Jonathan M. Green, M.D., MBA, has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center, the world’s largest hospital dedicated to clinical research. He will assume the role on May 17, 2026. Announcing the appointment, NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya, M.D., Ph.D., noted that Dr. Green’s leadership in strengthening NIH’s human research protection program, combined with his background in pulmonary and critical care medicine, positions him to guide the Clinical Center into its next phase. Dr. Bhattacharya emphasized that under Dr. Green’s direction, the center is expected to continue advancing discovery while serving patients through clinical trials.
As CEO, Dr. Green will oversee the Clinical Center’s annual operating budget of nearly $700 million and manage daily operations of the 200‑bed, 870,000‑square‑foot facility located on NIH’s Bethesda campus. In 2025, the center recorded more than 3,000 inpatient admissions and nearly 72,000 outpatient visits, with every patient enrolled in a research protocol. An ongoing expansion project will add over 570,000 square feet of space, with completion anticipated in 2029.
Dr. Green joined NIH in 2018 as director of the Office of Human Subjects Research Protections, where he led the reorganization of the human research protection program. This effort consolidated 12 separate NIH Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) into a centralized IRB serving the entire intramural research program. IRBs are responsible for reviewing research involving human participants to ensure compliance with ethical and regulatory standards.
Before NIH, Dr. Green was a professor of medicine, pathology, and immunology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, where he also served as Associate Dean for Human Studies and Executive Chair of the IRB. His research focused on the molecular mechanisms of T cell activation, particularly the CD28 costimulatory receptor family.
Dr. Green earned his medical degree from Wayne State University and completed residency training in internal medicine at Boston City Hospital. He pursued a fellowship in pulmonary and critical care medicine at the University of Michigan Medical Center and post‑doctoral training at the University of Chicago. He is board certified in internal medicine, pulmonary diseases, and critical care medicine.
In addition to his administrative role, Dr. Green continues to serve as an attending physician in the Medical Intensive Care Unit and Pulmonary Consult Service at the NIH Clinical Center. He maintains a strong interest in biomedical ethics and serves on the Board of Directors for the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs.
Dr. Bhattacharya expressed appreciation to Pius A. Aiyelawo, who has led the Clinical Center as Acting CEO since 2025.
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