, an internationally known researcher at the University of Michigan, will join the University of Utah as the first permanent chair of the School of Medicine's new Department of Population Health Sciences.
An extraordinary educator, researcher, and administrator, Dr. Fagerlin is a professor of internal medicine and co-director of the U of M's Center for Bioethics and Social Sciences. She also is a research scientist with the Veterans Affairs Ann Arbor's Center for Clinical Management Research.
Earlier this month, Dr. Fagerlin became president-elect of the Society for Medical Decision Making, an international, multidisciplinary group working to advance proactive, systematic approaches to clinical decision making and policy formation. She has focused her research on developing tools that help patients make more informed decisions about their care, including, for example, testing a decision aid for prostate cancer patients at the VA Ann Arbor Health System. These decision aids, such as videos or websites, help providers more effectively communicate the risks and benefits of potential treatments to patients.
This new department is a key piece in our strategy to better manage population health outcomes and continue our role as a national leader in health care transformation. Dr. Fagerlin's passion for conducting research that informs clinical practice will prove invaluable as the Department of Population Health Sciences opens the multidisciplinary pathways of discovery needed to advance health care.
Interim chair and Division of Biostatistics Chief Tom Greene, Ph.D., fhelped lead the national search, along with Health System Innovation and Research Division Chief Rachel Hess, M.D., and Cancer Population Sciences Division Chief Neli Ulrich, Ph.D., for their guidance. The search committee, co-chaired by Department of Biomedical Informatics Chair Wendy Chapman, Ph.D., and Division of Epidemiology Chief Matthew Samore, M.D., for their time and dedication to the process.
Dr. Fagerlin will lead the Department of Population Health Sciences to become a leader in education, investigation, and expertise in health services, cost, quality, outcomes, and health delivery systems research.