The University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix announced last week the appointment of nationally recognized physician-scientist Kenneth S. Knox, MD, as the associate dean of faculty affairs.
Dr. Knox will oversee the Faculty Affairs Office, whose charge is to promote an engaged, diverse community of faculty and scholars that sustain a culture of engagement, professionalism and inclusion at the UA College of Medicine – Phoenix. He also will serve as director of research at the Banner Lung Institute.
Dr. Knox is a pulmonary disease specialist known for his research and clinical expertise in sarcoidosis, fungal diagnostics and immunologic lung disease. His work includes developing treatments for HIV, AIDS and Valley fever.
“During my career and as division chief, I have always taken a strong interest in issues that affect our faculty, whether it be mentoring junior faculty, advocating for colleagues or facilitating professional development,” Dr. Knox said. “A faculty affairs leadership role is both the next logical step in my career and a professionally rewarding opportunity.”
A tenured professor of medicine, Dr. Knox joined the UA College of Medicine – Tucson in 2008 and is the Murray and Clara Walker Memorial Endowed Chair in Emphysema. As division chief of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, Dr. Knox was responsible for dramatic growth in the division. His accomplishments include increasing the number of clinical and basic science faculty from five to 30 and fellowship training from six to 20, rekindling the sleep program, establishing a section of allergy and revamping the teaching model in the intensive care unit. He also served as vice chair for education in the Department of Medicine.
“While we will miss him very much in Tucson, he has built a great division and now is off to explore new challenges. We wish him all the best!" UA Department of Medicine Chair Monica Kraft, MD, said.
“Dr. Knox is the perfect candidate for this position,” said Kenneth S. Ramos, MD, PhD, interim dean of the College of Medicine – Phoenix. “He has taken extraordinary steps in his leadership and research on the Tucson campus to help the College excel in health care and education. Dr. Knox will help the Phoenix campus continue to flourish and help us become recognized as a leader in academic medicine across the nation.”
Dr. Knox is co-principal investigator on the Arizona portion of a $9.7 million National Institutes of Health-funded clinical trial to test the use of fluconazole as an early treatment for Valley fever victims. The study is being run by Duke University’s Human Vaccine Institute. Additional grants for more than $6 million have been submitted for efforts to develop a Valley fever vaccine.
He has received continuous funding since 2001 for his research on the use of bronchoalveolar lavage for immunodiagnostics and lung immunity. He has funding from the National Institutes of Health to perform longitudinal translational studies correlating immunological findings and the lung microbiome with clinical disease in HIV, as his lab seeks to understand the role of pulmonary inflammation in the development of HIV-related lung diseases.
“I am honored that the senior UA Health Sciences leadership, Drs. Joe G.N. “Skip” Garcia and Ken Ramos, have entrusted me with this very important position,” Dr. Knox said. “I am excited for the LCME (Liaison Committee on Medical Education) site visit as the College prepares to highlight its offerings and talent. This is an exciting time for Phoenix, as we have an amazing relationship with the community and a transformational UA-Banner partnership. I am energized and very much look forward to continuing my research and clinical activities with new friends, colleagues and collaborators in Greater Phoenix.”
Prior to joining the UA, Dr. Knox served as chief of medicine for the Southern Arizona Veteran Affairs Health Care System in Tucson, where he was instrumental in faculty recruitment and academic affairs. He is affiliated with the UA Health Sciences Asthma and Airway Disease Research Center and the UA Valley Fever Center for Excellence.
A Youngstown, Ohio, native, Dr. Knox graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in microbiology from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. He completed his medical degree and residency training in internal medicine at Ohio State University and a fellowship in pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine at Indiana University in Indianapolis, where he remained on faculty for eight years, serving as division educational director and director of the immunologic lung disease program.
Sairam Parthasarathy, MD, has been selected as interim pulmonary division chief within the UA Department of Medicine – Tucson as a search for Dr. Knox’s successor begins. Dr. Parthasarathy is a UA professor of medicine, medical director of the Center for Sleep Disorders at Banner – University Medical Center Tucson, director of UAHS Center for Sleep and Circadian Sciences, and director of the Sleep Medicine Fellowship. He joined the faculty at the UA College of Medicine – Tucson in 2004 and previously worked at Veterans Affairs Medical centers in Tucson and in Hines, Ill., where he was on the faculty and director of sleep disorders at Loyola University – Chicago.
With Guadalupe "Lu" Martinez, PhD, assistant professor of medicine and director, educational research and development, Department of Medicine, joining Dr. Knox's staff as assistant dean of faculty affairs and development, Laura E. Meinke, MD, has been named interim head of the department's Vice Chair of Education Office. Dr. Meinke is currently director of the UA Internal Medicine Residency Program - Tucson Campus.
About the UA College of Medicine – Tucson
The University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson is advancing health and wellness through state-of-the-art medical education programs, groundbreaking research, and advancements in patient care in Arizona and across the United States. Founded in 1967, the College ranks among the top medical schools in the nation for research and primary care and is leading the way in academic medicine through its partnership with Banner – University Medicine, a new division of one of the largest nonprofit health-care systems in the country. For more information: http://medicine.arizona.edu
About the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix
The UA College of Medicine – Phoenix admitted its inaugural class of first-year medical students in August 2007 and currently has 320 students training to be physicians. The College inspires and trains exemplary physicians, scientists and leaders to optimize health and health care in Arizona and beyond. The College is uniquely positioned to accelerate the biomedical and economic engines in Phoenix and the state by leveraging vital relationships with key clinical and community partners. For more information: http://phoenixmed.arizona.edu
About the University of Arizona Health Sciences
The University of Arizona Health Sciences is the statewide leader in biomedical research and health professions training. The UA Health Sciences includes the UA Colleges of Medicine (Phoenix and Tucson), Nursing, Pharmacy and Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, with main campus locations in Tucson and the growing Phoenix Biomedical Campus in downtown Phoenix. From these vantage points, the UA Health Sciences reaches across the state of Arizona and the greater Southwest to provide cutting-edge health education, research, patient care and community outreach services. A major economic engine, the UA Health Sciences employs almost 5,000 people, has nearly 1,000 faculty members and garners more than $126 million in research grants and contracts annually. For more information: http://uahs.arizona.edu. Follow us: Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | LinkedIn