Thomas Abramo, M.D., was named chief of the Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, director of the Emergency Department at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt and professor of Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine.
Before joining Vanderbilt, Abramo was professor and associate medical director of the Division of Emergency Medicine in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, a position he held for the past four years.
Kevin Churchwell, M.D., was named the first chief of staff/associate medical director for the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt. Churchwell formerly directed the pediatric critical care unit (PCCU) at Children's Hospital.
Reginald Coopwood, M.D., was named CEO of the Metro Hospital Authority which includes Nashville General Hospital at Meharry, Bordeaux Long Term Care and Knowles Assisted Living Facility and Adult Day Care. Since 2000, Coopwood had served as the hospital's Chief Medical Officer. He is an assistant professor of Surgery at Meharry and an assistant clinical professor of Surgery at VUMC.
Sean Donahue, M.D., was named chief of Ophthalmology at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt. Donahue, associate professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Pediatrics and Neurology at VUMC, is creating the first Division of Ophthalmology for the pediatric population at Children's Hospital.
Larry Goldberg, was named director and CEO of Vanderbilt University Hospital, with leadership responsibility for both the adult hospital and the Psychiatric Hospital at Vanderbilt. Goldberg, 43, was formerly vice president for hospital operations at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.
Stephan Heckers, M.D., associate professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and director of McLean Hospital's Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder Program, was named chair of Psychiatry. He will assume the position on Jan. 1, 2006. Heckers brings clinical expertise in treating patients with psychotic disorders, particularly schizophrenia and biopolar disorder, and a strong research program in the functional neuroanatomy of psychosis, combining neuroimaging experiments of brain structure and function in psychotic patients with post-mortem studies of the cellular and molecular basis of psychosis.
Jana Lauderdale, Ph.D., R.N., has been named the School of Nursing's first assistant dean for Cultural Diversity. Lauderdale, a Native American, has a Ph.D. in transcultural nursing. She has extensive experience working with Native American populations and program design focusing on minority nursing education issues.
Lee Limbird, Ph.D., was named vice president for Research and chair of a new Department of Biomedical Sciences at Meharry Medical College. The new basic sciences arm at Meharry has four research-focused divisions: cancer biology, cardiovascular biology, microbial pathogenesis and the immune response and neurobiology and neurotoxicology. In her role as vice president for Research at Meharry, Limbird's goal is to strengthen the infrastructure for research from bench to bedside to community.
Gregory Mencio, M.D., was named the director and chief of the Division of Pediatric Orthopaedics at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt. Mencio succeeds Neil E. Green, M.D., who remains on faculty as professor of Orthopaedic Surgery.
Ann Richmond, Ph.D., professor of Cancer Biology, was named assistant dean for Biomedical Research, Education and Training (BRET). In her new role, Richmond will help determine ways to strengthen the postdoctoral program and enrich the postdoctoral experience at Vanderbilt.
Sten Vermund, M.D., Ph.D., was named the first Amos Christie Chair in Global Health and director of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine's Institute for Global Health. As director of the Institute for Global Health, Vermund's work goes beyond the Medical Center as he leads a trans-institutional effort to address international health concerns.
Vermund came to Vanderbilt from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where he served as director of the Sparkman Center for Global Health as well as professor of Epidemiology, Medicine, Pediatrics and Nutrition Sciences, and director of the Division of Geographic Medicine in the Department of Medicine.
Jeanne Wallace, D.V.M., formerly director of Animal Resources at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, was appointed university veterinarian, director of Animal Care and assistant vice chancellor for Research.