Thomas Boat, MD: Taking on New Leadership Challenges
After 14 years as chairman of Pediatrics and director of the Cincinnati Children's Research Foundation, Thomas Boat, MD, has turned over the reigns to his successor, Arnold Strauss, MD.
Since 1993, Dr. Boat has led the Research Foundation through an incredible period of growth. The number of faculty has increased from 145 to over 400 under his leadership and the amount of funded research during his tenure has risen from under $20 million to more than $125 million a year, a number that ranks Cincinnati Children's second in NIH funding for children's hospitals across the country.
Dr. Thomas Boat, shown here at his farewell celebration, will continue to be a driving force at Cincinnati Children's for years to come.
Under Dr. Boat's stewardship, the Department of Pediatrics has earned a growing reputation for excellence. In the annual U.S.News & World Report survey of medical school deans and senior faculty, the Department of Pediatrics now ranks third among US pediatric programs.
Although Dr. Boat is stepping down from one position, it is clear that he is not retiring or even slowing down.
Dr. Boat says he will be doing "a modest amount of clinical work" in the Division of Pulmonary Medicine, with a particular focus on the new interstitial lung disease program, led by Lisa Young, MD. He will also be helping young faculty and fellows in Pulmonary Medicine with efforts related to academic career advancement. As chairman of Pediatrics, Dr. Boat was the cabinet champion for Pulmonary Medicine's quality improvement teams, and he will continue to support the division's improvement work.
He also has taken on several projects outside Pulmonary Medicine. He will serve as physician champion for implementation of the new evidence-based guideline for chronic care. He will lead a scientific advisory group for Every Child Succeeds. And he will support development of the Institute for Personalized and Predictive Medicine, directed by Gurjit Hershey, MD, PhD.
In addition to these projects at Cincinnati Children's, Dr. Boat has been appointed associate dean for faculty development at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. His role will be to work with new division chairs and other leaders to enhance faculty performance and productivity.
On the national level, Dr. Boat is co-chairing a forum on quality improvement research sponsored by the Institute of Medicine and co-chairing an IOM committee on preventing mental health disorders in children. He also is chairman elect of the board for the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs (AAHRPP).
Dr. Boat's tireless efforts on behalf of the Department of Pediatrics and the Research Foundation have been essential to the success of Cincinnati Children's. And, as his new schedule can attest, he will remain a major presence within this institution's community for years to come.
