University of Virginia School of Medicine

Dean DeKosky
Dean DeKosky, an international leader in the field of Alzheimer's disease research, became vice president and dean of the University of Virginia's School of Medicine on Aug. 1, 2008. DeKosky formerly served as professor and chairman of the Department of Neurology and director of the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at the University of Pittsburgh.

In making the announcement, University President John T. Casteen III, said, "The University has found in Steven DeKosky a dean who will take the lead in creating new models of excellence for the United States and the world in education, clinical care, research and service to our community,"

Casteen said. "During the coming year, Dean DeKosky will partner with the Medical Center to develop patient-centered service models that can be used as best practices throughout the University's Health System - and begin to establish U.Va. as a center for translational research."

He added that it is always inspiring when a former member of the faculty returns to where their careers in academia began. DeKosky completed a postdoctoral fellowship in neurochemistry at the Clinical Neuroscience Research Center in U.Va.'s Department of Neurology, and his first academic appointment was in the Department of Neurology in 1979.

"I am deeply honored by the University of Virginia's decision to appoint me as the next dean of the School of Medicine. The School of Medicine and the Medical Center represent the best of Mr. Jefferson's intentions that the University be a power and service for the public good," DeKosky said. "Building on the national and international reputation of the University and its medical expertise, I hope to continue that tradition in medical student and house staff education, enhance the rich basic science tradition of the institution and facilitate translation of our medical discoveries to applications for our patients and the community at large."

Since assuming the permanent chairmanship of the Department of Neurology at Pittsburgh in 2002, DeKosky has led the program to prominence in terms of patient care, research funding and rankings. Before joining the faculty at Pittsburgh, DeKosky spent more than a decade on the faculty of University of Kentucky College of Medicine, including two years as interim chairman of the Department of Neurology.

"Steve DeKosky is an internationally recognized expert in the translational research of Alzheimer's disease, from the basic laboratory to the bedside - and beyond that to the study of Alzheimer's in populations," said Arthur Garson, Jr., M.D., U.Va.'s executive vice president and provost and former vice president and dean of the U.Va. School of Medicine. "With his knowledge of basic, clinical and epidemiologic research, he will be able to provide leadership to the School of Medicine in multiple areas. He will bring us a deep knowledge of patient care, health care quality and education from Pittsburgh, one of the very best medical centers in the country."

DeKosky's research has progressively focused on the science and clinical care of Alzheimer's disease. His basic neuroscience laboratory studies the early pathological and chemical alterations in the brain associated with the development of Alzheimer's as well as the neurochemistry of brain trauma and how it relates to Alzheimer's. DeKosky is currently leading a 3,000-person, National Institutes of Health-funded trial on the ability of Ginkgo biloba to prevent or delay the development of Alzheimer's disease, in addition to directing a program that is developing biomarkers to track the effectiveness of Alzheimer's treatment and prevention therapies.

DeKosky, 61, has served in leadership roles for several National Institutes of Health research-related activities as well as the boards of directors of both the Alzheimer's Association USA and Alzheimer's Disease International. He is a member of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, and chairs their Strategic Planning Committee. In addition, he serves on the editorial boards of six of the leading neurology and Alzheimer's clinical publications and is a journal reviewer for another 20 clinical journals.

After receiving his bachelor's degree from Bucknell University, DeKosky attended the University of Florida for graduate studies in neuroscience and psychology. He then graduated from the University of Florida College of Medicine (1974) and went on to complete a residency in internal medicine at Johns Hopkins Hospital and a three-year residency in neurology at the University of Florida (1978). DeKosky then completed his postdoctoral fellowship in neurochemistry at UVa.

As the 13th dean in the School of Medicine's history, DeKosky succeeds pediatrician Sharon L. Hostler, M.D., who has served as interim-vice president and dean since Garson was appointed provost in May 2007.

Office of Undergraduate Medical Education
At the University of Virginia School of Medicine our primary purpose is to educate and train physicians to help people achieve healthy productive lives and advance knowledge in the medical sciences.

At the heart of medical education at UVA are the core values of:

• Attracting, motivating and guiding outstanding people by nurturing the dreams of those embarking on a career in medicine,
• Engaging the creative abilities of people to generate new knowledge and improve the quality of life, and...
• Fostering excellence in medical education by blending compassion, technical ability and thirst for knowledge.

Graduate Medical Education
The University of Virginia is committed to establishing and maintaining high quality Graduate Medical Education training programs. The Medical Center and School of Medicine provide the diverse patient population, dedicated faculty, excellent clinical and basic science departments, and nationally recognized research programs required to create an environment optimal for learning and for the development of future leaders in the art and science of medicine.

We offer training in 68 ACGME-accredited specialties and subspecialties, and numerous other specialized training programs are available.

