The Board of Trustees of Case Western Reserve University has approved the recommendation from President Edward M. Hundert, M.D., to name Ralph I. Horwitz, M.D., as vice president for medical affairs and dean of the School of Medicine at CWRU and director of the Case Research Institute.

The appointment becomes effective April 1, 2003. Horwitz is the Harold H. Hines, Jr. Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology at the Yale University School of Medicine and chairman of the Department of Internal Medicine. He also serves as co-director of the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program. He is chief of the Beeson Medical Service at Yale-New Haven Hospital.

"Ralph Horwitz is an innovative national leader in academic medicine with a distinguished record in teaching, medical research and administration," said Hundert. "Ralph joins Case Western Reserve University at an important moment in our history as we set out to build one of the nation's top academic medical centers through our exciting relationships with all of the health systems in Cleveland and a commitment to invest in innovation in education, research, and the public's health. He is a wonderful human being whose multiple areas of expertise made him our first choice among a distinguished national pool of candidates. It was remarkable how our faculty, students, staff, alumni, and heads of the three health systems in Cleveland, Dr. Floyd Loop, Dr. Fred Rothstein, and Terry White, all called me upon meeting him to say exactly the same thing: 'He's the man!'"

Horwitz received his medical degree from Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, trained in internal medicine at McGill University and the Massachusetts General Hospital, and was a research fellow in the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program at Yale.

He is internationally known for his pioneering research that helped to establish the field of clinical investigation and outcomes research; for his distinguished leadership in reinvigorating the Department of Medicine at Yale; for his innovative programs in the education of physicians and the training of physician scientists; and his visionary renewal of the social contract linking the practice of medicine to the civic responsibility of the profession of medicine.

Under his leadership, research funding in Yale's department of medicine more than doubled from $25 million to nearly $60 million, and the department ranked first among Yale's departments in research productivity. In his professional research, Horwitz has made numerous contributions to the fundamental methods of clinical investigation and in the application of those methods to studies of the risk for disease and recovery from illness.

Horwitz and his colleagues conducted landmark studies investigating the relationship of estrogen to the risk of breast and uterine cancer, aspirin to the risk of Reye's Syndrome in children and, most recently, the effects of phenylpropanolamine found in over-the-counter diet pills and cough and cold products on the risk of brain hemorrhage in young adults. His clinical trial research has disproved claims that postmenopausal hormone therapy reduces the risk for stroke and other vascular disease.

Horwitz joined the faculty at Yale in 1978 and has served as co-director of the Yale Clinical Scholars Program for 25 years. In this role, he has helped to train a generation of leaders in patient-oriented research and health policy in medicine, pediatrics, surgery, and psychiatry. As chairman of medicine, he led the department's transition into a new laboratory research building, created a world class program of clinical research, established the nation's first Ph.D. program in a clinical department for physicians devoted to careers in biomedical science, and expanded the department's clinical programs locally and internationally. He is a fellow of both the American College of Physicians and the American College of Epidemiology.

He is an elected member of the American Society of Clinical Investigation, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, and the Association of American Physicians (AAP). He is chair-elect of the American Board of Internal Medicine and member of the Council of the AAP.

Dean Heads CRI

In December CWRU and University Hospitals Health System announced a 50-year partnership to promote innovative biomedical education, research, and clinical care as the nucleus around which to develop one of the top academic medical centers in the world. This includes a joint research enterprise, the Case Research Institute (CRI), which will bring together the strategic planning, operational aspects and financial support for all research initiatives of the clinical and translational departments of University Hospitals of Cleveland. Under the partnership agreement, the dean of the medical school serves as director of the CRI. Horwitz is the first dean and vice president for medical affairs at CWRU who also will serve as director of CRI.

National Search

A search advisory committee with faculty, alumni, student, and administrative representatives worked with the university's senior administration. James K.V. Willson, M.D., the Robert W. Kellermeyer Professor of Oncology and director, CWRU/UHC Ireland Cancer Center, chaired the search advisory committee.

