Lisa Cuddy is the hospital’s dean of medicine for much of House M.D.
Played by Lisa Edelstein, Cuddy is the senior administrator responsible for managing Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. She regularly confronts House over his methods, rule-breaking, patient care, and use of hospital resources.
Cuddy’s position gives her authority over House while also making her a major character in the show’s personal and professional storylines. Her relationship with House develops over several seasons and becomes one of the program’s central ongoing tensions.
The title can be confused with other leadership roles because the hospital also has a board, department heads, and administrators. Cuddy is specifically the dean of medicine, not House’s colleague on the diagnostic team.