Dec. 20, 2018 — Thomas A. Pearson, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., has been appointed to the position of director of the University of Florida College of Medicine MD-PhD program. Dr. Pearson succeeds Stratford May, M.D., Ph.D., who stepped down from the post Dec. 1 after serving admirably as the program’s director for five years.

Dr. Pearson is a professor of epidemiology and medicine at UF Health and the former executive vice president for research and education. He received his medical degree, master’s in public health and Ph.D. in cardiovascular epidemiology, all from The Johns Hopkins University, where he also completed residencies in preventive medicine and internal medicine and a fellowship in cardiology. He has held faculty and leadership positions at The Johns Hopkins University, the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, and the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. Dr. Pearson’s major research interests are in the epidemiology and prevention of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, with a special interest in the prevention and treatment of disorders of lipids and lipoproteins.

The UF College of Medicine MD-PhD Program trains clinician-scientists for a career in academic medicine, with the expectation that graduates will become future leaders at academic medical centers worldwide. Dr. Pearson is uniquely qualified to lead the program because of his deep and long-standing experience in fostering the growth of NIH-based research training programs. He will lead efforts in restructuring the MD-PhD program to better position it for an NIH Medical Scientist Training Program, or T32, award. He will report directly to the interim dean of the College of Medicine, with input from the senior associate dean for education and the senior associate dean for research at the College of Medicine, as well as the interim vice president for research at UF Health and the director of the Clinical and Translational Science Institute.

Dr. Pearson will continue in his current position as a professor in the department of epidemiology, which is jointly housed in the College of Public Health and Health Professions and the College of Medicine. He also will continue in his roles with the UF Clinical and Translational Science Award programs as director of Translational Workforce Development and the Mentored Research Career Development Program.