Adrian F. Hernandez, MD, MHS, is a cardiologist who serves as the Vice Dean for Clinical Research at the Duke University School of Medicine. Dr. Hernandez has devoted his career to research in order to improve population health, focusing on understanding health outcomes, and closing the gap between clinical efficacy and effectiveness. An expert in trial design, use of electronic health data, health services, and regulatory science, Dr. Hernandez has led efforts to create more pragmatic clinical trials that get closer to what patients and clinicians experience every day. 

Presently, he is the Coordinating Center Principal Investigator for PCORI’s National Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network (PCORnet), NIH’s Health System Collaboratory, and other pragmatic clinical trials to generate real world evidence. He is also the Coordinating Center Principal Investigator for the Baseline Health System Consortium which aims to change how clinical research is performed to integrate people in and outside of the health system, accelerate research, and improve efficiency. 

Dr. Hernandez was previously the Director of Health Services and Outcomes Research at the Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI). Under his leadership at DCRI, he played a pivotal role in leading efforts to improve patient-centered outcomes through the creation of new therapies and enhanced delivery throughout the national health system. Dr. Hernandez has consistently provided significant contributions towards the fields of heart failure, outcomes research, population health, and clinical research methodology.

Dr. Hernandez earned a bachelor's degree from Rice University in Houston and his medical degree from University of Texas-Southwestern in Dallas. He finished his residency in internal medicine at the University of California, before completing his residency in cardiology at Duke University.  He has over 500 published articles and is an elected member of the American Society of Clinical Investigation and Association of American Physicians.  He is a member of the National Evaluation System for Health Technology Coordination Center (NEST) Governing Committee, associate editor for JAMA Cardiology, professor of medicine with tenure at Duke University,  

Dr. Hernandez joined the Reagan-Udall Foundation for the FDA Board of Directors in 2019.