Dear Colleagues, The Department of Internal Medicine extends a warm welcome to John Inadomi, MD, who assumed his role as our new Department Chair on Monday, July 6. We have eagerly awaited his arrival since January 2020, when Dr. Michael Good announced his Internal Medicine Chair selection after an extensive nationwide search. Dr. Inadomi joins us from the University of Washington School of Medicine, where he served as the division head for Gastroenterology and held the appointment of the Cyrus E. Rubin Endowed Chair in Medicine. He brings with him a proven track record of excellence in academics, research, and administrative leadership. He is an internationally recognized physician-scientist with a focus on the prevention and treatment of esophageal and colorectal cancers, and his research has been supported by multiple NIH and VA grants. He currently serves as the Vice President of the American Gastroenterological Society, and will serve as President in 2021. In his capacity as Department Chair for Internal Medicine, Dr. Inadomi hopes to further enhance our department’s many accomplishments and our institution’s reputation as an outstanding academic medical center. As we welcome Dr. Inadomi, we must also say farewell to Dr. David Bjorkman, who has faithfully served as Interim Chair since 2018. Dr. Bjorkman took an active role in his capacity as Interim Chair, helping to expand our clinical, research, and educational missions while also supporting and encouraging more faculty-led and staff-led initiatives. We cannot thank him enough for his leadership, especially through the beginnings of the COVID-19 pandemic earlier this year. At the end of this month, Dr. Bjorkman will be retiring from the University of Utah after nearly 40 years of service; we wish him the best of luck on his future travels and endeavors in retirement, and hope that fond memories of his time at the University of Utah travel with him too. Sincerely, Fred G. Welt, MD - Vice Chair, Clinical Affairs Caroline K. Milne, MD - Vice Chair, Education Alfred K. Cheung, MD - Vice Chair, Research Michael A. Rubin, MD - Vice Chair, Faculty Affairs and Development T. Scott Wall, MD - Associate Chair, Veteran's Affairs Kevin T. Dustin, MBA - Associate Chair, Administration and Finance
Welcoming Dr. John Inadomi & Farewell to Dr. David Bjorkman