Medicine chair to take on new role
After a dozen years leading Vanderbilt's Department of Medicine, Eric Neilson, M.D., is stepping down from his role as chair to focus on his numerous research and academic endeavors.
Eric Neilson, M.D.
“Dr. Neilson's steadfast dedication to Vanderbilt and its Department of Medicine has been truly outstanding,” said Jeff Balser, M.D., Ph.D., vice chancellor for Health Affairs and dean of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.
“The work Eric has accomplished building and sustaining its faculty and programs has strengthened not only his department, but the entire Medical Center, and serves as a model for the other academic medical centers across the country.”
C. Wright Pinson, M.D., MBA, deputy vice chancellor for Health Affairs and senior associate dean for Clinical Affairs, agreed.
“Dr. Neilson has advanced the Department of Medicine during his tenure into one of the top very few by any academic benchmark. Furthermore, he has dramatically transformed the clinical operations and productivity of the Department. We are in his debt for these accomplishments and wish him well in this next era of his career with increased academic focus.”
Neilson will remain at Vanderbilt, where he plans to expand his research on the cell fate of fibroblasts. He will also continue in his role as editor of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.
“This is a wonderful department with superb faculty and trainees,” Neilson said. “I look forward to its continued prosperity and the great accomplishments yet to come.”
Effective Feb. 1, Allen Kaiser, M.D., currently vice chair for Clinical Affairs in the Department of Medicine and chief of staff for Vanderbilt
Allen Kaiser, M.D.
“Eric is an incredibly talented individual and his leadership in the department will be missed,” Kaiser said. “Few physicians in the 21st Century have exhibited such continued excellence in research, teaching and patient care. And if you add in his abilities as a leader and financially savvy individual, he is truly amazing.”
Neilson came to Vanderbilt in 1998 from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, where he served as chief of Penn's Renal-Electrolyte and Hypertension Division. Neilson is a past winner of the President's Medal from the American Society of Nephrology as well as the Young Investigator Award and Prize from the American Society of Nephrology and the American Heart Association.
The Department of Medicine has more than 600 faculty assigned to 12 traditional divisions and several interdisciplinary research centers, including: Allergy, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine; Biomedical Engineering and Computing, Cardiovascular Medicine; Clinical Pharmacology; Epidemiology; Dermatology; Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism; Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition; Genetic Medicine; General Internal Medicine and Public Health; Hematology Oncology; Infectious Diseases; Nephrology and Hypertension; and Rheumatology and Immunology.
“Since 1925, the Department of Medicine has had only seven chairs, and I am intimately aware of the importance of this role for our University,” Balser said. “A search committee will be formed to permanently fill the chairmanship and carry forward the mission that Eric Neilson has performed so ably and so well.”