Draft:Stephen Louis Ferrara

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Stephen Louis Ferrara, MD, FSIR, FACR (born March 26, 1969) is the Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs. He is a retired United States Navy Captain, physician, intelligence officer, and politician. He is known for his contributions to military medicine and his efforts to improve healthcare policy. Ferrara is an Afghanistan war veteran and was the Republican nominee for Arizona's 9^th Congressional District in the 2018 midterm elections.

From 2013 to 2015, Ferrara served as the United States Navy's first Chief Medical Officer and from 2022 to 2024 was the Chief Medical Officer for the Central Intelligence Agency.

Early life and education

Ferrara was born in Phoenix, Arizona and adopted by Louis and Evelyn (nee Holley) Ferrara. He was a prominent junior golfer and competed at the local, state, and national level. He graduated from Brophy College Preparatory in 1987. In 1991, he earned a B.S. in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology from the University of California, Los Angeles and went on to earn his Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degree from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, MD. Following graduation from medical school, he completed a Surgical internship and Diagnostic Radiology residency at Naval Medical Center, San Diego and a Fellowship in Vascular and Interventional Radiology at the University of California, San Diego. He subsequently completed subspeciality training in Pediatric Interventional Radiology at Boston Children's Hospital in 2023.

Ferrara was a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation/National Academy of Medicine Congressional Health Policy Fellow from 2012-2013 and worked in the 113^th Congress on the Health Subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Military career

Ferrara accepted a commission in the United States Navy as an Ensign in 1991. He was promoted to Lieutenant upon graduation from medical school in 1995. He went on to serve on active duty for nearly 25 years, retiring as a Navy Captain in 2016.

During his career, he deployed multiple times with the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps. He was the 1^st Surveillance, Reconnaissance, and Intelligence Group (SRIG) Surgeon at Camp Pendleton, CA and deployed throughout CENTCOM with the 15^th Marine Expeditionary Unit. During this tour, Ferrara earned his Navy-Marine Corps Parachutist qualification and Surface Warfare Medical Department Officer qualification aboard USS Ogden (LPD 5). He was the Chief of Radiology aboard USNS Mercy for Operation Unified Assistance I/II in support of the tsunami relief effort following the historically devastating Indonesian tsunami of December 26, 2004. It was during this mission that Ferrara became a strong advocate for the use of medical diplomacy as a foreign policy tool. In 2009, Ferrara volunteered to deploy to Kandahar, Afghanistan as a General Medical Officer with the United States Army during the Obama administration's Afghanistan surge. In Afghanistan, Ferrara introduced the use of lifesaving endovascular surgical techniques on the battlefield which became a mainstay of battlefield medicine. In his dual role as General Medical Officer and volunteering at the NATO Role 3, Ferrara identified a unique, ejection-seat like injury mechanism that resulted in devastating spine injuries. He successfully designed a blast-mitigating seat that Army Materiel Command funded to prevent spine injuries secondary to improvised explosive device exposure while in armored vehicles.

Ferrara completed his Navy Medicine career as the Navy's Chief Medical Officer. Ferrara earned numerous personal, unit, and campaign awards and citations.

Political and public sector career

Ferrara won a competitive primary election to become the Republican nominee for United States Congress in AZ-9 in 2018. He lost the general election to Greg Stanton, the incumbent Phoenix Mayor.

Healthcare Policy

Ferrara was a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation/National Academy of Medicine Congressional Fellow in 2012-2013. He worked on the Health Subcommittee (Majority) of the Energy and Commerce Committee where he was involved in legislation and policy formulation as well as oversight affecting the U.S. healthcare system comprising approximately 18% of national GDP.

He is active in organized medicine and has held leadership roles affecting Health Policy and Economics, Education, Quality, and the Workforce.

Vascular and Interventional Radiologist

Steve Ferrara has been a clinically active Vascular and Interventional Radiologist for over 20 years. He is on the faculty and medical staff at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, MD. He has special interest and expertise in Pediatric Vascular and Interventional Radiology.

Awards and honors

Throughout his career, Ferrara has received numerous accolades, including many military and civilian awards, including the Legion of Merit, Humanitarian Assistance Award, and the Afghanistan Campaign Medal as well as numerous awards for clinical excellence and educational contributions.