Dr. Sylvia Trent-Adams

Rear Adm. (Ret.) Dr. Sylvia Trent-Adams is a Hampton University nursing graduate, former Acting Surgeon General of the United States, and a career public-health leader. Born in Lynchburg, Virginia, she completed her B.S.N. and Army ROTC at Hampton, commissioning in 1987. She served five years in the Army Nurse Corps, including trauma and oncology work at Walter Reed, then joined the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. She later earned an M.S. in nursing and health policy from the University of Maryland, Baltimore, and a Ph.D. in public policy from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

Trent-Adams rose to Deputy Surgeon General from 2015 to 2018 and served as Acting Surgeon General from April 21 to September 5, 2017—only the second non-physician and the second nurse to hold that post. She later served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health. Her uniformed career included leadership in the opioid response and the Corps’ work during the West Africa Ebola outbreak. She retired in 2020 at the rank of rear admiral after more than 33 years of combined service.

She received the International Red Cross Florence Nightingale Medal, the highest international honor for a nurse, along with the Distinguished Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, and the Surgeon General’s Medallion. From 2022 to 2025 she served as president of the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth. She is a 2026 National Black College Alumni Hall of Fame inductee in Science.

• Commissioned from Hampton as an Army nurse. Trent-Adams completed her B.S.N. and Army ROTC at Hampton in 1987, then served five years in the Army Nurse Corps, including trauma and oncology work at Walter Reed. She later earned an M.S. in nursing and health policy from the University of Maryland, Baltimore, and a Ph.D. in public policy from UMBC.
• Served as Acting Surgeon General of the United States. From April 21 to September 5, 2017, she held the nation’s highest public-health uniformed post—only the second non-physician and the second nurse to do so—after serving as Deputy Surgeon General from 2015 to 2018.
• Led the Corps through national and global health emergencies. Her uniformed career included leadership in the opioid response and the Commissioned Corps’ work during the West Africa Ebola outbreak. She later served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health.
• Received the Florence Nightingale Medal. The International Red Cross awarded her its highest honor for a nurse in 2017. She also holds the Distinguished Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, and the Surgeon General’s Medallion.
• Retired as a rear admiral and led a health sciences university. After more than 33 years of combined Army and U.S. Public Health Service, she retired in 2020 and served from 2022 to 2025 as president of the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth.