Peer Review | The Division of Biological Sciences, University of Chicago

SUMMER 2007 | VOLUME 5 | No. 2
SPOTLIGHT NEWS

More tenure opportunities for BSD faculty
Ten Biological Sciences Division professors recently received tenure, becoming the first faculty members to be recognized under new criteria in the division.

Faculty in all three BSD tracks—research scholars, clinical scholars and clinician-educators—are eligible for tenure, instead of just research scholars, which was the former practice. The new tenure system was developed after a committee recommended the changes in 2004, said Martin Feder, PhD, professor of organismal biology and anatomy and faculty dean for academic affairs.

This system provides a chance for more faculty members to receive the recognition and professional status. The previous tenure track was limited mainly to basic researchers, while the new paths enable faculty members to shine not only in scholarship and research but also clinical work, educational achievements, administrative accomplishments or a combination of those.

“These are just outstanding people,” Feder said. The faculty members listed below—who have received tenure during the last two school years—are all accomplished but were not eligible in the former system.

The three tracks apply to different types of faculty work. Research scholars, the traditional tenure track, spend the bulk of their time doing scholarship that is not on human subjects and disease. Clinical scholars, by contrast, multitask as physicians and scholars, and often study human subjects and disease, Feder said. The third track, for clinician-educators, is for faculty members active in clinical work and also engaged in other work, such as education, administration or scholarship.

The 10 newly tenured faculty members are:

Emil Coccaro, MD, is chairman and professor of psychiatry, and director of the clinical neuroscience and psychopharmacology research unit. Coccaro is known for his research on mood and personality disorders, particularly the neurobiology of suicidal and impulsive aggressive disorders.
Eileen Dolan, PhD, professor of medicine, section of hematology/oncology, has been recognized for her work in experimental therapeutics, specifically DNA repair and pharmacogenetics.
Jesse Hall, MD, professor of medicine, section chief of pulmonary and critical care medicine. Hall also serves as director of the respiratory therapy and has published an influential textbook in his field.
Stephen Hanauer, MD, professor of medicine and clinical pharmacology, section chief of gastroenterology, a leader in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease and co-directs the IBD Research Center.
Benjamin Lahey, PhD, the Irving B. Harris Professor in Health Studies and Psychiatry, has focused his research on mental health problems in children, specifically attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder.
Roberto Lang, MD, is professor of medicine, director of the cardiology fellowship training program and director of the cardiac noninvasive imaging lab. Lang, a leader in clinical echocardiography, has published more than 350 papers during his career and helped to develop ultrasound for diagnosis of cardiovascular disease.
Olufunmilayo Olopade, MD, is the Walter L. Palmer Distinguished Service Professor of Medicine, director of the hematology/oncology fellowship program and director of the Center for Clinical Cancer Genetics. Olopade has sought the root causes of aggressive breast cancer in women of African ancestry and co-founded the Cancer Risk Clinic in 1992.
Mark Ratain, MD, is the Leon O. Jacobson Professor of Medicine, chairman of the Committee on Clinical Pharmacology and Pharmacogenomics, and associate director for clinical sciences for the Cancer Research Center. Ratain has focused on relating variability in an individual’s DNA to the effects of drugs on an individual and has served as editor for several journals in his field.
Richard Schilsky, MD, professor of medicine, section of hematology/oncology, and associate dean for clinical research, has contributed to new cancer treatments and has held many administrative roles at the university, including his current position.
Everett Vokes, MD, is the John E. Ultmann Professor of Medicine and Radiation and Cellular Oncology, section chief of hematology/oncology and vice chairman of clinical research. Vokes is a leader at the Cancer Research Center and has investigated new treatments for patients with lung, head and neck cancers.