If you are one of the more than 765 residents or fellows currently in training at the University of Virginia Medical Center, the GME Administration welcomes you, and encourages comments or suggestions at any time.

Research at the School of Medicine
The Office for Research supports and promotes basic, clinical, and translational investigation in the School of Medicine and facilitates research synergies across UVA by strategic planning, maintaining research infrastructure, administration of internal funding programs, management of research space, policy development, and coordination with other UVA schools and the Vice President for Research.

The Office of Grants and Contracts provides superior customer service to SOM faculty in order to facilitate the research enterprise. The office supports the research community with:

• Review and approval of proposals and contracts
• Assistance with achieving compliance
• Identification of potential sources of research funding
• Interpretation of sponsor policies and guidelines
• Facilitation of training and development of support tools for research administration
• Assistance with: budget development and application submission; non-financial, post-award assistance; and account close-out
• With the Office of Sponsored Programs, negotiation of terms and conditions for contracts such as clinical trials, research, material transfer, confidentiality, and consulting agreements.

The University of Virginia School of Medicine is a medical school located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. The tenth medical school to open in the United States, it has been part of the University of Virginia since the University's establishment in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson. The school's facilities are on the University of Virginia Grounds adjacent to the historic Academical Village, and it shares a close association with the University of Virginia Health System.

The current dean of the School of Medicine is noted Alzheimer's disease researcher Dr. Steven T. DeKosky, formerly of the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. DeKosky became dean on August 1, 2008,taking over from interim dean Sharon L. Hostler, a specialist in pediatrics

History
Medical education was one of the fields of study at the University of Virginia since its founding by Thomas Jefferson in 1819, forming a cornerstone of Jefferson's 1814 plan for a school of higher education and in his 1817 bill to the General Assembly which first proposed the idea of a central university at the head of an integrated system of public education across the commonwealth.[3] Jefferson's initial 1818 proposal for the faculty of the University was for a single professor of the theory of medicine and surgery as a science, since at that time Charlottesville was too small to support a general hospital; however, Jefferson planned from the beginning for anatomy to be a key portion of the University curriculum, dedicating a building, the Anatomical Theatre, for the teaching of the subject.

The University opened for classes in 1825 with eight faculty and sixty-eight students, of whom 20 took classes in the School of Medicine.[5] Jefferson took great pains to recruit the most highly qualified faculty, five of whom were found in England and three in the United States. Robley Dunglison, who later became Thomas Jefferson's personal physician, was the University's first professor of anatomy and medicine, while John Patton Emmet lectured on biology, chemistry, and comparative anatomy. The anatomical theater was finally approved by the Board of Visitors in 1825 and construction began in 1826 and finished in 1827, allowing medical instruction to take place as originally envisioned by Jefferson.

Jefferson opposed the granting of degrees on the grounds that they were "artificial embellishments." In 1824, however, the Board of Visitors authorized granting the master of arts degree. The M.D. degree was awarded to the first graduates of the School of Medicine in 1829.[8] The bachelor's degree was awarded beginning in 1849, but became the standard undergraduate degree and a prerequisite for the master's degree in 1899, bringing the University into conformity with other institutions of higher learning. The Ph.D. has been awarded since 1883.

In the early years, the School of Medicine faced several attempts to relocate it to Richmond on the grounds that it would benefit from close association with a hospital, the first such attempt occurring in 1834[10] and the last in 1920; the final attempt was deflected by University professor (and later president) John Lloyd Newcomb, who said, "Yes, we agree that the Medical School ought to be in Richmond where there are fine clinical facilities; and we also want the Engineering School at Pittsburgh, where there are more factories, and the Modern Language Department in Switzerland, the linguistic capital of the world.

The medical school operated without benefit of access to a hospital until the beginning of the 20th century. Beginning in 1893 the Board of Visitors petitioned the General Assembly for funds to construct a hospital on University grounds, and plans were drafted beginning in 1899. The first (administration) building was opened in 1901 and the flanking pavilions were built in subsequent years.The hospital continued to be expanded throughout the 20th century. (For more information about the hospital, see University of Virginia Health System.)

Notable faculty
The faculty of the School of Medicine are recognized nationally and internationally. The faculty includes 15 members of the Institute of Medicine and National Academy of Sciences; three members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; 12 members of the American Association for the Advancement of Science; five recipients of the Virginia Outstanding Faculty Award; four recipients of the Virginia Outstanding Scientist Award; and two recipients of the Virginia Life Achievement Award in Science

University of Virginia School of Medicine Degree Programs :

Medicine

Video Presentation

Carolyn Englehard, UVA School of Medicine

Carolyn L. Englehard, an assistant professor and health policy analyst in the Department of Public Health Sciences at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, speaks at the 2009 Darden Health Care Conference, sponsored by the Darden Health Care Club, with additional sponsorship from Focused Ultrasound Surgery foundation, Amgen, Danaher, and Medtronic