Pedram Salimpour

Pedram Salimpour is an Iranian-American physician-scientist, author, professor, entrepreneur, and business executive. He is the co-founder of CareNex Health Services (later acquired by Anthem), Champion Health Enterprises, and Plymouth Health, which previously owned Alvarado Hospital in San Diego.^[1][2] He has served on various professional boards and in 2014, became president of the Los Angeles County Medical Association.^[3] Salimpour is also a two-time recipient of the American College of Physicians' Research Award.^[4] He delivered the commencement address to the 2008 graduating class of the University of California, Riverside,^[3] and the keynote address at the annual colloquium of the Whitehead Institute at MIT in 2012.^[5]

Salimpour was born in Tehran, Iran, and spent his early childhood there during the Iranian Revolution in the late 1970s. He immigrated with his family to the United States six months after his older brother, Pejman Salimpour.^[6] Salimpour moved to Los Angeles at age 12, after which his father opened a medical practice following his work at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.^[6] By the time he started junior high school in the Woodland Hills School District in 1981, he spoke fluent English.^[6]

Salimpour attended the University of California, Riverside upon graduating from high school where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from the school in 1990.^[7] He then attended UCLA, where he earned his Master's Degree in Public Health in Health Services Administration in 1992.^[4] Salimpour attended Boston University School of Medicine, where he earned a medical degree in 2000. At Boston University School of Medicine, Salimpour participated in research on the association between frequent bicycle riding and erectile dysfunction.^[8] His research contributed to early studies suggesting such connection.^[6] He was also part of a research team whose work was relevant to the introduction of Viagra to the pharmaceutical market. He later contributed to establishing one of the first departments of Sexual medicine in the United States.^[9][10] He completed his residency at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California Medical Center.^[4]

Salimpour began his career as a physician at the Salimpour Pediatric Medical Group, a pediatric center administered by his father, Ralph Salimpour, in the greater Los Angeles area.^[11][12] He co-founded three medical companies, including one that previously owned Alvarado Hospital in San Diego. He is the co-founder of CareNex Health Services, a healthcare technology company that specializes in neonatal and perinatal disease management.^[2] He founded the company with his brother, Pejman, in 2005, and it was acquired by WellPoint (now Anthem) in 2013. The brothers also founded Plymouth Health, which purchased Alvarado Hospital in San Diego from Tenet Healthcare Corporation following a civil settlement.^[2] The previous owner of the hospital, Tenet Healthcare Corporation, was accused of paying kickbacks to physicians for referrals to the hospital.^[13] As part of a settlement from a civil complaint filed against them, Tenet agreed to sell the hospital and pay a settlement of $21 million. Salimpour and his brother paid approximately $36.5 million for the hospital before selling it to Prime Healthcare in 2010.^[14]

After the sale of Alvarado, Salimpour co-founded Champion Health Enterprises, now Pierce Health Solutions,^[15] a company focusing on healthcare services for Native American tribes and business entities whose annual revenue exceeded $500 million. He serves as the company's CEO and has partnered with the Morongo Band of Mission Indians since the inception of Champion Health.^[16] In addition to his clinical and entrepreneurial work, Salimpour has published articles in medical journals, co-authored a pediatric atlas, and served in academic appointments.^[6] He wrote the Photographic Atlas of Pediatric Disorders and Diagnosis, a book that he co-authored with his brother Pejman and his father Ralph Salimpour.^[17] He also received a Los Angeles area Emmy Award for his 2006 news documentary The Face of America. He holds the position of adjunct professor at the Center on Human Aging at San Diego State University and is an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of California, Riverside School of Medicine.^[1]

Salimpour is the founding chairman of the board of Directors of the Discovery Science Museum in Los Angeles.^[18]

His research linking frequent bicycle riding and smoking with erectile dysfunction has been cited in various studies, and he has been interviewed by media outlets such as The New York Times, the BBC, and CNN regarding this work.^{[9][11][19][20][8]}

Salimpour co-founded NexCare Collaborative, a nonprofit providing health insurance support and free referral services for foster children and low-income families in the Los Angeles area to access medical care.^[21] He served as the organization's executive vice president from 2001 to 2005.^[4]