David G. Nichols

Dr. Nichols served as the President and CEO of the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP)

from 2012 to 2021. During that period, he oversaw the initial and continuing certification of

approximately 80,000 pediatricians and pediatric subspecialists in the United States. Among the

new initiatives during his tenure were an award-winning assessment platform (MOCA-Peds)

where pediatricians identify knowledge gaps to improve the quality of their care, the Roadmap

Initiative for pediatric subspecialists to address the mental health needs of families and children

with complex chronic conditions, and online interactive workforce analyses that have

supported policy initiatives by the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine as

well as the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Before coming to the ABP, Dr. Nichols served on the faculty of the Johns Hopkins

University School of Medicine as Director of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Director of the

Division of Pediatric Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, and the Mary Wallace Stanton Vice Dean for Education. In the latter

role, he oversaw the creation of the Genes to Society curriculum, the Armstrong Medical

Education Building, the Johns Hopkins Simulation Center, the Colleges Mentoring Program, and

the Institute for Excellence in Education, among many initiatives.

Dr. Nichols graduated with honors from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in

1977. He completed his pediatrics residency and chief residency at the Children’s Hospital of

Philadelphia (CHOP). Interest in pediatric critical care medicine prompted him to pursue an

anesthesiology residency at the University of Pennsylvania before returning to CHOP for a

fellowship in pediatric critical care.

During his career, Dr. Nichols has published 11 books and 60 journal articles and has

mentored nearly 60 post-doctoral fellows. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including

the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Critical Care Distinguished Career Award, the

Society for Critical Care Medicine Shubin-Weil Master Clinician/Teacher: Excellence in Bedside Teaching Award, and the American Pediatric Society David G. Nichols Health Equity Award and the National Medical Association David G Nichols Educational Symposium.