Brown names Elias as new medical school dean

DR. JACK ELIAS WILL take over as dean of medicine and biological science at Brown University on Sept. 1, succeeding Dr. Edward J. Wing, who has served as dean since 2008. / COURTESY BROWN UNIVERSITY
DR. JACK ELIAS WILL take over as dean of medicine and biological science at Brown University on Sept. 1, succeeding Dr. Edward J. Wing, who has served as dean since 2008. / COURTESY BROWN UNIVERSITY

PROVIDENCE – Dr. Jack Elias, a specialist in pulmonary medicine who currently serves as chair of medicine at the Yale School of Medicine, was named the new dean of medicine and biological sciences at Brown University, including the Warren Alpert Medical School.

He will officially begin work on Sept. 1, succeeding Dr. Edward J. Wing.

Brown President Christina H. Paxson hailed the selection of Elias, saying that he brings great experience in teaching, research, patient care and administration.

“I am very pleased to welcome Dr. Elias to Brown at an especially exciting time for the University,” Paxson said in prepared remarks. “Our medical school and research programs, for instance in brain science, are experiencing significant growth, and soon we will embark on a new strategic plan to continue this momentum.”

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“As an internationally recognized biomedical researcher, educator, administrator and practitioner, Dr. Elias is a wonderful addition to our leadership team,” she added.

In a professional career spanning more than 30 years since earning his bachelor’s degree and M.D. at the University of Pennsylvania, Elias has cared for patients with a wide variety of lung ailments and injuries and has conducted research on conditions including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pneumonia, pulmonary fibrosis and the effects of smoking.

With consistent support from the National Institutes of Health, Elias has trained scores of young researchers and published more than 200 original peer-reviewed research papers.
Elias said he hopes to build on the high quality of scholarship and patient care in Brown’s academic medical center.

“It is a real pleasure and honor to join the Brown biology and medical community,” Elias said in a statement. “We live in an age where the biologic sciences are exploding with new knowledge, the building blocks of disease pathogenesis are being discovered, new therapeutics and approaches to disease are developing at an unparalleled pace, and health care is undergoing unprecedented alteration.”

Elias will succeed Wing, who became dean in 2008 and will step down from the position on July 1. During those five years, the Alpert Medical School expanded the class size to 120, opened the school’s first dedicated home at 222 Richmond St., and completed new affiliation agreements with the Lifespan and Care New England health care systems.

Brown Provost Mark Schlissel will serve as interim dean until Sept. 1, when Elias arrives. “Dr. Elias understands Brown’s strengths and potential and will devote his considerable acumen and energy to help us achieve that future,” Schlissel said.

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