U of M Welcomes Leader for Clinical Sciences

NEWS RELEASE
For immediate release

Contact:           Sara E. Buss, Academic Health Center, 612-624-2449
                        Jonell Rusinko, Academic Health Center, 612-624-5680

U of M WELCOMES LEADER FOR CLINICAL SCIENCES

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (August 9, 2005)—Guiding clinical research activities in an effort to improve the health of Minnesota communities is the charge of a newly created position at the University of Minnesota’s Academic Health Center.

Jasjit Singh Ahluwalia, M.D., M.P.H., M.S., will join the faculty in the fall as executive director of the office of clinical sciences in the Academic Health Center, associate dean for clinical research in Medical School, and professor in the Department of Medicine. Ahluwalia’s role will be to help develop collaborative interdisciplinary research programs and new clinical research initiatives.

"Dr. Ahluwalia exemplifies the latest generation of clinical investigators, combining outstanding scientific skills with commitment to clinical research programs that improve the health of our communities," said Deborah E. Powell, M.D., dean of the Medical School.

Ahluwalia will also continue to pursue his own research interests, which center on smoking cessation and health care disparities among minority populations.

He earned his M.D. and M.P.H. from Tulane University in 1987 and completed residency training in internal medicine at University of North Carolina School of Medicine at Chapel Hill. He also received his M.S. from the Harvard School for Public Health.

In June 2004, Ahluwalia was named an Association of American Medical Colleges Council of Medical School Deans’ Fellow, a one-year position. Most recently, he was professor and chair of the Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health at the University of Kansas School of Medicine and director of the M.S. degree program in Clinical Research.

The Academic Health Center is home to the University of Minnesota’s six health professional schools and colleges as well as several health-related centers and institutes. Founded in 1851, the University is one of the oldest and largest land grant institutions in the country. The AHC prepares the new health professionals who improve the health of communities, discover and deliver new treatments and cures, and strengthen the health economy.