Julie A. Freischlag, MD, FACS, FRCSEd(Hon), DFSVS, MAMSE is the chief executive officer and chief academic officer of Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, chief academic officer and executive vice president of Advocate Health, and executive vice president for health affairs at Wake Forest University.
As chief academic officer, Freischlag oversees research and discovery for the entire Advocate Health system, including all educational and research programs at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Atrium Health Cabarrus College of Health Sciences and Atrium Health Carolinas College of Health Sciences.
As CEO of Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, Freischlag has the overall responsibility for the health system’s clinical, academic and innovation enterprises and its annual operating budget of more than $4 billion.
Freischlag served as the dean of Wake Forest University School of Medicine from 2018 until February 2023 and previously was vice chancellor for Human Health Sciences and dean of the School of Medicine at UC Davis. For more than 15 years, she led education and training programs at top medical schools in her role as professor and chair of surgery and vascular surgery departments. Freischlag also has more than 30 years of experience leading patient care services as chief of surgery or vascular surgery at nationally ranked hospitals. She served as professor, chair of the surgery department and surgeon-in-chief at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions.
A vascular surgeon, Freischlag specializes in the treatment of thoracic outlet syndrome, which can require a specialized surgical procedure. She has received numerous teaching and achievement awards, including the 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society for Vascular Surgery, an achievement award from the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Trailblazer Award from the Society of University Surgeons. She was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2015 and inducted into the Academy of Master Surgeon Educators in 2021.
Freischlag has held numerous national leadership roles, including serving as the 2021-2022 President of the American College of Surgeons. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Association for American Medical Colleges, National Institute of Health Clinical Center Research Hospital Board, Aga Khan University Board of Trustees and chair of the Health Services Committee, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Board of Visitors, and the University of Illinois Health Advisory Council. Most recently, the Association of American Medical Colleges named Freischlag as chair-elect of its board of directors, with her term to begin in November 2024.