Recent Leadership Announcements
June 10
Dear Faculty, Staff and Trainees,
I want to share with you some information about upcoming changes in our departmental leadership. Some of these changes result from the success of our program as we lose divisional leaders to advancement opportunities; others result from our desire to strengthen leadership across our missions.
Jeff M. Sands, MD, the Juha P. Kokko Professor of Medicine and Physiology, Director of the Renal Division, and Associate Dean for Clinical and Translational Research at Emory University School of Medicine, has agreed to serve as Executive Vice Chair of the Department of Medicine, a position most recently held by Dr. David Stephens. Dr. Sands is a graduate of Harvard College and Boston University School of Medicine. He trained in Medicine at the University of Chicago and the NIH's National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). Following research fellowship training at the NIH, he proceeded to a clinical nephrology fellowship at Emory. Dr. Sands joined the Emory faculty as an Assistant Professor in 1989, and quickly rose through the ranks to his current leadership positions. His continuously NIH-funded research focuses on understanding of the regulation of urea transport proteins and the urine concentrating mechanisms. He was instrumental in Emory's successful application for the Atlanta Clinical and Translational Science Award. Dr. Sands has held leadership roles in the American Physiological Society and the American Society of Nephrology, and has made tremendous service contributions to the NIH, the American Heart Association and the National Kidney Foundation. He is a sought-after speaker and visiting professor. Because of Jeff's outstanding reputation as a consummate researcher, educator and clinician, and his in-depth knowledge of the challenges and opportunities at Emory, we are thrilled that he has agreed to join the DOM leadership team and look forward to his contributions.
Jesse Roman, MD, Division Director of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine has accepted a position as Chair of Medicine at the University of Louisville. Dr. Roman came to Emory in 1991 as an Assistant Professor of Medicine with an interest in fibronectin and lung development. Since his appointment as director in 2002, Dr. Roman has grown the clinical enterprise, with the recruitment of new clinicians, the annexation of the Allergy Division, and the creation of clinical research centers in asthma, interstitial lung disease, cystic fibrosis, and sleep-disordered breathing. The training program was expanded by the successful competition for two NIH-supported T32 Training Grants, including one from NHLBI that Dr. Roman has led and recently renewed with an increase in funding. During Dr. Roman's tenure as Director, external funding for the research program increased over 250%, with the recruitment of several MD and PhD scientists and the acquisition of new research space at the Whitehead Biomedical Research Building. Overall, Dr. Roman's strategic vision, passion and commitment to excellence have led the division to national prominence. We are grateful for his tremendous contributions to the department and wish him success in his new endeavors.
We are fortunate that Dr. David Guidot, MD, has agreed to serve as Interim Director of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine. He is assuming this role effective immediately. Dr. Guidot received his MD from the University of Michigan, and performed his residency at the University of Minnesota. After clinical and research fellowship training and a first faculty appointment at the University of Colorado, Dr. Guidot was recruited to Emory in 1996. Over the intervening years, he served as the Program Director of the Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Fellowship Training Program, the Pulmonary Section Chief at the VA Medical Center, and as Associate Director for Research in the Division. He is the PI of the Emory Alcohol and Lung Biology Center, and holds numerous grants to support his research in this area. He also serves as PI of an NIH-sponsored Institutional T32 grant for training in alcohol and lung biology. In addition, Dr. Guidot is a 2007 graduate of the Woodruff Leadership Academy. Over the past decade, the division experienced dramatic growth in its research, education, and clinical programs in no small measure due to the efforts of Dr. Guidot. Thus, Dr. Guidot brings a wealth of experience in all three missions of the Department of Medicine, and we are confident that he will lead the division capably during this transition period.
On July 3, Dr. Robert Pollet, Professor of Medicine, Endocrinology, will step down from the role of Associate Chief of Staff for Research and Development at the Atlanta VA. He has been in this role for 21 years. In this time, Dr. Pollet has overseen a multimillion dollar research endeavor funded by a variety of sources including VA, DOD, CDC, NIH, and other public and private sponsors. Dr. Pollet is recognized throughout the VA system for his management of the myriad of compliance directives in human investigation, animals, and biomedical research safety.
Dr. Michael Hart from the Division of Pulmonary Medicine has agreed to become Acting Associate Chief of Staff for Research until a nationwide search is undertaken. Dr. Hart has been at Emory for over nine years and has provided a great deal of leadership at the VA and in the Pulmonary Division. Dr. Hart directs a large research program focused on the pulmonary circulation. In addition to being the principal investigator on an R01 and a VA Merit Review, he is a project leader in the NIH-funded Emory Alcohol and Lung Biology Center, and is a faculty mentor on two NIH-funded training grants. He also served as the Program Director for the Pulmonary & Critical Care Fellowship for 5 years, is a member of the DOM Faculty Development Committee, and is the course director for the Pulmonary Module in the new medical school curriculum. He is an associate editor of the Journal of Investigative Medicine, has served on numerous peer review committees including the VA Respiration Board, and has been honored by a Dean's Distinguished Teaching Award for his outstanding contributions in education throughout the entire School of Medicine.
Please join me in thanking Dr. Roman as he moves on to the next challenge in his career. I am very grateful for his leadership and contributions to the Department of Medicine. Also, we thank Dr. Pollet for his many excellent years of service. And, let's also bestow our sincere congratulations upon Jeff, David and Mike as they take on important new leadership roles.
Sincerely,
R. Wayne Alexander, MD, PhD
Chair, Department of Medicine