Maxwell M. Wintrobe, MD, PhD
Chair, Department of Internal Medicine, 1943-1967
Maxwell M. Wintrobe, MD, PhD was recruited to the University of Utah from Johns Hopkins University in 1943 to develop a Department of Internal Medicine and expand the medical school. He was already a nationally known and respected teacher and investigator in hematology. Dr. Wintrobe received his medical degree from the University of Manitoba. His first faculty position was at Tulane University (1927), where he began a life-longcareer of studies of the blood and, among other accomplishments, devised the hematocrit – an essential clinical assay that is used globally... Read More
George E. Cartwright, MD
Chair, Department of Internal Medicine, 1967-1980
George Eastman Cartwright, MD served as the Department Chair of Internal Medicine for 13 years during which he significantly increased the size of the faculty and staffed many new clinical subspecialties.
He received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin in 1939, followed by medical school at Johns Hopkins University. After graduating, Dr. Cartwright was lured to the University of Utah by Dr. Wintrobe to serve as the first chief medical resident. He served in this capacity for only one year before he was sent to China at the end of World War II. In 1947, he returned to Utah as an assistant professor in medicine... Read More
William D. Odell, MD, PhD
Chair, Department of Internal Medicine, 1980-1996
During the 16 years he served as Chair of the Department of Internal Medicine, William D. Odell, MD, PhD increased the number of faculty, residents and fellows through his support of enhanced research and training programs and strengthened collaborative partnerships. Dr. Odell received a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley and completed medical school at the University of Chicago. He received his PhD from George Washington University in 1965, while also working at the National Institutes of Health... Read More
Merle A. Sande, MD
Chair, Department of Internal Medicine, 1996-2001
Merle A. Sande, MD brought international recognition in infectious diseases to the University of Utah when he became Chair of Internal Medicine and the first holder of the Clarence M. and Ruth N. Birrer Presidential Endowed Chair in Internal Medicine in 1996. Dr. Sande graduated from the University of Washington School of Medicine, completed residency at Cornell, and served in the Air Force during the Vietnam War. As a new faculty member at the University of Virginia he studied meningitis, endocarditis, and other bacterial diseases, and advanced to become Professor of Medicine and Vice Chair of the Department of Internal Medicine... Read More
John R. Hoidal, MD
Chair, Department of Internal Medicine, 2001-2016
John R. Hoidal, MD served as the Chair of the Department of Internal Medicine for 15 years. Dr. Hoidal’s tenure as chair is best described as strategic growth –increasing clinical revenue, research grants, trainees in the residency program, and nearly tripling the number of faculty. As chair, Dr. Hoidal recruited many new faculty, grew clinical and research programs, and expanded a dialysis program spanning the mountain west. Dr. Hoidal received a medical degree from the University of Minnesota. He interned at the University of Colorado and returned to the University of Minnesota as a resident, chief resident, and then a fellow in pulmonary medicine... Read More
Kathleen A. Cooney, MD 
Chair, Department of Internal Medicine, 2016-2018
Kathleen A. Cooney, MD, was recruited to the University of Utah in 2016 to serve as Chair of Internal Medicine, with goals of continuing the department’s leadership in the University’s healthcare transformation initiatives, advancing innovative and interdisciplinary research, and fostering a robust learning environment to enable the next generation of researchers and medical providers... Read More