Office of Discovery, Education and Affiliate Networks (DEAN)
About DEAN
DEAN is the Veterans Health Administration’s (VHA) Office of Discovery, Education and Affiliate Networks, which includes innovation, research, health professions training and education, and partnerships. Veterans are at the center of everything we do. VA innovation, research, clinical education programs and strategic partnerships are the heart of world-class Veteran health care. As a national leader in scientific innovation, we are transforming health care for Veterans and all Americans.
We understand the unique needs of Veterans, leading to better outcomes and experiences through personalized care. Our teams are seamlessly connected, accelerating health care solutions from initial ideas to national impact. VA’s leading minds and leading care help us to attract and retain top talent, all of which leads to excellence for Veterans.
Simply put, we are building the future of Veteran health care on the foundation of strategic partnerships, innovative research and discovery, and the nation’s most comprehensive clinical training and education platform.
DEAN’s 3 brand pillars
Driving innovation
VA is built on a legacy of health care innovation—from pioneering the first Electronic Health Record and leading the first successful liver transplant, to creating the nicotine patch and implementing barcode medication administration. Today, DEAN continues to be a bridge, connecting frontline clinicians with funding and support for their research and discovery, testing and improving this work, and using proven processes to bring transformative health care solutions to Veterans across VA’s health care system.
Advancing knowledge
As the nation’s largest health professions education platform, through more than 11,000 published research articles each year and through an unmatched portfolio of simulated learning offerings, DEAN is thinking big and sharing broadly. We’re road-testing clinical software applications and medical devices in a fail-safe, simulated environment and training our staff on the results.
Enhancing collaboration
DEAN brings together four VHA program offices, demonstrating real value though integration. This extends beyond teams simply working together to include our work coordinating teams across VA’s network through Directors of Education, research investigators, and community, academic and commercial partners as well as work with other federal agencies. It’s this combined network of professionals that results in world-class health care and benefits for Veterans.
Leadership
Mark Zhang, DO, MMSc, FAMIA
Acting Assistant Under Secretary for Health (AUSH),
Discovery, Education and Affiliate Networks (DEAN)
As Acting AUSH for DEAN, Dr. Zhang leads Veterans Health Administration’s (VHA) research, innovation and clinical training programs, fostering collaboration and knowledge transfer with facility-based educators, researchers, and clinicians within VA and with external partners.
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Previously, Dr. Zhang served as Director of VHA’s Office of Healthcare Innovation and Learning (OHIL) where he led the organization’s exploration, testing and scaling of innovative solutions to enrich the quality of life for Veterans, families and their caregivers.
Prior to joining VA, Dr. Zhang was the Associate Chief Medical Information Officer of Digital Innovation and the Medical Director of the Digital Innovation Hub at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Associate Program Director of the Clinical Informatics and Innovation Fellowship at Mass General Brigham, Palliative Care consultant at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Instructor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.
He is the founder of Palliative Care Fast Facts for iOS and Android mobile applications, the co-founder of Cake, a venture backed company focused on advance care planning and also founded and was the first president of American Medical Informatics Association Clinical Informatics Fellows (ACIF), the national organization for clinical informatics fellows. He also founded and is the president of the American Medical Extended Reality Association (AMXRA), the medical society for medical extended reality.
In one of his previous roles as a leader in digital health implementation and digital innovation at Mass General Brigham, Dr. Zhang has created award-winning applications including COVID Pass and Mass General Brigham Prescreen.
Susan Kirsh, MD, MPH
Deputy Assistant Under Secretary for Health for Discovery, Education and Affiliate Networks (DEAN)
Susan R. Kirsh, MD, MPH currently serves as Deputy Assistant Under Secretary for Health for Discovery, Education and Affiliate Networks (DEAN). This portfolio covers Research, Health Professions training and Innovations across the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). In this role, she serves as a VHA senior leader.
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Dr. Kirsh has served in numerous roles during her 25-year career with VHA. She practiced as an internist for many years at the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center. She has led initiatives in VA Central Office, including the Primary Care Program Office with Patient Centered Medical Home and Shared Medical Appointments. While she spent time in Specialty Care, she implemented e-Consults, Specialty Care Access Network-Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (SCAN-ECHO), Specialty Care Neighborhoods, and Mini-Residencies. Since March 2015, Dr. Kirsh led access to care efforts such as implementation of the practice management program for outpatient care across VA, same day services, and direct scheduling for specialty care. In 2018, Dr. Kirsh was the Acting Executive Director for Access to Care and led enterprise-wide efforts to improve access to care through telehealth and Clinical Contact Centers Modernization.
Dr. Kirsh received her Doctor of Medicine degree from the Medical College of Ohio in Toledo, Ohio. She completed her residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Cincinnati in Cincinnati, Ohio and Northwestern Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois. She earned her Master of Public Health (MPH) from Case Western University in Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. Kirsh is certified with the American Board of Internal Medicine. In 2023, she received a professional designation in Certified in Medical Quality (CMQ) from the American College of Medical Quality. She is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives, Society of General Internal Medicine, Medical Group Management Association, and the American College of Physicians. Dr. Kirsh was a Faculty Scholar in the VA Quality Scholar Program in 2008 and continues to enjoy teaching via a Professor of Medicine appointment at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, and an Assistant Professor position at Georgetown University School of Health and is an Adjunct Professor at the Uniformed Services University Health System. She lectures occasionally at George Washington University in the School of Public Health.