Global Health

December 14, 2017

New appointments bolster VUMC’s missions

New appointments, promotions bolster VUMC’s missions.

Sophoclis Alexopoulos, MD, was named chief of the Division of Hepatobiliary Surgery and Liver Transplantation.

He came to Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) from the Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, where he was assistant professor of Clinical Surgery in the Division of Hepatobiliary/Pancreatic and Abdominal Organ Transplant Surgery.

 

Jennifer Barut, MSN, RN, was named chief nursing officer for Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital (VPH) and Vanderbilt Behavioral Health (VBH).

 

Todd Callahan, MD, MPH, associate professor of Pediatrics, was named director of the Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Health. He succeeded Lynn Walker, PhD, who continiues to focus on research.

 

Dane Chetkovich, MD, PhD, professor of Neurology and Physiology and director of the Medical Scientist Training Program at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, was named chair of the Department of Neurology.

He succeeded Robert Macdonald, MD, PhD, who stepped down after serving as the department’s chair for 16 years.

 

Mary-Margaret “Meg” Chren, MD, professor of Dermatology at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), was named the inaugural chair of the Department of Dermatology. She will join the faculty in January 2018.

 

Stuart Dill, VUMC’s entertainment industry liaison since 2015, was named director of the newly created Office of Engagement.

Dill will continue his work with the entertainment industry and will serve as the institutional leader focusing on internal and external community engagement, including new strategies to build upon VUMC’s philanthropic mission.

 

Kerry Gillihan, MHA, DSc, was named president and CEO of Vanderbilt Home Care Services (VHCS).

He has managed and developed hospitals and health care systems, both acute and post-acute, in rural and urban settings within Kentucky since 1979.

 

Mark Glazer, MD, assistant professor of Medicine at VUMC, was named executive medical director of the Center for Health Information Management (CHIM) at VUMC.

 

Jeffery Johns, MD, was named to serve as interim chair of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation following the departure of former chair Walter Frontera, MD, PhD.

 

Fletcher Lance, MBA, has joined VUMC as Executive Vice President for Vanderbilt Health Professional Solutions.

In this new role, Lance will help facilitate the growth of Professional Solutions Services, a new VUMC subsidiary coordinating the development and management of emerging business enterprises. He will work with leaders of both VUMC and the Vanderbilt Health Affiliated Network to identify new concepts for business development.

 

Jeffrey Neul, MD, PhD, division head of Child Neurology and vice chair for Developmental Neurosciences at the University of California, San Diego, was named director of the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center.

Neul succeeds Elisabeth Dykens, PhD, the Kennedy Center’s director since 2009.

 

Clinical geneticist Tuya Pal, MD, joined Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC) as associate director of Cancer Health Disparities. Pal also was named an associate professor of Medicine and Ingram Associate Professor of Cancer Research.

 

Jeffrey Palmucci, was named the  chief executive officer for Vanderbilt Stallworth Rehabilitation Hospital.

Vanderbilt-Stallworth is a joint venture between Vanderbilt and HealthSouth Corp., one of the nation’s leading rehabilitation services provider.

 

Galen Perdikis, MD, chair of the Division of Plastic Surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, was named chair of the Department of Plastic Surgery. He succeeded Reuben Bueno Jr., MD, interim department chair since May 2016 and Bruce Shack, MD, department chair from 1997 until 2016.

 

Mariann Piano, PhD, a distinguished researcher in cardiovascular disease and expert on the effects of binge drinking and young adults, was named senior associate dean for Research at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing (VUSN).

 

Lori Rolando, MD, MPH, assistant medical director of the Occupational Health Clinic and assistant professor of Clinical Medicine, was named director of Occupational Health for VUMC, succeeding Melanie Swift, MD.

 

Charles Sanders, PhD, was named associate dean for Research in the Basic Sciences of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.

In his new role, Sanders will promote research within the Basic Science departments and at their interfaces with VUMC and Vanderbilt University.

 

Linda Sealy, PhD, was named associate dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for Basic Sciences at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.

 

Ashish Shah, MD, director of Heart Transplant and Mechanical Circulatory Support, was named chair of the Department of Cardiac Surgery. Shah succeeds Michael Petracek, MD.

 

Yu Shyr, PhD, Harold L. Moses Professor of Cancer Research and director of the Vanderbilt Center for Quantitative Sciences, was named chair of the Department of Biostatistics.

Shyr succeeded Frank Harrell Jr., PhD, founding chair, who stepped down after 14 years.

 

Edwin Trevathan, MD, MPH, a pediatric neurologist and epidemiologist who has previously held prominent university leadership positions at Washington University in St. Louis (director of Pediatric Neurology), St. Louis University (dean, School of Public Health) and Baylor University (Provost and Executive Vice President) as well as at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has been appointed director of the Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health (VIGH), effective Jan. 1, 2018.