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, has been named the chair of the Department of Pediatrics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and physician-in-chief for Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. Effective Aug. 15, his appointment will include professor of Pediatrics and the James C. Overall endowed chair.
A nationally and internationally recognized pediatric infectious diseases specialist and investigator, Salazar joins VUMC with more than three decades of experience in academic leadership, medical education and NIH-funded research. During his tenure with Connecticut Children’s and the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, his leadership team has driven significant growth in clinical care, established a foundation for a new pediatric research institute and spearheaded significant increases in health services and research funding.
“Monroe Carell is a destination of hope for children and families throughout our region and across the nation seeking the highest level of care and is anchored by the broad and cutting-edge programs in our nation-leading Department of Pediatrics. Dr. Salazar, having served for more than a decade in leadership roles with Connecticut Children’s, is ideally suited to help us further advance our ambitious goals for child health,” said Jeff Balser, MD, PhD, President and CEO of VUMC and Dean of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.
“As we welcome Dr. Salazar, I want to express my gratitude to Dr. William Cooper for his excellent service as interim chair and to the members of the search committee for their outstanding work.”
Vanderbilt’s Department of Pediatrics currently comprises some 460 primary faculty, 270 community-based volunteer faculty, 82 clinical fellows, 127 residents and over 300 administrative and research staff. The department is currently ranked No. 1 in the nation for NIH funding among departments of pediatrics.
The department provides care at 31 off-campus locations in a statewide network that includes clinics, after-hours care, emergency room coverage, specialty care, and support for several nurseries and neonatal intensive care units located within other hospitals across Tennessee. The department’s training programs continue to attract the best and brightest trainees from across the country and internationally.
“Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt and our pediatric specialists fulfill a crucial role within our health system. Continued growth of the Department of Pediatrics, along with expanding the hospital’s unique offerings is essential to our mission,” said C. Wright Pinson, MBA, MD, Deputy CEO and Chief Health System Officer for VUMC. “I want to welcome Dr. Salazar to this important role and look forward to working with him as we seek to enhance these services.”
Serving more than 1,800 children and families daily, Monroe Carell is completing construction on two additional floors, and by 2027 will have over 400 beds for children. Patients from 48 states seek care from an extraordinary range of pediatric specialties and subspecialty services, including many only available at select national centers.
“I am excited to welcome Dr. Salazar to our leadership team at Monroe Carell and VUMC. He comes to us with deep experience in both building and leading mission-based clinical, research and training programs. Throughout the interview process, I appreciated his spirit of collaboration and passion about these missions and his true commitment to the people who carry out these endeavors. I look forward to partnering with him to continue to advance our care for children and families, support discovery and ensure the best possible training for our future pediatric providers,” said Meg Rush, MD, MMHC, professor of Pediatrics and President of Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. “I am grateful to Dr. Cooper for his close partnership as we await Dr. Salazar’s arrival later this year.”
Salazar, who also led the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases and Immunology at Connecticut Children’s and is the current director of Connecticut Children’s Pediatric, Youth and Family HIV Program, has received NIH grants to study the human innate immune response to the causative agents of Lyme disease and syphilis. He is currently funded by the NIH to develop a first-of-its-kind syphilis vaccine. Most recently his team received funding from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to study the pathogenesis of COVID-19 and the multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), a rare but serious condition associated with COVID-19.
Salazar is a current recipient of Ryan White Care Act federal funding to coordinate and provide statewide HIV treatment and prevention services in Connecticut for women and children. Having led several NIH and pharmaceutical industry-sponsored pediatric and adolescent HIV clinical trials and long-term follow-up studies, he is frequently interviewed by local and national news media regarding pediatric health and infectious diseases topics.
“It has been the greatest honor of my career to serve the faculty, the health care team members and most importantly the children of Connecticut. My leadership has been informed by over three decades of experience in pediatric health care, medical education, research and community advocacy,” said Salazar.
“My vision as the new chair of the Department of Pediatrics at VUMC and physician-in-chief at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt is to transform the landscape of pediatric health care through innovative, compassionate and comprehensive care for every child and family served by the health system. I will do so by inspiring confidence, involving our community, training the best generation of pediatricians, and advancing pediatric research and innovation. The goal is to provide a brighter, healthier future for the children and communities we serve and be recognized as one of the best children’s health systems in the nation.”
Salazar received his medical degree from the Universidad Javeriana, in Bogota, Colombia, and his MPH in epidemiology from the School of Public Health at the University of Minnesota. He completed a residency in pediatrics at the University of Connecticut Health Center, where he also served as chief resident, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in pediatric infectious diseases at the University of Minnesota. He is board-certified in pediatrics and pediatric infectious diseases. He has authored and co-authored over 160 articles and book chapters.
Salazar will be joined in Nashville and at VUMC by his spouse Olga Toro-Salazar, MD, MBA, professor of Pediatrics with the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, head of Noninvasive Cardiac Imaging at Connecticut Children’s, and director and founding member of the Pediatric Cardio-Oncology program.
Toro-Salazar is a renowned pediatric cardiologist, dedicated to developing innovative, high-quality, noninvasive imaging programs that serve both pediatric and adult populations with congenital and acquired heart disease. During her tenure at Connecticut Children’s, she established a world-class Cardiac MRI program that supports comprehensive care across the lifespan. Under her leadership, Connecticut Children’s also achieved designation as a Gold-Level Center of Excellence by the International Cardio-Oncology Society.
She will join Monroe Carell as professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Pediatric Cardiology, where she will serve as director of Pediatric Cardiac Dimensional Imaging (MRI & CT scan) and director of the Pediatric Cardio-Oncology Program. Toro-Salazar envisions creating a comprehensive program that integrates advanced imaging technologies, real-time data analytics and precision medicine to address the unique cardiovascular needs of both pediatric and adult populations.
