Medical school dean search committee named

A 14-member search committee has been named to identify candidates for the position of executive vice chancellor for medical affairs and dean of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton selected the members and will chair the search committee.

Larry J. Shapiro, MD, announced last week he will step down from the position after having led the school for nearly 12 years. He will remain at the helm until the search committee conducts a national search and a replacement is named.

“It will be a challenge to find a leader as exceptional as Larry Shapiro, but we will identify and recruit a dean and executive vice chancellor who will continue to build on the outstanding institution that the School of Medicine is,” Wrighton said.

“His successor stands to have a tremendous impact not only on providing the finest education for our future physicians and scientists, but on advances in scientific research and on health-care delivery throughout the region. Our new leader will be a member of the University Council and will be responsible for relations between the School of Medicine and our teaching hospitals and BJC HealthCare. The members of this search committee recognize how important it is to find a stellar replacement.”

The committee

In addition to the chancellor, the committee members are:

• Sarah England, PhD, professor of obstetrics and gynecology and of cell biology and physiology;
• Steven C. George, MD, PhD, the Elvera and William Stuckenberg Professor of Technology & Human Affairs and chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering;
• Thomas J. Hillman, trustee of the university’s Board of Trustees, a director of the board of The Foundation for Barnes-Jewish Hospital and a founder and managing partner of FTL Capital Partners LLC;
• David Holtzman, MD, the Andrew B. and Gretchen P. Jones Professor of Neurology, head of the Department of Neurology and professor of developmental biology;
• Richard Liekweg, BJC executive vice president;
• Kelle H. Moley, MD, the James P. Crane Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, vice chair and chief of the Division of Basic Science Research in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and professor of cell biology and physiology;
• Todd P. Margolis, MD, PhD, the Alan A. and Edith L. Wolff Distinguished Professor and head of the Department of Opthalmology and Visual Sciences;
• Lilianna Solnica-Krezel, PhD, the Alan A. and Edith L. Wolff Distinguished Professor of Developmental Biology and head of the Department of Developmental Biology;
• Lawrence E. Thomas, trustee of the university’s Board of Trustees and a partner with Edward Jones;
• Holden Thorp, PhD, provost, executive vice chancellor for academic affairs and the Rita Levi-Montalcini Distinguished University Professor;
• Austin Wesevich, medical student at the School of Medicine and a graduate student at the Brown School;
• Joyce F. Wood, trustee of the university’s Board of Trustees and owner of J. Wood & Associates, LLC;
• Wayne M. Yokoyama, MD, the Sam and Audrey Loew Levin Professor of Medicine, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, and a professor of pathology and immunology.