Arnold Strauss Named Chairman of Pediatrics
Arnold Strauss, MD, has been named chairman of the Department of Pediatrics of the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, chief medical officer of Cincinnati Children's, and director of the Cincinnati Children's Research Foundation. He will be the seventh to hold the B.K. Rachford Memorial Chair in Pediatrics.
The appointment was announced February 8, by James Anderson, president and CEO of Cincinnati Children's, and David Stern, MD, dean of the UC College of Medicine. Dr. Strauss will begin his new role in May. His appointment concludes a year-long national and international search for a leader of distinction, vision and skill to assume this critical leadership role at Cincinnati Children's and the UC College of Medicine.
Dr. Strauss is a distinguished pediatric cardiologist, scientist, educator and leader. He has been chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and medical director of the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt since 2000. Under his leadership, the university built and opened a new hospital for children, expanded its pediatric faculty and increased grant funding for pediatric research. From 1981 to 2000 Dr. Strauss was director of the Division of Pediatric Cardiology at Washington University/St. Louis Children's Hospital.
A respected scientist, Dr. Strauss' research focuses on understanding the molecular basis of disorders of mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation and the genetic causes of congenital heart disease and cardiomyopathies. He is the recipient of two of the most prestigious awards in research. In November 2006 he was awarded the American Heart Association's Basic Science Research Award for groundbreaking work that led to finding genetic defects that can cause heart failure and sudden death in infants and children. In 1991 he received the E. Mead Johnson Award for Excellence in Pediatric Research.
"Dr. Strauss embodies the teaching, research and clinical care missions of an academic medical center," says Dr. Stern. "In addition, he embraces the collaborative relationship of UC and Cincinnati Children's, and his acumen for research will be a strong factor in enhancing basic, translational and clinical research at both institutions."
"I am delighted to be joining one of the nation's leading children's hospitals and pediatric research institutions," says Dr. Strauss. "I'm impressed by the extraordinary quality of the research carried out here. During the interview process, everyone was so friendly, interactive and collegial."
Dr. Strauss is assuming the position Thomas Boat, MD, has held since 1993. Although Dr. Boat is stepping down as chairman, he will continue as a professor of Pediatrics.
