Washington, DC, Nov. 11, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Robert A. Barish, MD, MBA, vice chancellor for health affairs at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is continuing his position as chair of the Board of Directors of the Association of Academic Health Centers (AAHC) for another year. Dr. Barish, a distinguished emergency medicine physician and academic leader, oversees the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System (UI Health).
“It has been a pleasure to work with Dr. Barish in his role as chair of the AAHC Board,” said Dr. Steven L. Kanter, AAHC president and CEO. “Dr. Barish has brought exceptional leadership to the Association both as a member of the Board of Directors and as Board Chair, and he is highly regarded for his work as an academic health center leader. His vision and insight have been instrumental in helping to guide academic health centers during the pandemic.”
Prior to his current position at UIC, Dr. Barish served as chancellor of the LSU Health Sciences Center at Shreveport from 2009 to 2015, where he provided leadership for the schools of medicine, allied health, and graduate programs; a major academic medical center; and two affiliated hospitals. He also served 24 years at the University of Maryland School of Medicine where he held multiple leadership positions. A former lieutenant colonel and flight surgeon in the Maryland Air National Guard, Dr. Barish was among a select group invited to become NASA astronaut candidates in the early 1990s.
Michael L. Good, MD, CEO of University of Utah Health, dean of the Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine at the University of Utah, and the senior vice president of health sciences, will remain in the position of chair-elect of the AAHC Board. Dr. Good is a distinguished anesthesiologist, academic leader, and noted inventor of the human patient simulator. He works to assure the professional and educational success of more than 20,000 faculty, staff, and students at University of Utah Health. Prior to coming to the University of Utah, Dr. Good served as dean of the University of Florida College of Medicine.
Steven D. Shapiro, MD, senior vice president for health affairs, Keck Medicine of USC, University of Southern California was newly elected to the board for a three-year term.
Massimo Pignatelli, MD, PhD, vice-president for medicine and dean of the School of Medicine at Nazarbayev University in Kazakhstan, joined the Board in his capacity as the newly named chair of the AAHC International (AAHCI) Steering Committee.
AAHC is a nonprofit association dedicated to advancing health and well-being through the dynamic leadership of academic health centers.
