Nancy J. Brown

Brown was born to United States Air Force general Donald D. Brown, which resulted in the family moving around the country. She attended seven schools, including the Cathedral School in Agana, Guam, and three high schools before enrolling at Yale University and Harvard Medical School.[1] She graduated from Yale College in 1981 and earned her medical degree at Harvard before completing her residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in clinical pharmacology at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.[2] In her first year of medical school, Brown married Yale College classmate and then Lieutenant Andrew L. May of the United States Marine Corps.[1]

Entrance to the Vanderbilt School of Medicine, where Brown worked from 1992 until 2020

Upon completing medical training, a fellowship in clinical pharmacology, and the Hugh J. Morgan chief residency, Brown joined the faculty at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in 1992.[2] She developed a research program studying vascular biology in humans, focusing on how hormone cascades involved in blood pressure regulation affect clotting and inflammation, and the risk of stroke or heart attack.[3] In 2000, she co-founded Vanderbilt's MSCI (Master of Science in Clinical Investigation) program with Thomas A. Hazinski[4] and by 2006 a partner program was created at Japan's Tokai University.[5] In 2001, Brown’s research was recognized with the Young Scholar Award from the American Society of Hypertension for "important contributions to the understanding of how ACE inhibitors work to lower blood pressure and reduce death."[6] The following year, Brown received the American Federation for Medical Research Outstanding Investigator Award for her study into the effects bradykinin had on ACE inhibitors in human subjects.[7]

During the 2004–05 academic year, Brown was appointed the inaugural Robert H. Williams Professor of Medicine.[8] In 2006, Brown was appointed as associate dean for Clinical and Translational Scientist Development, and developed infrastructure for physician-scientist development.[9] Brown served on the Advisory Council of the National Center for Research Resources at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for five years from 2007 to 2011.[10]

In 2009, Brown was named chief of Clinical Pharmacology.[11] She subsequently received the American Heart Association's Harriet Dustan Award in recognition for her "outstanding contributions in the field of hypertension."[12] Brown also served on various academic boards including the National Institutes of Health, the American Society of Hypertension, the American Heart Association and the Association of American Medical Colleges, and was an associate editor for the journal Hypertension.[11] On November 1, 2010, Brown was appointed the Hugh J. Morgan Professor and Vanderbilt's first female Chair of their Department of Medicine.[13]

During her tenure at Vanderbilt, Brown was recognized by numerous medical organizations for her work in internal medicine. In 2003, she was elected a Member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation and later to the Association of American Physicians.[14] In 2012, Brown was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science for her "distinguished contributions to the study of vascular biology in humans and for national leadership in scientist development."[15] On October 21, 2014, Brown was elected to the Institute of Medicine (now the National Academy of Medicine).[16]

On February 1, 2020, Brown left Vanderbilt to become the 17th dean of the Yale University School of Medicine. She is the first woman to serve in this role.[17]

On July 13, 2021, Brown was named the Winner of the 2021 Watanabe Prize in Translational Research for work defined the molecular mechanisms through which commonly prescribed blood pressure and diabetes drugs affect the risk of cardiovascular and kidney disease.[18]

Brown and her husband, currently president and chief financial officer of Truxton Trust, have three sons together.[13]