Wanda K. Nicholson, M.D., M.P.H., M.B.A.
Chair
Wanda Nicholson, M.D., M.P.H., M.B.A., is a senior associate dean for diversity, equity, and inclusion, director of the Office of Inclusive Excellence, and professor of prevention and community health at the Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University. She is an obstetrician-gynecologist with expertise in perinatal and women’s population health and health equity.
Previously, Dr. Nicholson was a tenured professor of obstetrics and gynecology, director of the PoWER (Patient-Centered Women’s Endocrine and Reproductive Health) Program, and director of the Generalist Reproductive Health Fellowship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine. Prior to joining the University of North Carolina in 2010, Dr. Nicholson served as an assistant and associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology and population, family, and reproductive health sciences at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and the Bloomberg School of Public Health for more than 10 years.
Dr. Nicholson is a member and vice-president of the board of directors of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology, past chair of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) Diversity, Equity, and Inclusive Excellence Workgroup, and a past member of the executive board of ACOG. She was the inaugural editor of health equity, diversity and inclusion for the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Her research portfolio focuses on chronic disease (cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and depression) identification and prevention in reproductive-age women and the development and implementation of digital interventions to deliver pregnancy and postpartum behavioral counseling to women at risk for chronic disease. Most recently, Dr. Nicholson was the institutional principal investigator for a multicenter (Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute/Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality) funded study to assess the comparative effectiveness of surgical options for uterine fibroids on patient-centered outcomes. She also chaired the Committee on Childbirth and Postpartum Hemorrhage for the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) where she spearheaded efforts to develop protocols to prevent postpartum hemorrhage and address global cesarean delivery rates.
Dr. Nicholson completed medical school and residency training at the University of North Carolina. Following residency, she completed the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program at the University of California, San Francisco. She earned her M.P.H. in epidemiology from the University of California, Berkeley, and finished her M.B.A. in medical management at Johns Hopkins University.
Dr. Nicholson was appointed chair of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force in March 2024. She served as vice chair from March 2022 to March 2024 and as a member of the Task Force from January 2009 through December 2013.
Previously, Dr. Nicholson was a tenured professor of obstetrics and gynecology, director of the PoWER (Patient-Centered Women’s Endocrine and Reproductive Health) Program, and director of the Generalist Reproductive Health Fellowship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine. Prior to joining the University of North Carolina in 2010, Dr. Nicholson served as an assistant and associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology and population, family, and reproductive health sciences at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and the Bloomberg School of Public Health for more than 10 years.
Dr. Nicholson is a member and vice-president of the board of directors of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology, past chair of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) Diversity, Equity, and Inclusive Excellence Workgroup, and a past member of the executive board of ACOG. She was the inaugural editor of health equity, diversity and inclusion for the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Her research portfolio focuses on chronic disease (cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and depression) identification and prevention in reproductive-age women and the development and implementation of digital interventions to deliver pregnancy and postpartum behavioral counseling to women at risk for chronic disease. Most recently, Dr. Nicholson was the institutional principal investigator for a multicenter (Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute/Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality) funded study to assess the comparative effectiveness of surgical options for uterine fibroids on patient-centered outcomes. She also chaired the Committee on Childbirth and Postpartum Hemorrhage for the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) where she spearheaded efforts to develop protocols to prevent postpartum hemorrhage and address global cesarean delivery rates.
Dr. Nicholson completed medical school and residency training at the University of North Carolina. Following residency, she completed the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program at the University of California, San Francisco. She earned her M.P.H. in epidemiology from the University of California, Berkeley, and finished her M.B.A. in medical management at Johns Hopkins University.
Dr. Nicholson was appointed chair of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force in March 2024. She served as vice chair from March 2022 to March 2024 and as a member of the Task Force from January 2009 through December 2013.