Uma Raman Kotagal, MD, currently serves as senior fellow at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and professor of pediatrics obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Cincinnati. A neonatologist and health services researcher by training, Dr Kotagal previously served as executive lead for community and population health and launched a community-based learning network focused on improving lives of children in poverty through cross sector partnerships that include health, education, and social sectors. Prior to her focus on community health, Dr Kotagal led the transformation of Cincinnati Children’s in Quality and Safety and served as senior vice president for quality, safety, and transformation at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and the first executive director of the James M. Anderson Center for Health Systems Excellence. In 2009, she partnered with colleagues in the Anderson Center to create the learning networks model to improve outcomes at scale.

Dr. Kotagal has been a pioneer in the application of system science to improve outcomes in health care delivery across the world with the goal of dramatically changing medical and quality of life outcomes, patient and family experience, and value. In 2001, Dr. Kotagal directed the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Pursuing Perfection initiative at Cincinnati Children’s. As a result of Dr. Kotagal’s endeavors, Cincinnati Children’s has received several prestigious national and international awards for their efforts to transform medical and health care delivery.

Dr. Kotagal is a senior fellow of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, served on the board of the Ohio Children’s Hospital Association and chaired the Quality Improvement Committee of the Children’s Hospital Association. Dr.Kotagal serves as an ISQUA NPQS expert for the WHO. Dr. Kotagal has been widely recognized for her contributions to transform health and health care. She was awarded the prestigious Daniel Drake Medal, the highest honor awarded from the UC College of Medicine. Dr. Kotagal was honored with the William Cooper Proctor Medal, the highest honor bestowed by Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. Dr. Kotagal holds a M.S. in epidemiology from Harvard University School of Public Health, and a medical degree from Grant Medical College in Mumbai, India. Dr Kotagal was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2009.