After an extensive national search, Denise White-Perkins, M.D., PhD., has been named Chair of the Department of Family Medicine. Dr. White-Perkins has served as the interim chair since May 2023.
An integral and committed leader, she currently also serves as Vice Chair of Academic Affairs for the Department of Family Medicine and Director of Healthcare Equity Initiatives for the Office of System Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Social Justice (DEIJ), collaborating across the organization to design clinical, community and educational interventions to improve healthcare equity. Her previous leadership roles at Henry Ford Health include associate director of the Family Medicine Residency Program from 2019 to 2022 and director of the Institute on Multicultural Health from 2003 to 2016.
As Chair of the Department of Family Medicine, she is committed to building a culture of service and scholarly excellence that will fuel nationally recognized innovations in primary care research, medical education and patient care. Also chief among her goals is leveraging her experience in healthcare equity, medical education and clinical family medicine to build partnerships across academic, community and health system sectors to advance diversity, equity, inclusion and justice in healthcare.
For more than two decades, Dr. White-Perkins has served as a relentless advocate for health equity in underserved, minoritized and marginalized communities. She is a clinical professor at Michigan State University and an active physician investigator with funded research studies focused on assessing social determinants of health in patient care; reducing hypertension in African American men; optimizing diabetes care pathways; and improving the delivery of virtual care for older adults.
She earned her medical degree and a doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of Michigan and completed her family medicine residency training at MetroHealth Medical Center, Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.
In addition, she is a member of the Henry Ford Medical Group Board of Governors, the Board of Directors for the Southeast Michigan Center for Medical Education, and the Board of Directors for Brilliant Detroit.