UAB President Garrison has named the members of the search committee for the next vice president for medicine and dean of the School of Medicine. Current Dean Robert R. Rich, M.D., recently announced he would be stepping down from the position when a successor is found.

Garrison will chair the committee, which will include:
•    Edward Abraham, M.D., chair of the Department of Medicine
•    Etty “Tika” Benveniste, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Cell Biology
•    Mary-Ann Bjornsti, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology
•    Kirby I. Bland, M.D., chair of the Department of Surgery
•    Lisa Guay-Woodford, M.D., vice-chair of the Department of Genetics and director of the UAB Center for Clinical and Translational Science
•    Keith A. “Tony” Jones, M.D., chair of the Department of Anesthesiology
•    Reginald F. Munden, M.D., chair of the Department of Radiology
•    David G. Standaert, M.D., Ph.D., director of the UAB Parkinson’s Disease Information and Referral Center
•    Albert Tully, M.D., community urologist and SOM alumnus

Garrison also asked four people to serve as ex-officio members of the search committee. They are:
•    Louis Dale, Ph.D., UAB vice president for Equity and Diversity and affirmative action officer
•    Will Ferniany, Ph.D., CEO of the UAB Health System
•    Shirley S. Kahn, Ph.D., UAB vice president for Development, Alumni and External Affairs
•    Richard B. Marchase, Ph.D., UAB vice president for Research and Economic Development

Garrison said she will ask each SOM department, as well as the Tuscaloosa and the Huntsville faculty members, to nominate a non-administrative faculty member to serve on an advisory committee to the overall search committee. This 23-member advisory committee will meet as a group with each of the candidates who receive an on-campus interview and will provide feedback directly to the search committee, she said.

In addition, the president is asking each class in the SOM and the Graduate Biomedical Sciences Program associated with the joint health science departments to nominate students to serve on a student advisory committee that will function in the same manner as the faculty advisory committee.