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Division Chief
Thomas A.E. Platts-Mills, M.D.
Professor of Internal Medicine and Microbiology
Director, Asthma & Allergic Diseases Center
NIAID Grant
The Asthma, Allergy & Clinical Immunology Division at UVa is a recent recipient of an Asthma and Allergic Disease Center Grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health. UVa is one of only 15 centers so recognized in the country. Additionally, Division faculty have three RO-1 grants for studies on the mechanisms of allergy and asthma.
Division Chief
George A. Beller, M.D.
Ruth C. Heede Professor of Cardiology
Professor of Internal Medicine
Director, Enhanced External Counterpulsation Program
Major Heart & Vascular Center Renovations
Significant investment in the clinical infrastructure of the Heart and Vascular Center has led to a new, integrated outpatient clinic facility. Together with all new faculty office space, a new cardiovascular PACS and reporting system, and new non-invasive laboratories, the clinical enterprise has been greatly enhanced. Multiple new state-of-the-art cardiac catheterization and electrophysiology laboratories will be coming on-line in the coming months.
Atrial Fibrillation Center
In 2004, the Electrophysiology Section was awarded a Buchanan Grant from the UVa Medical Center to establish the UVa Atrial Fibrillation Center. The Center serves as a comprehensive source for education; medical, ablative, and surgical treatments; translational and clinical research; and outcome measures for the management of atrial fibrillation.
Physician Scientist Training Programs in Cardiovascular Disease
A core group of Division faculty members was awarded an NIH T-32 Training Grant in Cardiovascular Imaging in 2004. The mission of Cardiovascular Imaging training at UVa is to be at the leading edge of new technology, but with an abiding interest in using new technology to understand mechanisms of heart disease, physiology, and pathophysiology. Want more info?
Vascular Biology Program
In early 2005, the Division was re-awarded an NIH T-32 Training Grant in Cardiovascular Biology, continuing a 25+ year legacy. Dr. Coleen McNamara, an accomplished clinician-investigator, serves as Principal Investigator for the grant which is dedicated to training Physician-Scientists with keen clinical insight, strong physiological and patho-physiological understanding, and state-of-the-art cellular, molecular, genetic, and genomic technology expertise. Want more info?
Division Chief
Jerry L. Nadler, M.D.
Kenneth R. Crispell Professor of Medicine
Nationally Top Ranked Program
The Endocrinology & Metabolism program has ranked in the top 5-6 programs in the nation in the U.S. News & World Report on Top U.S. Hospitals for the past five years. Individual faculty accomplishments include: In 2005, Dr. Robert Carey received the Distinguished Physician Award and Dr. Margaret Shupnik the Sydney Ingbar Distinguished Service Award, both from The Endocrine Society. In 2004, Dr. Eugene Barrett served as President of the American Diabetes Association; Dr. Theresa Guise was elected as a member of the American Society of Clinical Investigation (ASCI) and to the governing council of The American Federation of Bone and Mineral Research; and Dr. Edward Laws, who holds a joint appointment in our division and the Department of Neurosurgery, served as president of The American College of Surgeons.
First Islet Cell Transplant in Virginia
UVa performed the first islet cell transplant in the state of Virginia for a patient with Type I Diabetes Mellitus.
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Division Chiefs |
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Strong Fellowship Program
Our division has earned a reputation for excellence in training, research, and clinical care. We have a strong drive to advance the science and practice of gastroenterology. This starts with an emphasis on teaching all levels of learners. We have one of the largest fellowship programs in the nation, producing academic leaders, and are fortunate to offer support with an NIH training grant. Our current faculty includes the President of the American Gastroenterological Association and many other leaders in this and other societies who are role models in our field.
Nationally Recognized Core Research Center
The Division's research achievements have earned substantial NIH funding (about $10M), from multiple R01's to a Program Project in Intestinal Immunity. The quality and importance of our basic and translational research in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and other domains led the NIH to name UVa as one of the 16 national centers recognized as prestigious Silvio O. Conte Digestive Disease Core Research Centers. The list of clinical accomplishments of our Division date back to Dr. Barry Marshall's description of Helicobacter pylori, which won him the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2005.
Innovative Programs
UVa performs the largest volume of ERCPs in the Commonwealth of Virginia and has developed innovative approaches to pancreatico-biliary and luminal diseases. Our hepatology faculty includes some of the premier experts in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis and one of our faculty leads a nationwide, multi-center NIH research project in living-donor liver transplants. Along with cutting-edge clinical trials, our clinical IBD program offers a top-caliber multi-disciplinary team with collaborative care provided by colorectal surgeons, pathologists, radiologists, nutritionists and others.
Division Chief
Margaret L. Plews-Ogan, M.D., M.S.
