Mark Kobelja, MD

Dr. Mark Kobelja was appointed the Chief of Staff of the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in March 2021. Dr. Kobelja is a 33-year Veteran of the U.S. Navy with extensive physician executive leadership experience in academic medical referral centers and senior medical advisor roles including Director, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and Surgeon General for U.S. European Command, Stuttgart, Germany.

After graduation from Spring Hill College with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics he was commissioned in the U.S. Navy and completed two tours as Surface Warfare Officer. He was then selected for medical training and attended the F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. Dr. Kobelja went on to complete his residency in Anesthesiology at the National Naval Medical Center and a Pain Medicine Fellowship at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. He is a diplomat of the American Board of Anesthesiology and has held numerous clinical and academic appointments.

Dr. Kobelja is an avid proponent of clinical innovation, research, medical education, and the systematic quality improvement in the care of Service Members and Veterans and has led a variety of clinical quality and staff experience improvements as well as organization firsts in education, research, and quality accreditations, certifications and recognitions during his leadership tenures.