# David Kershenobich

David Kershenobich Stalnikowitz (born November 20, 1942) is a Mexican physician and academic. He has served as the Secretary of Health of Mexico since October 1, 2024, under the administration of President Claudia Sheinbaum.

## Early life and education

David Kershenobich Stalnikowitz was born on November 20, 1942, to Jacobo Kershenobich and Flora Stalnikowitz, both of Polish descent. Although he was born in Mexico City, his family moved to Tampico, Tamaulipas, where he completed his basic and secondary education.
Kershenobich earned his medical degree from the Faculty of Medicine at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and specialized in internal medicine and gastroenterology at the Salvador Zubirán National Institute of Health Sciences and Nutrition. He later pursued further specialization in hepatology at the Royal Free Hospital in London, where he also earned a doctorate in Medicine from the University of London.

## Early career

He has held several prominent positions, including head of the Department of Gastroenterology at the Salvador Zubirán National Institute of Health Sciences and Nutrition, president of the Mexican Foundation for Liver Health, and director of research at the Hospital General de México since 2009.
Kershenobich is a member of Mexico's National Academy of Medicine [es] and has served as a professor at the UNAM Faculty of Medicine, teaching master's and doctoral courses. Since 1975, he has been an active researcher, authoring nearly 500 research publications, including 132 original articles in journals such as The New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of Clinical Investigation, and Gastroenterology and Hepatology. He has also contributed 54 book chapters and served as an editor and editorial board member for numerous national and international journals.
Kershenobich has served as president of several professional organizations, including the National Association of Internal Medicine, the Mexican Association of Gastroenterology, the Mexican Association of Hepatology, and the International Association for the Study of the Liver. His contributions to medicine have earned him numerous prestigious awards, including the University Clinical Research Award, the Dr. Donato Alarcón Segovia Award from the Faculty of Medicine at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), the Miguel Otero Arce Research Award, and the Eduardo Liceaga Decoration from the General Health Council.
From 2005 to 2013, Kershenobich was a member of the UNAM Board of Governors, a body responsible for university governance.
On June 15, 2012, he was appointed Director General of the Salvador Zubirán National Institute of Health Sciences and Nutrition. He was reelected for a second term, serving until 2022.
Kershenobich received the Medalla al Mérito en Ciencias from the Legislative Assembly of the Federal District (ALDF) on April 26, 2016, in recognition of his contributions to science.

## Health secretary

On June 27, 2024, he was announced as the incoming secretary of health by president-elect Claudia Sheinbaum. He assumed the position on October 1, 2024.

## Personal life

Kershenobich is the father-in-law of David Korenfeld, former director general of the Comisión Nacional del Agua (CONAGUA) during the administration of President Enrique Peña Nieto.