Michelle Morse

In October 2023, Michelle Morse was deemed one of the “Most Powerful New Yorkers You’ve Never Heard Of” by New York magazine. It’s a safe bet that more and more people are going to start knowing her name thanks to the first New York City chief medical officer’s ongoing efforts to end racist algorithms in clinical medicine. Her work is paying off: Since forming the city’s Coalition to End Racism in Clinical Algorithms two years ago to work with hospital leaders on jettisoning formulas that lead to worse health outcomes for people of color, New York City has made significant progress in stopping the use of an algorithm that used race as a factor in assessing kidney function, among other achievements. The coalition’s next target: Race-based prescriptions of hypertension medications that studies suggest may be hurting Black patients.