David Aronoff, M.D., was named the new director of Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Division of Infectious Diseases. Aronoff came to Vanderbilt from the University of Michigan Health System, where he was an associate professor within the Division of Infectious Diseases in the Department of Internal Medicine.
Carlos Arteaga, M.D., professor of Medicine and Cancer Biology, was appointed to lead two newly created cancer research initiatives at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center. He was named the founding director of the Center for Cancer Targeted Therapies (CCTT) and director of the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center Research Network (VICCRN).
Daniel Brown, M.D., was named chief of Interventional Oncology, a new division within the Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences. Brown came to Vanderbilt from Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, where he was chief of Interventional Radiology, professor of Radiology and a member of the Kimmel Cancer Center.
Melinda Buntin, Ph.D., formerly deputy assistant director for Health at the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), was named chair of the new Department of Health Policy. The new department represents a reorganized and growing version of the Department of Preventive Medicine, chaired for 31 years by William Schaffner, M.D., who will continue his teaching and research duties at Vanderbilt.
Kevin Ess, M.D., Ph.D., was named chief of the Division of Pediatric Neurology within the Department of Pediatrics at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. Ess, an accomplished physician-scientist who joined the Vanderbilt faculty in 2006, is also an assistant professor of Pediatrics, Neurology, Cell and Developmental Biology, Biological Sciences and also serves as program director of the Child Neurology Residency Program.
Gerald Hickson, M.D., assistant vice chancellor for Health Affairs, associate dean for Faculty Affairs and the Joseph C. Ross Professor of Medical Education and Administration, was named to the newly created position of senior vice president for Quality, Patient Safety and Risk Prevention. In this new position he serves as the Chief Quality, Patient Safety and Risk Prevention Officer for VUMC and all Vanderbilt University-related entities.
Susan Guttentag, M.D., is joining Vanderbilt University on Feb. 1, 2014, as the new director of the Division of Neonatology within the Department of Pediatrics at Children’s Hospital. Currently, Guttentag is associate professor of Pediatrics with the Perleman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. She has been a faculty member there and has served at both Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania since 1994.
VUMC’s personalized medicine effort got a major boost with the recruitment of two physician-scientists from Australia who will increase Vanderbilt’s strength in translational immunology.
Simon Mallal, MBBS, directs the new Center for Translational Immunology and Infectious Diseases. Elizabeth Phillips, M.D., is the director of Personalized Immunology within the Oates Institute for Experimental Therapeutics.
Blackford Middleton, M.D., MPH, M.Sc., corporate director of clinical informatics research and development at Partners Healthcare in Boston, joined Vanderbilt as assistant vice chancellor for Health Affairs and chief informatics officer for the Vanderbilt University Health System. He succeeded John Doulis, M.D.
Cecelia Moore, MHA, CPA, vice president of Finance and chief operating officer for the Patient Revenue Management Organization (PRMO) with Duke University Health System, was named associate vice chancellor for Finance at VUMC. Moore will be responsible for all financial and control activities for VUMC, including the Vanderbilt University hospitals and clinics, the School of Medicine, the School of Nursing and all affiliated programs. She will also play a central role in supporting VUMC’s health system integration and expansion activities in the region.
Linda Norman, DSN, R.N., was named dean of Vanderbilt University School of Nursing.
Norman, the Valere Potter Menefee Professor of Nursing and senior associate dean for Academics, succeeded Colleen Conway-Welch, Ph.D., CNM, who retired from her longtime role at the end of June. Recognized as a national and international leader in nursing and health profession education, Norman has led curricular innovations in blended learning, interprofessional education, quality improvement and doctoral distance learning.
Michael Petracek, M.D., was named chair of Vanderbilt’s Department of Cardiac Surgery. He has led the department on an interim basis since January.
Thomas Wang, M.D., joined Vanderbilt as director of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine and the physician-in-chief of the Vanderbilt Heart and Vascular Institute. Wang came to Vanderbilt from Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, where he directed the heart failure disease management program and served as the associate director of the heart failure/transplantation section.