Associate Professor of Clinical Internal Medicine
UMA General Medicine "Firm"
The University Medical Associates (UMA) ambulatory clinic has completed a highly successful transition from a traditional residents' clinic to a model program based on the firm system, allowing UMA to provide innovative primary care to underserved patients and resulting in some of the highest quality indicators in the state.
Geriatrics Care Unit & Palliative Care Unit
UVa has recently opened a new inpatient Geriatrics Care Unit (GCU) and an expanded Geriatrics Inpatient Consultation Service. Division geriatricians work at a number of nursing homes located within the Charlottesville/Albemarle community and our surrounding counties. There is also a seven-bed dedicated Palliative Care Inpatient Unit where patients requiring acute symptom management are cared for by the palliative care team. The Palliative Care Consult service is increasingly consulted.
Innovative Models for Care & Education
With the support of a Health Resource and Services Administration (HRSA) Academic Administrative Unit grant and a chronic care grant from Partners in Quality Education, the Section of General Medicine has developed a model systems-based practice for the care of chronic illness among underserved patients and a model curriculum for residents in the “new” competencies of systems-based care and practice-based learning.
With support from the Academy of Distinguished educators and the GME Innovations grant, Division faculty are developing an innovative patient safety curriculum involving residents in a “hand-on” approach to improving patient safety and reducing errors.
The Geriatrics program is currently expanding its fellowship program and, in collaboration with Palliative Care, is offering a new medical student clerkship in geriatrics and palliative care. Through a recent Hartford Foundation Grant, General Medicine and Geriatrics have joined on a project to improve geriatric prescribing and to enhance the training of internal medicine residents in geriatrics through education and a model collaborative practice. Palliative Care continues to offer elective rotations for residents and med students, with a goal of establishing a fellowship program within the next two years.
Ongoing and Future Interests of the Division include ... chronic illness care, patient safety, falls in the elderly, geratric prescribing, medical education, and ACGME competency assessment.
Division Chief
Geoffrey R. Weiss, M.D.
Professor of Internal Medicine
Deputy Director, Cancer Center
Latest Research
Physicians of the Division and scientists of the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics have shown that rituximab, a monoclonal antibody to the CD20 antigen on chronic lymphocytic leukemia, "shaves" the antigen from the leukemia cell rendering it a poor target for therapy. By lowering the dosage of the drug and giving it more frequently, the shaving phenomenon is circumvented and the drug is more effective.
New High-Dose Interleukin-2 Treatment Program
In January 2005, the Division opened a treatment program in high-dose interleukin-2, an immunotherapy for the treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma and malignant melanoma. This therapy serves as the basis for clinical investigations of high-dose immunotherapy combined with targeted therapy of cancer.
Division Chief
William Petri, M.D.
Professor of Internal Medicine and Microbiology and Pathology
UVa Priority
Study of infectious diseases is a traditional area of strength at UVa. Currently, I.D. research comprises one-fifth of all School of Medicine extramural research funding. Infectious Diseases and International Health is one of 10 "Research Themes" of the School of Medicine 10 year Strategic Plan, one of 4 central themes of the Department of Medicine strategic plan, and an area of expansion within the Departments of Microbiology, Pathology and Cell Biology.
Research programs in bacteriology, virology, eukaryotic pathogens, and international health are present in the Division, with extramural funding in excess of $10 million annually. Opportunities for residents to pursue research exist at the lab bench, clinic and international sites (Brazil, Bangladesh, Tanzania, Uganda and Haiti). Faculty research programs are listed on the fellowship web page.
New Infectious Diseases Building
An exciting example of institutional support, the Harrison-Carter Medical Research Building is under construction and scheduled for occupancy in winter 2008. The Infectious Diseases division will occupy 23,800SF of lab and support space and a 4,375SF BSL3/aBSL3 biocontainment lab suite.
Excellence in Clinical Practice & Education
Division faculty receive major teaching awards annually and have authored or edited many of the major infectious diseases texts including Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases, Tropical Infectious Diseases, Infections of the Central Nervous System, Clinical Virology, and Medical Parasitology.
Clinical Fellowship
Our three year program fulfills the requirements for specialization in adult Infectious Diseases. The first year is entirely in research and the second begins the required two-year HIV/AIDS continuity clinic (one afternoon per week). 100% of graduates have passed the subspecialty exam on first try, with average scores in the top 10th percentile. 90% of our graduates are on faculty at U.S. medical schools.
Infectious Diseases Clinic
Our clinic cares for 560 individuals with HIV/AIDS as well as patients with other infectious diseases. Program graduates Brian Wispelway, M.D. and Greg Townsend, M.D., direct the clinic. Research conducted at the clinic includes participation in antiretroviral protocols, protocols of the NIH Mycoses Study Group, and evaluation of therapies for opportunistic infections. An exciting new initiative is a pending proposal at the NIH to establish a Clinical Trials Unit in HIV/AIDS.
