Dr. Mark W. True serves as the Chief Executive Officer and Designated Institutional Official of SAUSHEC, overseeing the training of over 700 U.S. military officers in 34 Graduate Medical Education and 22 Graduate Allied Health Education specialty programs. SAUSHEC prepares its graduates to lead in serving the medical needs of the U.S. military across the globe. As a practicing physician, Dr. True holds dual board certifications in Internal Medicine and Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism. He is a Professor of Medicine at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences. His scholarly work is primarily in the realm of diabetes care, physician leadership training, and the national importance of military GME.
Dr. True graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1991 with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering. He received his Doctor of Medicine from USUHS in 2000. He completed a military residency in Internal Medicine at David Grant Medical Center, Travis Air Force Base, California in 2003, and a fellowship in Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism at SAUSHEC in 2005. Additionally, he completed professional military education during his uniformed career, including Squadron Officer School, Air Command and Staff College, and Air War College.
Dr. True is a retired Air Force Colonel. He served in the regular Air Force for five years as an electrical engineer in support of Air Force Space Command’s space launch and missile testing program. After his medical training, his Medical Corps positions included staff endocrinologist, teaching faculty, flight commander and clinical service chief, founding director of the Air Force Diabetes Center of Excellence, consultant to the Air Force Surgeon General for endocrinology, program director for the SAUSHEC Endocrinology Fellowship, Director of GME for the 59th Medical Wing, and Associate Dean for Air Force GME at SAUSHEC. In 2006, he deployed to Sather Air Base, Baghdad International Airport, Iraq, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom serving during the surge in early 2007. He entered federal civilian service as the SAUSHEC Dean after his active-duty retirement in 2019.
Dr. True’s awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters, and Air Force Commendation Medal. He earned the Air Force’s Special Experience Identifier as a senior educator, and he is a member of the Army’s Order of Military Medical Merit. As a civilian, he earned the Award for Meritorious Civilian Service.
Dr. True has served on multiple national academic committees, to include the chair of the Endocrine Society’s Clinical Endocrine Education Committee from 2018-2021. In 2016-2018, he served as chair of the national endocrinology in-training examination hosted by the Endocrine Society and administered to over 600 endocrinology fellows annually. Dr. True is also a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and Fellow of the American College of Endocrinology.