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Dear UVA Health Colleagues, 

I am incredibly proud to share that David Wilkes, MD, Dean of the School of Medicine, has been elected into the National Academy of Medicine, one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine.

The National Academy of Medicine is one of the most prominent and well-respected institutions in the United States. Only 100 health professionals are admitted to the Academy each year. Elected members must demonstrate innovation, integrity, and outstanding commitment to medical advancement, care, and service. David is extremely deserving of this prestigious honor. 

An expert in pulmonary disease and critical care medicine, David is an experienced leader who has served as Dean and James Carroll Flippin Professor of Medical Sciences at the UVA School of Medicine since September 2015. Under David’s leadership, the School of Medicine has steadily increased its research funding, earning a UVA-record $146.3 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health in fiscal year 2019.

Along with helping to bolster UVA’s research enterprise, David has made significant contributions of his own to the field of biomedical research. He has co-authored more than 100 research papers, holds six U.S. patents and co-founded ImmuneWorks Inc., which researched and developed treatments for immune-mediated lung diseases including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and lung transplant rejection.

He has also worked to diversify the ranks of healthcare faculty members, serving since 2013 as national director of the Harold Amos Medical Faculty Development Program for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The program seeks to increase the number of medical, dental and nursing faculty from historically disadvantaged backgrounds.

Prior to coming to UVA, David was the Executive Associate Dean for Research Affairs at Indiana University and the Director of the Indiana University School of Medicine’s Physician Scientist Initiative. He also served as the Assistant Vice President for Research and as the Director of the Strategic Research Initiative for the Indiana University School of Medicine and Indiana University Health. 

David demonstrates excellence in all that he does, and I am thrilled to celebrate his induction into the National Academy of Medicine. Please join me in congratulating him on this incredible achievement!

Sincerely,

K. Craig Kent, MD
Executive Vice President for Health Affairs
University of Virginia