There has been a flurry of leadership appointments across medical specialties this year at both academic and non-academic health systems, hospitals and outpatient groups.
Here are the most recent leadership appointments across five medical specialties, as reported by Becker’s:
Cardiology
1. Little Rock, Ark.-based University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences appointed Srikanth Vallurupalli, MD, as director of the division of cardiovascular medicine.
2. Providence-based Rhode Island Hospital, part of Brown University Health, appointed Mark Cunningham, MD, as chief of cardiac surgery.
3. Jerry Estep, MD, division chair of Cardiovascular Medicine for Cleveland Clinic Florida, was named the inaugural endowed chair holder for the new Eric and Lois Zorn Endowed Chair in Cardiovascular Medicine.
4. Kevin Kwaku, MD, PhD, was appointed president of the Association of Black Cardiologists.
5. New York City-based NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center appointed three cardiac leaders.
Anesthesiology
1. Albany Medical Center (N.Y.) appointed Jaime Ortiz, MD, as chair of the department of anesthesiology. Dr. Ortiz will also serve as chief of anesthesiology and professor of anesthesiology at Albany Medical College.
2. The University of Virginia School of Medicine in Charlottesville named Michael Mazzeffi, MD, as permanent chair of its department of anesthesiology.
3. Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis appointed Padma Gulur, MD, as head of the department of anesthesiology and the inaugural Alex S. Evers MD Distinguished Professor in Anesthesiology.
4. Edina, Minn.-based Nura Pain Clinics promoted Erin Bettendorf, MD, to medical director of the Nura Surgical Center.
5. The University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha named Daniel Johnson, MD, as executive vice chair of its department of anesthesiology and Shaun Thompson, MD, as chief of the critical care anesthesiology division, both effective March 1.
Gastroenterology
1. Philadelphia-based Temple Health’s Fox Chase Cancer Center appointed David Weinberg, MD, a gastroenterologist, as vice president and physician lead of the cancer screening and prevention service line and associate director of cancer screening and prevention for the Institute for Cancer Research.
2. Field Willingham, MD, will join the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and UHealth, University of Miami health system as chief of the division of digestive health and liver diseases, effective June 29.
3. Cleveland-based MetroHealth System appointed John Vargo, MD, a gastroenterologist, as chair of its department of medicine.
4. Babak Firoozi, MD, was named medical director of gastroenterology at MemorialCare Medical Group: Dr. Firoozi will lead efforts to improve care coordination, standardize clinical protocols and support the growth of the system’s GI program.
5. The University of California, San Diego appointed Rohit Loomba, MD as the inaugural holder of the John C. Martin Endowed Chair in Liver Disease. Chief of gastroenterology and hepatology at UC San Diego Health, Dr. Loomba is internationally recognized for his work in noninvasive imaging and metabolic liver disease research, with contributions that have shaped global clinical trials and FDA approvals.
Spine and neurology
1. Spine surgeon Todd Albert, MD, was named chief medical officer for Legent Health, an owner and operator of orthopedic ASCs and surgical hospitals.
2. Paul Kim, MD, was named chair of neurosurgery at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and Advocate Health’s Charlotte, N.C. campus
3. Spinal neurosurgeon John O’Toole, MD, was named chair of the neurological surgery at Chicago-based Rush University.
4. The Charlottesville-based University of Virginia School of Medicine appointed Aaron Dumont, MD, as chair of its department of neurosurgery.
5. Neurosurgeon Anthony Asher, MD, was named president of Prisma Health Neurosciences Institute in Greenville, S.C.
Oncology
1. Valdosta, Ga.-based SGMC Health tapped Nicole Centers to serve as director of the Pearlman Cancer Center. Ms. Centers was also appointed administrative director of oncology for the health system.
2. Stanford (Calif.) Cancer Institute tapped Vivek Subbiah, MD, as inaugural associate director for drug development and precision oncology. Dr. Subbiah was also appointed as executive medical director for cancer novel therapies and clinical trial network development at Stanford (Calif.) Health Care.
3. Houston Methodist tapped Daniela Matei, MD, as director of the Dr. Mary and Ron Neal Cancer Center.
4. Seattle-based Fred Hutch Cancer Center named Holly Harris, PhD, the inaugural Bus Family Endowed Chair and Jonathan Bricker, PhD, as the Endowed Chair in Cancer Prevention.
5. Philadelphia-based Fox Chase Cancer Center appointed David Weinberg, MD, as vice president and physician lead of the cancer screening and prevention service line. Dr. Weinberg will also serve as the associate director of cancer screening and prevention at the Institute for Cancer Research.
