charles B. Cairns, MD, is the Walter H. and Leonore Annenberg dean of the College of Medicine and senior vice president for medical affairs at Drexel University. A leader in emergency medicine and critical care education, training, and research, he previously served as dean of the College of Medicine and Health Sciences at the United Arab Emirates University and dean of the College of Medicine and assistant vice president for clinical research at the University of Arizona. He has also been chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of North Carolina, associate chief of emergency medicine at Duke University, and director of emergency medicine research at the Duke Clinical Research Institute, the world’s largest academic research organization.

Dr. Cairns has served as director of the National Institutes of Health United States Critical Illness and Injury Trials Group and as principal investigator of the Department of Homeland Security National Collaborative for Biopreparedness. He has led COVID-19 research and innovation efforts to understand the acute and longitudinal immune response to severe SARS-CoV-2 infection, including as clinical lead for the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases COVID-19 Immunophenotyping (IMPACC) study, a member of the Data and Safety Monitoring Board for the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute convalescent plasma study, and principal investigator of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation project on predicting COVID-19 community infection and recovery.

An honors graduate of Dartmouth College, Dr. Cairns earned his medical degree from the University of North Carolina and completed his residency in emergency medicine and fellowship in cardiovascular research at the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.