Ora Pescovitz, MD
Ora Hirsch Pescovitz, MD, is Eli Lilly and Company’s Senior Vice President and U.S. Medical Leader for Lilly Bio-Medicines. She is a renowned pediatric endocrinologist and researcher who has published more than 190 papers and books. She also serves as an adjunct professor of pediatrics at the Indiana University School of Medicine.
Dr. Pescovitz brings to Lilly years of medical and business expertise, along with cutting-edge insights on healthcare, including the challenges of serving patients in a fast-changing environment. She is a sought-after speaker on topics ranging from healthcare to diversity to women’s issues.
Dr. Pescovitz earned her medical degree from the Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, where she earned Distinguished Alumni Awards from both the Feinberg School of Medicine and Northwestern University. Much of her work has focused on the physiologic and molecular mechanisms responsible for disorders of growth and puberty, and the development of novel therapies for these conditions. She has received numerous awards for her research, teaching and leadership.
During her extensive, 21-year career at Indiana University’s health system, she served as Executive Associate Dean for Research Affairs at the Indiana University School of Medicine, President and CEO of Riley Hospital for Children, and interim Vice President for IU’s Research Administration.
From 2009-2014, she was the University of Michigan’s first female Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs and Health System CEO. In this role, she led a system that included three hospitals, more than 120 health centers and clinics, and the University of Michigan Medical School. She oversaw $3.3 billion in revenue and $490 million in research funding. During this time, she was elected to the National Academy of Medicine.
Dr. Pescovitz also has served as president of the Society for Pediatric Research, the nation’s largest pediatric research organization; president of the Lawson Wilkins (North American) Pediatric Endocrine Society, and chair of the March of Dimes Grants Review Committee. She served on the boards of the Hormone Foundation, the National Association of Children’s Hospitals and Related Institutions (NACHRI), the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Advisory Board for Clinical Research. She also chaired the annual fundraising campaign for the United Way of Washtenaw County (Michigan), and was on the United Way of Central Indiana’s executive committee.
Her late husband, Dr. Mark Pescovitz, was a renowned transplant surgeon at Indiana University. She is a proud mother to three children, two in-law children and three grandchildren.