Leadership

Po Chou, Ph.D., M.P.H.

CEO, EVMS Medical Group

Po Chou leads EVMS Medical Group at Old Dominion University as chief executive officer (CEO). A graduate of George Washington University, Mr. Chou holds a Master of Public Health (MPH) and a Master of Science (MS) degree from the University of Texas. He completed his doctoral studies at the University of Texas for both a DrPH in Health Services Research and a Ph.D. in Management & Policy Sciences with a concentration in Healthcare Finance.

Mr. Chou is a proven healthcare leader with more than 30 years of experience at medical centers across the country and most recently served as Senior Vice President of Strategy, Business Development and Innovation for Robert Wood Johnson Barnabas Health (RWJBH) in West Orange, New Jersey. RWJBH is the largest health system in New Jersey and the state’s largest private employer with 32,000 employees, 9,000 physicians and 1,000 residents.

His extensive leadership background includes roles in executive leadership at various academic medical centers, health organizations and government agencies, including Tenet Healthcare, the University of Texas Medical School, the George Washington University School of Medicine, and the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C.

Judette Louis, MD, M.P.H.

Chair, EVMS Medical Group

Dr. Judette M. Louis is Professor and Dean of Eastern Virginia Medical School at Macon and Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. She joined the school in 2025, having held several senior leadership positions during her 18 years in academic medicine. 

Dr. Louis completed her undergraduate degree from Seton Hall University, her medical degree at Drexel University, and her public health degree at Johns Hopkins University. She completed her residency training in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Case Western Reserve University (MetroHealth Medical Center). Following her residency, Dr. Louis completed her fellowship in maternal-fetal medicine at Wayne State University/National Institutes of Health (NIH) Perinatology Research Branch.

In 2012, Dr. Louis began a 13-year affiliation with the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine in Tampa, Florida. She assumed a series of increasingly responsible academic roles, including Vice Chair of Clinical Research, Director of the Maternal Fetal Medicine Fellowship, Division Director of Maternal Fetal Medicine, and Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Her academic leadership was complemented by hospital leadership roles, including Chief of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Tampa General Hospital and Chief of the TGH Women's Institute. She has served as President of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM) and currently chairs the SMFM Publications Committee. 

Dr. Louis' research in obstructive sleep apnea in pregnant women led to a career focused on maternal morbidity and mortality. She collaborated with sleep medicine experts and anesthesiologists to publish findings from the largest studies on outcomes associated with sleep apnea in pregnancy. Her research portfolio has expanded to include research on hypertensive disease in pregnancy, maternal morbidity, and mortality, and cardiometabolic consequences of sleep disorders. She is an advocate for the inclusion of pregnant and lactating populations in clinical trials. Dr. Louis has authored more than 100 scientific articles and book chapters. Her research has been funded by the NIH, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and both industry and private foundations. 

A highly regarded educator, she has been an invited speaker at institutions across the United States and a keynote speaker at national academic conferences.

Clinically, Dr. Louis has worked to improve health outcomes during childbirth and the postpartum period. She led statewide initiatives in Florida for obstetric hemorrhage and hypertension. She continues to collaborate with community partners to improve obstetric outcomes among the most vulnerable populations.

Her federal and state-level advocacy efforts have centered on community- and hospital-based initiatives to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality and inclusion of pregnant women in clinical trials. She dedicates her time to support programs that increase access to education and build pipelines for healthcare careers, particularly in at-risk communities. She is highly sought after for her mentoring from high school through mid-career and across healthcare disciplines. 

Outside of her academic work, Dr. Louis enjoys exploring the United States with her husband and young-adult twins, hiking, and completing home improvement projects.