Positions
- President & CEO
-
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, Texas, United States
- Executive Dean
-
Baylor College of Medicine
- John E. and Clara B. Whitmore Chair for the President
-
Baylor College of Medicine
Education
- MD from Charles University 1st Med School
- Prague, Czech Republic
- summa cum laude
- PhD from University of Minnesota
- Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
- Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology and Genetics
- Residency at University of Minnesota Medical Center
- 01/2000 - Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
- Postdoctoral Fellowship at University of Minnesota
- 01/1997 - Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
- Institute of Human Genetics
- Fellowship at University of Minnesota Medical Center
- 01/2003 - Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
- Pediatric Hematology-Oncology/Blood and Marrow Transplantation
Honors & Awards
- Doctor Scientiarum Medicarum, honoris causa
- Masaryk University (01/2026)
- Gregor Johann Mendel medal
- (01/2026)
- Team Telomere Award for Excellence in Medicine
- (01/2022)
- Sigma Xi Scientific Research Honor Society
- (01/2021)
- Academy for Excellence in Health Research
- University of Minnesota (01/2016)
- Distinguished McKnight University Professorship
- (01/2015)
- Innovator in Translational Research Award
- University of Minnesota (01/2014)
- Leadership in Healthcare, “Change Agent” Award
- Minnesota Business Magazine (01/2013)
- Rare Disease Research Hall of Fame
- National Organization for Rare Disorders (01/2013)
- Edmund Wallace and Anna Marie Tulloch Chair in Stem Cell Biology, Genetics and Genomics
- (01/2013)
Professional Interests
- Epidermolysis bullosa
- Fanconi anemia
- Dyskeratosis congenita
- Mucopolysaccharidosis type I
- Adrenoleukodystrophy
- Gene editing
- Blood and marrow transplantation for bone marrow failure syndromes
- Gene therapy for inherited diseases
- Immune tolerance
Professional Statement
It is my honor and privilege to serve as the President and CEO of Baylor College of Medicine. To lead this institution entrusted with healing, discovery and the formation of future physicians and scientists is not an administrative charge, it is stewardship of an inheritance shaped by generations of Houstonians, Texans, and Americans.
Our true measure is not the labs, clinics and classrooms, but our people—the commitment of our faculty, the creativity of our students, the drive of our staff, and the trust of our patients, their families and communities.
Our four missions—education, research, clinical care, and community—are not separate, but one: an inquiry enriches medicine, students sharpens the teachers, and the bedside remains the best clinical school to serve our community. My own life in medicine—as a transplant physician, teacher, and scientist—affirms that this union of missions is irreplaceable.
As dean of University of Minnesota Medical School and co-leader of the M Health Fairview health system, my team led major initiatives spanning clinical transformation, research growth, and the integration of the two. We improved the clinical learning environment for residents and students, made rapid and significant improvement in quality/safety metrics, market share, and productivity.
As an NIH funded physician scientist for over 25 years now, I learned that research requires resilience and adaptability, and that medicine best advances through partnerships.
Our obligations do not end at the Texas Medical Center. We will carry academic medicine outward, more broadly to communities across Texas, in clinical trials, education, and clinical service, and I trust that our experience in new models of rural healthcare will aid in that effort.
Baylor College of Medicine has a noble inheritance; its future is nobler still. This future demands our commitment, creativity and drive, and in the weeks and months ahead I look forward to meeting more of you in our Baylor family and our partners—to listening, learning and getting things done together.
Our true measure is not the labs, clinics and classrooms, but our people—the commitment of our faculty, the creativity of our students, the drive of our staff, and the trust of our patients, their families and communities.
Our four missions—education, research, clinical care, and community—are not separate, but one: an inquiry enriches medicine, students sharpens the teachers, and the bedside remains the best clinical school to serve our community. My own life in medicine—as a transplant physician, teacher, and scientist—affirms that this union of missions is irreplaceable.
As dean of University of Minnesota Medical School and co-leader of the M Health Fairview health system, my team led major initiatives spanning clinical transformation, research growth, and the integration of the two. We improved the clinical learning environment for residents and students, made rapid and significant improvement in quality/safety metrics, market share, and productivity.
As an NIH funded physician scientist for over 25 years now, I learned that research requires resilience and adaptability, and that medicine best advances through partnerships.
Our obligations do not end at the Texas Medical Center. We will carry academic medicine outward, more broadly to communities across Texas, in clinical trials, education, and clinical service, and I trust that our experience in new models of rural healthcare will aid in that effort.
Baylor College of Medicine has a noble inheritance; its future is nobler still. This future demands our commitment, creativity and drive, and in the weeks and months ahead I look forward to meeting more of you in our Baylor family and our partners—to listening, learning and getting things done together.
Websites
Languages
Czech
Log In to edit your profile