Newswise — The University of Michigan Medical School has announced that pediatric oncologist Valerie Castle, M.D., will be appointed chair of the Department of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases, pending approval by the U-M Board of Regents. As chair, she also will be named as the first David Murray Cowie Professor of Pediatrics.
"Our national search to fill the pediatric chair position has been exhaustive. However, it quickly became clear that Dr. Castle, who has been with our medical school since 1990, was the most outstanding candidate. Her leadership will support the department's continued advancements in clinical care, research and education," says Allen Lichter, M.D., dean of the Medical School.
Castle received her bachelor's degree in 1979 from McGill University in Montreal and her medical degree from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, in 1983, where she completed her pediatric residency in 1986. Castle also completed a fellowship in pediatric hematology/oncology at the U-M Medical School in 1990.
Castle's research focuses on the pediatric solid tumor neuroblastoma. She is specifically interested in mechanisms of chemotherapy and radiation resistance as well as the control of neuroblastoma invasion and metastases. She is also an expert on the clinical management of this disease.
Castle serves on a number of medical, research and children-related boards and committees, including the Advisory Panel on Research of the Association of American Medical Colleges.
In addition to her commitments to the U-M Medical School, Castle has also served as an associate provost for academic and faculty affairs.
"In her time in the Provost's Office, Dr. Castle exhibited excellent administrative skill and academic leadership. The Medical School is lucky to have her in this position where she will continue to serve the University," says Paul Courant, U-M provost and executive vice president for academic affairs.
"The faculty and staff in the Department of Pediatrics share a common goal to advance the care of sick children. The department is poised to reach new heights in understanding through research," Castle says. "Having my appointment recognized with the creation of a named professorship honoring Dr. Cowie's contributions is both a great honor and very humbling."
The David Murray Cowie Professorship of Pediatrics honors a U-M Medical School professor who received his medical degree from the Medical School in 1896. A Canadian by birth, Cowie became the first instructor of pediatrics at the Medical School in 1906 and the first chair of the Department of Pediatrics in 1920. Goiters, an enlargement of the thyroid gland, were the most common cause of thyroid disease in the Great Lakes, and it was Cowie who persuaded American salt manufacturers to include iodine, which prevents most goiters, in table salt.
Castle will assume her new responsibilities on Sept. 1.
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