Surgeon General of the United States
September 22, 1974 –
Dr. Jerome Adams grew up on his family farm in Mechanicsville, St. Mary’s County, Maryland. He attended Chopticon High School, graduating in 1992. He then attended the University of Maryland Baltimore County through a full-tuition Meyerhoff Scholarship, which supports students interested in science, technology, engineering, and math careers and aims to support diversity in those fields. He earned dual bachelor’s degrees at UMBC — in biochemistry and biopsychology. He also studied abroad in Zimbabwe and the Netherlands.
After UMBC, Adams attend medical school at Indiana University and earned a master’s degree in public health from the University of California, Berkeley, in 2000. In addition to a career as a practicing anesthesiologist, Adams served as an associate professor of anesthesiology at his alma mater. In October 2014, Adams was appointed Indiana State Health Commissioner.
He was confirmed to the position as the 20th Surgeon General of the United States by the Senate on August 3, 2017. Upon his confirmation, Adams said addressing the opioid epidemic and untreated mental illness were two of his major priorities. Adams was sworn in as Surgeon General on September 5, 2017, and received his commission shortly thereafter.
Following his service as Surgeon General, Adams joined Purdue University in October 2021 as a Presidential Fellow and its first executive director of health equity initiatives, professor of practice in the Pharmacy Practice and Public Health departments, and a faculty member of the Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering.
Additional Resources
“U.S. Surgeon General resigns at Biden’s request: MSNBC | Reuters.com”
McDaniels, Andrea K. (September 7, 2017). “New surgeon general’s science background was nurtured in Maryland”. Baltimoresun.com
Wapner, Jessica (July 6, 2017). “Who Is Jerome Adams? Surgeon General Pick Battled HIV Outbreak With Clean Needles in Indiana”. Newsweek.
