Robert T. "Chip" Schooley, MD, Stepping Down as Division Chief of Infectious Diseases
by Joshua Miller | Aug 14, 2017 | Academic, Clinical, Infectious Diseases & Global Public Health, Research
An announcement from Wolfgang H. Dillmann, MD, Helen M. Ranney Distinguished Professor and Chair, Department of Medicine
Robert T. "Chip" Schooley, MD
It is with mixed emotions that the Department of Medicine announces that Dr. Robert "Chip" Schooley has stepped down as Division Chief of Infectious Diseases effective August 1, 2017. Dr. Schooley has accepted the position of UCSD Senior Director of International Initiatives, and he will remain as Vice Chair of Academic Affairs in the Department of Medicine, and will continue to be a valuable member of the Infectious Diseases Team.
Dr. Schooley joined the Department in 2005 as the third chief of Infectious Diseases since its inception. Over the past 12 years, under his leadership, the division has nearly doubled in size from having 25 faculty members to 44, with many of them joining the division from the fellowship. During that time, Dr. Schooley has mentored countless medical students, residents, and fellows, and has also helped to develop a collaborative culture within the division, creating a worldwide network of researchers and clinicians. He has personally mentored dozens of fellows and junior faculty, helping them to establish independent careers within academia both at UCSD and at other institutions.
Throughout his tenure, the Infectious Diseases Division has remained the #1 research funded division in the Department of Medicine. Dr. Schooley brought the editorship of the Clinical Infectious Disease Journal to UCSD which served to increase the international reputation of the division and also provided faculty members direct access to outstanding research and collaboration opportunities. Along with the Fellowship Director, Dr. Constance Benson, Dr. Schooley established the Mozambique research and training program at UCSD in 2009, which has served to train hundreds of UCSD residents and fellows, and physicians from Mozambique. This collaboration has helped to further reinforce Dr. Schooley as a world-leader in both the research and management of infectious disease.
Dr. Schooley also helped establish the UCSD HCV clinic, and has never shied away from innovative and entrepreneurial methods to patient care. This was most recently exemplified by his coordination of the treatment of Acinetobacter baumannii utilizing bacteriophages in a successful experimental treatment. This outcome could not have been possible were it not for the faculty mentorship, the professional relationships, and the constant innovation exemplified by the entire division of Infectious Diseases under the stewardship of Dr. Schooley.
Please join me in congratulating Dr. Robert Schooley on over a decade of outstanding service to our Department as a brilliant leader, clinician, investigator, mentor, and colleague.