S. Todd Callahan, M.D., MPH, associate professor of Pediatrics, has been named director of the Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Health.
Callahan, whose appointment began March 1, was selected after an extensive national search through a committee that included Kathryn Edwards, M.D., Bill Cooper, M.D., MPH, Sari Acra, M.D., MPH, Paul Moore, M.D., and Kecia Carroll, M.D., MPH.
“Todd has distinguished himself for his contributions to the field of eating disorders, particularly in his work at the state and national levels,” said Steven Webber, MBChB, MRCP, chair of Vanderbilt’s Department of Pediatrics, pediatrician-in-chief at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt and James C. Overall Professor. “He has also contributed to our understanding of the importance of access to appropriate health care for adolescents as they transition to adulthood. Todd is a superb clinician, teacher and universally respected among his colleagues for his thoughtfulness, compassion and generosity.”
Callahan succeeds Lynn Walker, Ph.D., professor of Pediatrics, who will continue to focus on research and other projects.
“I want to offer my deepest thanks to Lynn Walker, Ph.D., who has served faithfully and ably as the division director for almost 20 years,” Webber said. “Lynn has been a stalwart member of our faculty for greater than three decades, and her sustained commitment to excellence and scholarship continues to inspire all of us. Lynn will remain an active part of the Vanderbilt faculty, including her leadership of her internationally recognized research program studying chronic pain in adolescents.”
Callahan has been at Vanderbilt since 2002. He earned his medical degree from the University of Arkansas for Medical Science, where he completed his residency in Pediatrics and Internal Medicine. He completed a fellowship in Adolescent and Young Adult Health at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School and earned a master’s degree in public health from Harvard University School of Public Health.
While at Vanderbilt he has become a distinguished leader for his work in eating disorders and adolescent-focused research in health services, vaccinology and pharmacoepidemiology. He was selected to the Adolescent Medicine sub-board of the American Board of Pediatrics and is an associate editor for the leading textbook of adolescent and young adult health.
“I am excited about the opportunity to lead the Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Health and its multidisciplinary team of talented and dedicated professionals,” Callahan said. “Our division has been superbly led by Dr. Lynn Walker and we will continue to be guided by the mission developed under her leadership, which recognizes the unique attributes of adolescents and young adults and seeks to improve the health of this population through state-of-the-art clinical care, education, research and advocacy.
“I am thrilled that Dr. Walker will continue to play a prominent role in our division and department. I am also eager to work with Dr. Webber, the division directors and other leaders of the Department of Pediatrics to further the missions of the department and the Medical Center,” Callahan said.
