Lisa Cuddy is the dean of medicine at Princeton-Plainsboro when House M.D. begins.
Cuddy is played by Lisa Edelstein and serves as House's superior for much of the series. She recruited him to Princeton-Plainsboro and protects his diagnostic department even while challenging his disregard for rules, patients, and hospital policy.
Her role combines medical leadership with institutional responsibility. Cuddy must manage budgets, legal risks, staffing, and the hospital's reputation, while House frequently demands expensive tests or breaks standard procedure. This creates one of the show's continuing conflicts: House's methods can produce remarkable answers, but they also expose the hospital to serious risks.
Cuddy's title is sometimes casually described as hospital administrator, but dean of medicine is the specific position associated with her leadership in the early series. She later becomes involved in a personal relationship with House, though their relationship does not erase the professional power imbalance between them.