"Ralph Horwitz clearly stood out with his track record for strong support of faculty excellence and his enthusiasm and excitement for medical education," said Willson. Horwitz is recognized as a teacher who challenges and advantages every student with an intellectual energy and thoughtful intensity that is immediately apparent. The national executive search firm Korn/Ferry International assisted in the search.

Jerold Goldberg, D.D.S., dean of the School of Dentistry, served as interim dean of the School of Medicine, and Lynn Singer, Ph.D., deputy provost and vice president for academic programs and professor of pediatrics, served as interim vice president for medical affairs.

Statements:

Ralph I. Horwitz, M.D., the Harold H. Hines, Jr. Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology and chair of the Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine.

"I am excited about joining the basic and clinical faculty of Case Western Reserve University's School of Medicine and to continuing the distinguished leadership that has marked its history. I will be assuming the position as dean at a time when the medical school is widely recognized as a scientific leader in biomedical science and is highly regarded for its achievements in medical education. A particular passion of mine is the social contract linking the practice of medicine to the civic responsibility of the profession of medicine, and I see the embodiment of that in the affiliation with MetroHealth Medical Center. An additional dimension which attracted me is the creation of The Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, which will stir innovation throughout the entire medical school. I am especially excited by the opportunity with University Hospitals of Cleveland and the creation of the Case Research Institute which will further transform the medical school in its continuing and expanding role as a model institution that can make a meaningful difference in health and health care in the nation and throughout the world."

Floyd D. Loop, M.D., CEO, Cleveland Clinic Foundation:

"Dr. Horwitz will continue the School of Medicine's tradition of excellence. He brings the knowledge and dedication needed to attract and retain talented students, professors and researchers."

Fred C. Rothstein, M.D., acting president and CEO of University Hospitals Health System:

"I am extremely excited by the appointment of Dr. Ralph Horwitz, who brings to the position a special sensitivity to the challenges facing academic medical centers today. He understands the interactive dynamics of education, research, and patient care, as well as the influence of economic issues on residency training and medical reimbursement. He is joining us at a historic moment when University Hospitals of Cleveland and the medical school have begun a unique partnership in research, teaching, and recruitment. We look forward to his leadership and a close collaborative relationship as we move forward in this new era. We are grateful to CWRU President Edward Hundert for actively engaging our input in the selection process, and we look forward to working closely with Dr. Horwitz on our joint mission: to create one of the world's finest academic medical centers."

Terry R. White, president and CEO of MetroHealth Medical Center:

"Given MetroHealth's long-standing relationship with CWRU, I am delighted to have someone of such academic acclaim take the helm as dean of the medical school. We applaud CWRU on the selection of Dr. Horwitz and appreciate being included in the search process. It's exciting and rewarding to be associated with an institution whose level of excellence has such promise for our community."

School of Medicine

The Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine is the largest medical research institution in Ohio and 14th largest among the nation's medical schools for research funding from the National Institutes of Health. Seven Nobel Laureates have been affiliated with the school. The School of Medicine is also recognized throughout the international medical community for outstanding achievements in teaching. In 2002, it became the third school in history to receive a flawless accreditation from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, the authority that grants accreditation to U.S. and Canadian M.D. programs. Annually, the School of Medicine trains more than 600 M.D. and M.D./Ph.D. students. Students learn from superb educators, researchers, and clinicians. CWRU's ground-breaking medical education program gives students clinical experience early in their training, teaches students through an innovative organ-based system, and fosters a professional and collegial atmosphere in which students are given considerable opportunity to pursue their special interests in biomedical science and clinical medicine.

CWRU has a primary affiliation with University Hospitals of Cleveland, and affiliations with MetroHealth Medical Center, the Henry Ford Health System, and the Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center. In 2002, CWRU and the Cleveland Clinic Foundation announced the development of the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine to prepare physician investigators. This innovative new curriculum was a source of great interest for all of the top candidates for the deanship, including Horwitz. The college will admit its first class of students in 2004.