Jennifer (Piper) Below, PhD, professor of Medicine in the Division of Genetic Medicine, was named director of the Vanderbilt Genetics Institute.
Below, who holds the Mary Phillips Edmonds Gray Chair, succeeded founding Institute Director Nancy Cox, PhD, professor of Medicine.
Hope Collins was named senior director of Patient and Family Engagement for Vanderbilt Health. In her new role, Collins oversees patient and family councils that advise individual Vanderbilt Health hospital entities from the patient/family perspective. Collins succeeded Terrell Smith, MSN, RN, who pioneered the role for Vanderbilt Health and recently retired.
Alice Coogan, MD, the Dorothy Beryl and Theodore R. Austin Professor of Pathology, chair of the Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology (PM&I), and system pathologist-in-chief for Vanderbilt Health, will retire Dec. 31. Coogan will be succeeded in these roles by Adam Seegmiller, MD, PhD, professor and vice chair for Clinical Affairs for PM&I.
William Cooper, MD, MPH, President of Vanderbilt Health Center for Patient and Professional Advocacy, was named Senior Vice President for Professionalism and Clinical Excellence. In this newly created role, Cooper, Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Pediatrics and Health Policy at the School of Medicine, is responsible for promoting and ensuring the highest standards of professionalism and performance among faculty, clinical staff, trainees and students throughout the health system.
Andrew DeFilippis, MD, professor of Medicine, was named director of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine.
DeFilippis serves as associate chief of staff at Vanderbilt University Hospital and served as the medical director of the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit from 2020 to 2025.
Melissa Duff, PhD, professor and vice chair for Research for Vanderbilt Health’s Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, was named chair of the department. Duff succeeded Anne Marie Tharpe, PhD, who led Hearing and Speech Sciences for 15 years.
Allison Hanlon, MD, PhD, MBA, professor and interim chair of the Department of Dermatology, was chosen to serve as the department’s new chair and System Chief of Services for Dermatology for Vanderbilt Health.
Hanlon, who joined the Vanderbilt faculty in 2016, succeeded Mary Margaret “Meg” Chren, MD, the department’s inaugural chair.
Bryan Harris, MD, MPH, MMHC, associate professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases and executive vice chair for Clinical Affairs in the Department of Medicine, was appointed interim chair of the Department of Medicine, effective July 1. Harris, holder of the Allen Kaiser, MD, Directorship for Clinical Excellence, succeeded Jane Freedman, MD, the Gladys Parkinson Stahlman Professor of Cardiovascular Research, as she assumed the role of Deputy CEO and Chief Health System Officer.
Stephan Heckers, MD, MSc, will step down from his role as chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the end of the academic year. He will continue to see patients, conduct research and lead the Vanderbilt Early Psychosis Program, an internationally recognized translational research program.
Romney Humphries, PhD, director of the Division of Laboratory Medicine and professor in the Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, was named the department’s vice chair for Clinical Affairs, effective Jan. 1, 2026. Humphries also will serve as executive medical director of the Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Clinical Service Center.
After serving for years as Vanderbilt Health’s Emergency Operations medical director, John Morris Jr., MD, stepped down. Tucker Anderson, MD, and Michael Smith, MD, jointly assumed Morris’ role, effective July 1. Morris is a professor in both the Department of Surgery and the Department of Biomedical Informatics. He also serves as associate chief of staff for the Vanderbilt Health System.
Vanderbilt Specialty Pharmacy appointed Ryan Nix, PharmD, MMHC, as executive director. In his new role, Nix leads a team supporting more than 130,000 prescriptions annually for patients receiving complex specialty therapies.
Heather O’Dell, MSN, ANP-BC, MMHC, Interim Associate Nursing Officer for Transplant and Associate Operating Officer for the Vanderbilt Lung Institute, was named Executive Director and Associate Operating Officer for the Vanderbilt Transplant Center (VTC). O’Dell succeeded Edward Zavala, MBA, the VTC’s founding administrator who stepped down from his administrative leadership role June 30 after more than 22 years of service to Vanderbilt Health.
Kendra Parekh, MD, MHPE, associate professor of Emergency Medicine, has been named Vice President for Educational Affairs and Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education/National Resident Matching Program Designated Institutional Official for Vanderbilt Health, and associate dean for Graduate Medical Education for Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.
After 15 years of dedicated service, Stokes Peebles, MD, professor of Medicine in the Division of Allergy, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, stepped down as section chief of Allergy. During his tenure, he grew the section into a nationally recognized center for excellence in clinical care, research and education.
Jamie Phillips, MHA, President and System Chief Operating Officer of Seattle Children’s Hospital, was named President of Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. Phillips will join Monroe Carell and the senior leadership team of Vanderbilt Health on Jan. 1, 2026. Phillips succeeded Monroe Carell’s current President, Meg Rush, MD, MMHC, who after 41 years of dedicated service to Vanderbilt Health is retiring this year.
Yolanda Redmond was named Chief Supply Chain Officer for Vanderbilt Health, effective Nov. 1. She succeeded Chief Supply Chain Officer Teresa Dail, BSN, RN, who will retire from the position at the end of this calendar year after years of service to Vanderbilt Health. Dail will continue in her role as President of Vanderbilt Health Supply Chain Solutions and the Vanderbilt Health Purchasing Collaborative.
After 41 years of dedicated service to pediatric patients and as a passionate advocate for children’s health care, Meg Rush, MD, MMHC, President of Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, is retiring at the end of the year. Rush has spent her entire medical career at Vanderbilt Health and Monroe Carell, arriving in 1984 as a motivated resident passionate about helping the tiniest of patients in neonatology, joining the faculty in 1990, and rising through the ranks as a well-respected leader.
Juan Carlos Salazar, MD, MPH, professor and chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine and Executive Vice President and physician-in-chief at Connecticut Children’s, was named chair of the Department of Pediatrics at Vanderbilt Health and physician-in-chief for Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.
Terrell Smith, MSN, RN, senior director of Patient and Family Engagement, retired after more than three decades at Vanderbilt Health. Smith was at the forefront of creating patient and family councils that advise individual Vanderbilt Health hospital entities from the patient/family perspective.
Robin Steaban, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, Chief Nursing Officer for Vanderbilt University Hospital, retired after 35 years of service and leadership at Vanderbilt Health.
Dwight Towler, MD, PhD, professor of Medicine and director of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism at the University of Missouri School of Medicine, was named the new director of the Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism at Vanderbilt Health. He will begin his role in February 2026.
Amanda Toye, MD, was named division chief of Pain Medicine in the Department of Anesthesiology at Vanderbilt Health, after serving as the interim division chief since November 2023.
