It is my pleasure to announce that Christie Thomas, MBBS, Professor of Internal Medicine, has been appointed Vice Chair for Faculty Advancement. This position is of unique importance to our department, providing guidance and oversight to faculty members as they advance through their career tracks and serving as a liaison to the Carver College of Medicine, ensuring open communication in an ever-evolving process. The entire Department of Internal Medicine is grateful to Dr. Pete Snyder for his years of service in this role and have already begun to appreciate his partnership in his new position as Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Development. Dr. Snyder leaves big shoes to fill, and Dr. Thomas possesses the talent and experience to do so.
As a faculty member at the University of Iowa since 1992, Dr. Thomas has witnessed a number of changes at this institution. Moreover, he has held a number of leadership roles both here as the Director of the Iowa Medical Student Research Program and at the VA Medical Center, where he was Director of Transplant Nephrology and of Transplantation Services. He is currently the Medical Director of the Kidney Transplant Program. He has served on boards and committees of numerous organizations, including the Iowa Donor Network, the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, the ESRD Network, and the AST Live Donor Community of Practice. Dr. Thomas has also shown his strong commitment to education and scholarship in addition to his record of service. He has had a distinguished research career in renal biology and the genetics of kidney disease. He was a member of the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Translational Biomedicine and the Medical Scientist Training Program and developed the Transplant Nephrology Fellowship Program. He has taught multiple courses to our medical students, regularly receiving high marks on evaluations from trainees, and has continuously served as mentor to PhD candidates and postdoctoral fellows. More germane, he has served on a dozen junior faculty mentoring committees since 2007, many of which he has chaired.
These experiences reveal Dr. Thomas to be a dedicated leader, committed to the advancement and retention of department faculty. He has a reputation for treating everyone he encounters with the same degree of fairness and consideration for circumstance that will serve him well as our new Vice Chair. Please join me in congratulating Dr. Christie Thomas on this appointment.