Our Leadership: Katherine Deans, MD, MHSc

Katherine Deans, MD, MHSc, is Senior Vice President and Enterprise Surgeon-in-Chief at Nemours Children’s. In this pivotal role, she oversees and elevates surgical programs across the health system, including strengthening the capabilities and positioning of our surgical programs and our Institute for Maternal Fetal Health.

Dr. Deans champions collaboration and best-practice sharing among surgical teams, ensuring consistent excellence, innovation, and superior patient outcomes across all Nemours locations. She is instrumental in unifying surgical efforts and serves as a key advisor to the enterprise’s regional presidents, particularly in areas of strategic growth, talent acquisition, and enhancing Nemours’ national reputation, including its U.S. News & World Report rankings.

Known for her strategic vision and collaborative leadership, Dr. Deans is triple board-certified in general surgery, surgical critical care, and pediatric surgery. Before joining Nemours in 2022, she served as a Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and The Ohio State University. Notably, she was the inaugural Chief Clinical Research Officer and co-founder of the pioneering Center for Surgical Outcomes Research, underscoring her commitment to advancing surgical science.

As a surgeon, Dr. Deans specializes in complex hepatobiliary surgery, which involves the liver, gallbladder, and bile ducts. Her scientific endeavors are equally impactful, focusing on patient and family-centered research that directly translates to better care. Her groundbreaking work has decreased patient complications, reduced health care costs, and significantly improved patient satisfaction. A prolific researcher, she has authored more than 200 peer-reviewed publications and secured more than $10 million in competitive research funding from prestigious organizations like the National Institutes of Health and the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute.

Dr. Deans received her Bachelor of Arts from Wellesley College, her Doctor of Medicine from Dartmouth Medical School, and her Master of Health Science degree from the Duke University School of Medicine. She completed her general surgery residency at Massachusetts General Hospital, a research fellowship and critical care fellowship at the National Institutes of Health, and her pediatric surgery fellowship at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

She is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and American Academy of Pediatrics, Section on Surgery. Dr. Deans is also a member of the Society of University Surgeons, the American Surgical Association, the International Pediatric Endosurgery Group, the American Pediatric Surgical Association and the Pediatric Trauma Society. She is an assistant editor for the Journal of Pediatric Surgery and an ad hoc reviewer for nearly a dozen prestigious publications.