Catherine “Terri” Hough, MD MSc ATSF
Professor and Chair of Medicine
Oregon Health & Science University
Three statements about you – two true, one false.
- I love live music and have attended hundreds of shows.
- I once tried to outrun the Peruvian police at the Bolivian border.
- I am an avid skier—nothing can keep me off the mountains.
Give us your ‘elevator pitch’ biography.
I grew up in Livermore, California, in a household of engineers and a city of scientists, so it seems unsurprising that I first imagined my career in a basic science lab studying biology. My first job after college as a structural biologist—while fascinating—also taught me that I prefer working directly with people than alone, and that I can’t troubleshoot microscopy systems to save my life.
So I went to medical school with shaky plans to practice family medicine in migrant communities, then shakier plans as I headed into residency to be a neurologist. But I found my path once I set foot on Founders 9, the Medical ICU at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. I loved working in the intense team-based environment of critical care and became fascinated by the acute respiratory distress syndrome and understanding what happened to patients who survived the ICU.
My fellowship in PCCM at the University of Washington was truly formative. I found a terrific mentor (Len Hudson), a new research methodology (epidemiology), and my favorite hospital on the planet (Harborview Medical Center, the safety-net hospital for Seattle’s King County). Len brought me to my first ATS International Conference in Toronto in 2000 which blew my mind and convinced me that I had found my professional home. ATS was a part of every step as I built my career in the epidemiology of critical care survivorship and ARDS clinical trials.
The same year I joined faculty at UW, I met and married my husband, Brian Hough, a hospitalist, palliative care physician, and live music afficionado. Over my 20+ years in Seattle, we raised three wonderful kids (Torin, Finn, and Sinead) and fell in love with the Pacific Northwest.
In 2020, we moved to Portland, Oregon for the opportunity to lead the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the Oregon Health & Science University (painfully coinciding with the pandemic). Since 2023, I have had the honor of serving as Chair of the Department of Medicine which, unpredictably, is my dream job. It is such fun to build programs, to recruit amazing new faculty, and to support leaders and scientists through these uncertain times. Equally importantly, I am still an active mentor and scientist, studying interventions to (try to) improve outcomes after critical illness.
I am so thankful for the ATS, which has given me a community of friends, mentors, mentees, advocates, and co-investigators, as well as opportunities to lead the Critical Care Assembly and its program committee, and to serve the larger Society. Now 30 years into my medical career, I hope that I have the chance to participate in and serve the ATS for decades to come.
What would you tell yourself as an Early Career Professional?
Two things.
First, worry less! I worried a lot as a new Assistant Professor, especially about narrowing my academic focus. I worried that making decisions to specialize in clinical areas or research methodologies would close doors of opportunity forever. I now see how important it is to focus early; developing depth and expertise led to more opportunities, not less. And our careers are long—plenty of time to explore other areas over the course of decades.
Second, build teams and work with people you enjoy being with. The work is so much better and infinitely more fun when we don’t try and do it alone!
If you weren’t in medicine, and were in a different industry altogether, what would you be?
I would run a used record store with a great cocktail bar and a small stage for live performances. (More realistically, I would probably work in public health).
What is your favorite way to spend a day off?
A perfect day would include coffee in bed, a morning hike, an afternoon hanging on the couch watching sports with my kids (Go Seahawks!), a night out with my husband at one of Portland’s great music venues, and then finally falling asleep while reading a novel.
What areas of medicine are you most excited to see develop?
I think that the combination of learning health systems and precision medicine has the promise to improve our health care delivery by learning from every patient, and then tailoring treatments and support based on patient’s individual needs and goals.
What is one advancement in your field you’d like to see in your career?
I would love to see more integration of social science into critical care and recovery. I believe we prevent critical illness and improve outcomes post-ICU for patients and families through improved support in patients’ homes and communities and a committed effort to reduce health disparities.
Which statement (in the first question) was false?
I think I am the only person in the Pacific Northwest who doesn’t like to ski.
Dr. Hough is currently the nominating chair of the Critical Care Assembly Executive Committee and a member of the ATS Awards Committee. Previously she served as the Critical Care Assembly Chair, as well as the Assembly's Program Committee (member and chair), Planning Committee (member), Women in Critical Care (founding member), and Nominating Committee (member). She has also served the ATS on the Board of Directors (member), Research Advocacy Committee (member), Planning and Evaluation Committee (member), and Board Nominating Committee (member).