Freda Lewis‑Hall, MD, DFAPA, MFP

Dr. Freda Lewis‑Hall is a globally respected physician, biopharmaceutical executive, and advocate for patient‑centered innovation who has spent more than four decades advancing medicine across clinical practice, academia, industry, and public policy. Trained as a psychiatrist, she began her career delivering frontline patient care and conducting research on the effects of mental illness on families and communities, with a particular focus on health disparities and access to care. Her early academic career included serving as Vice Chairperson and Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Howard University College of Medicine, as well as advising the National Institute of Mental Health on issues related to mental health and public health policy.

Dr. Lewis‑Hall later became one of the most influential leaders in the global biopharmaceutical industry. She served for more than a decade on the executive leadership team of Pfizer as Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, and later Chief Patient Officer, where she helped shape the company’s global medical strategy and championed the integration of patient perspectives into drug development and healthcare delivery. In these roles she oversaw initiatives ensuring the safe and effective use of medicines and vaccines while advancing new models of patient engagement and public‑private collaboration in healthcare innovation.

Prior to joining Pfizer, Dr. Lewis‑Hall held several senior leadership positions across the pharmaceutical industry, including Chief Medical Officer and Executive Vice President of Medicines Development at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Senior Vice President of U.S. Medical Affairs at Bristol‑Myers Squibb, and research and development leadership roles at Pharmacia and Eli Lilly and Company. Across these positions she played key roles in advancing clinical development programs, shaping regulatory strategy, and bringing new therapies to patients globally.

Dr. Lewis‑Hall has also made a significant impact through governance and board leadership across the life sciences sector. She has served on the boards of multiple biotechnology and healthcare companies, including SpringWorks Therapeutics, where she has contributed her expertise in drug development, clinical strategy, and patient‑focused innovation. SpringWorks is known for developing precision medicines for severe rare diseases and cancer, and Dr. Lewis‑Hall’s board role reflects her long‑standing commitment to accelerating the translation of cutting‑edge science into therapies that address serious unmet medical needs.

Beyond corporate leadership, Dr. Lewis‑Hall has been deeply involved in advancing health policy, biomedical research, and patient advocacy. She was appointed by the Obama Administration to the inaugural Board of Governors of the Patient‑Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), where she served for a decade helping guide national priorities around patient‑focused clinical research. She also serves on the boards and advisory bodies of numerous influential institutions including the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, the Milken Institute’s FasterCures initiative, the Davos Alzheimer’s Collaborative, and the Focused Ultrasound Foundation.

In addition to her scientific and corporate leadership, Dr. Lewis‑Hall is widely recognized as a public communicator and advocate for improving health literacy and patient engagement. She has authored and co‑edited scholarly works, including “Psychiatric Illness in Women: Emerging Treatments and Research,” and has frequently appeared in national media as a trusted voice on healthcare and medical innovation. Her outreach efforts have included hosting the PBS series “The Urban Health Report” and appearing on major programs such as Dr. Phil and The Doctors to help translate complex medical issues for broad audiences.

Dr. Lewis‑Hall holds a Bachelor of Arts in Natural Sciences from Johns Hopkins University and earned her Doctor of Medicine from Howard University College of Medicine. She is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and an Honorary Fellow of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine of the Royal College of Physicians in the United Kingdom. Over the course of her career she has received numerous honors recognizing her leadership in medicine and biotechnology, including being named “Woman of the Year” by the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association and among the most powerful executives in corporate America by Black Enterprise.