Center for International Health
Established in 1978 by Richard Guerrant, M.D., as one of four original Rockefeller Foundation supported programs, the Center is home to the "Global Infectious Diseases” NIH Training Grant, the Ellison Foundation Center for Global Health grant, and the Pfizer Initiative in International Health, all supporting training in I.D. research for investigators from developing countries. The Center's research focuses on emerging enteric and protozoan infections, with both laboratory and field components. Two major projects are the NIH International Collaborations for Infectious Diseases Research (ICIDR) "Long-Term Impact & Intervention for Diarrhea in Brazil" and the NIH Tropical Medicine Research Centers (TMRC) "Pathogenesis of Leishmaniasis". Center faculty teach trainees in a growing Travelers' Clinic, conduct international electives for students, and have developed international collaborations with sister institutions the Federal University of Ceara in northeastern Brazil, the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and the University of Ghana Medical School in Accra.
Certification in Tropical Medicine & Travelers HealthUVa is one of just a few programs nationwide that offers this certification training. Administered by the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, the course includes seminars, conferences, laboratory training, and outpatient experience, and provides added emphasis on tropical medicine.
Division Chief
W. Kline Bolton, M.D., FACP
Professor of Internal Medicine
Decades of Leadership
Division Chief Dr. Kline Bolton received The National Kidney Foundations of the Virginias "Distinguished Service Award" in 2003 for "Three decades of contributions to Nephrology" that encompass activities in clinical care, basic and clinical research, and service in the area of nephrology. Additionally, Dr. Bolton chairs the Renal Physicians Association Clinical Practice Committee, a national organization involved in assuring quality of clinical care for patients with kidney disease, especially those with chronic or end-stage disease.
Minority Health Initiatives
Under the direction of Dr. Ross Isaacs, the Division has been active in developing and fostering the growth of the minority health program at the University. This includes initiatives that extend education and care to underserved groups, provide outreach programs in Southwest Virginia and around the Charlottesville area, and collaborate with other components of the minority health programs in the University. Dr. Isaacs has been instrumental in development of the "FREEDOM Project" and obtaining private philanthropic donations to assist in financial support for the underprivileged. He has also been active in the Hurrican Katrina relief effort.
Excellence in Teaching
Among many talented faculty, Dr. Mitchell Rosner has been recognized for many years as one of the Medical Center's outstanding teachers. Dr. Rosner received the All-University of Virginia Best Teacher Award and the Department of Internal Medicine Teaching Award in 2000, and the Dean's Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2005. Dr. Rosner has chaired the Mid-Atlantic Nephrology Young Investigators Forum and developed the Nephrology Fellowship Inservice Examination which has received national acclaim.
Division Chief
Jonathon D. Truwit, M.D.
E. Cato Drash Professor of Internal Medicine
Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs
Popular Teachers
The Division's nine faculty members include three of the top 15 teachers as ranked by the housestaff. Dr. Steven Koenig is a perennial winner of the Attending of the Year award (chosen by housestaff) and has won the Robley Duglison Award for top Medical School Teacher of the Year (as chosen by the students). Focus areas for clinical care and resident instruction include: general pulmonary medicine, sleep, lung transplant, cystic fibrosis, intertitial lung disease, pulmonary hypertension and medical as well as surgical treatment of COPD).
Wide-Ranging Research & Clinical Trials
Our faculty participates in both clinical and bench research. Current areas of interest and exploration include: PI for the ARDSnet site; NIH sponsored clinical trials in acute lung injury, sleep medicine as it relates to children, chemokines in Asthma, and the role of serine proteinases in lung injury; multicenter trials in mechanical ventilation weaning, sepsis, and intrabronchial valves for COPD; pharmaceutical trials in Asthma, COPD, Interstitial Lung Disease, Pulmonary Hypertension and Cystic Fibrosis; and a federally-funded study to evaluate biomarkers in airway inflammation.
Acting Division Chief
Alan C. Dalkin, M.D.
Professor of Internal Medicine
Recognized Research Expertise
The Division's research expertise has been recognized nationally and internationally and focuses on the study of the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases such as lupus, Sjögren's syndrome, and rheumatoid arthritis. The Division has a Specialized Center of Research on Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, five R01s, and three K awards sponsored by NIH, and other non-federally sponsored grants totalling more than $3 million annually. There are also ongoing projects examining health outcomes in several rheumatic diseases.
Teaching Commitment
Division Faculty are dedicated to teaching the next generation of researchers and clinicians in rheumatology. Trainees include graduate students, postdoctoral research fellows, medical students, internal medicine residents, and physical medicine and rehab residents. In addition, the Division has a highly competitive training program in clinical rheumatology. We accept two fellows per year who participate in very active ambulatory care clinics as well as a hospital-based consult service. All fellows are similarly immersed in scientific investigation along with the clinical rotations during their first and second years of post-graduate work. Trainees may elect to remain for a third year of training with a strong emphasis on research if their career path includes academic advancement and they have secured funding to support their work.