Dr. Fernando J. Martinez, Chief of the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine (PCCM), has accepted the role of Academic Chief of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine and Vice Chair for Clinical and Translational Research at the University of Massachusetts and will be leaving Weill Cornell Medicine at the end of June.
Dr. Martinez has made numerous contributions to the WDOM and to PCCM over the last 10 years and has positively impacted all aspects of our mission. He joined the WDOM as Executive Vice Chair in 2014, and in 2017 began service as Division Chief for Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine. Over this time, he built new collaborations and partnerships with NewYork-Presbyterian and strongly supported our clinical mission and the stellar patient care contributions of our PCCM faculty.
He is recognized internationally for his seminal research on the phenotypic and functional classification of COPD and interstitial lung disease. A superb collaborator, he developed and fostered a divisional investigative program focused on understanding of the biological basis of lung diseases leading to development of customized treatments to improve care for affected patients. His most lasting contribution will be his development of future clinical, research and educational leaders in the field through mentorship and support. These efforts are reflected in the fact that PCCM has a T32 training grant and will soon have as many as thirteen individuals awarded a K grant from the NIH, reflecting an exceptional level of productivity.
Dr. Dana Zappetti, a key member of the PCCM faculty and the WDOM Vice Chair for Clinical Operations, will serve as interim clinical co-chief. Dana is already well versed in all aspects of divisional clinical operations and is superbly positioned to lead and manage patient care activities, while also supporting educational programs in conjunction with other leadership.
Dr. Kyu Rhee, Professor of Medicine and an internationally recognized expert in tuberculosis research, will serve as interim research co-chief. Kyu also serves as the director of the WDOM Residency Medical Research Track program and has dedicated a major component of his career to training early career physician scientists. Dr. Rhee already co-mentors several PCCM junior research faculty and is particularly well positioned to support early- and mid-career researchers in the division. I am confident Dr. Zappetti and Dr. Rhee will continue to enable the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine to further its positive impact for patients, our community, and the field.