Bio

With over 30 years of experience as a physician-scientist, pediatric cardiologist, and academic administrator, my life’s work is focused on improving the human condition through the best in education, research and care. At the University of California, Irvine, I am helping to bring this vision to fruition as the Vice Chancellor of Health Affairs, leading the development of the Susan & Henry Samueli College of Health Sciences (CoHS) and UCI Health, our healthcare system. We are pursuing exceptional opportunities to improve the health and well-being of Californian’s while educating the diverse healthcare workforce of the future, endeavors made possible by our interprofessional college structure and the expansion of our clinical service sites. UCI is committed to fostering the American Dream for all, including support for health throughout life. My own work has spanned different systems and responsibilities in academic medicine and higher education. As a leader, I enlist aspirational problem-solvers and team players whose satisfaction derives from helping others succeed; I have found this inspires a spirit of openness and productivity that advances organizational achievement. A career overseeing world-class physicians, open-minded scientists, dedicated educators and selfless administrators has also taught me the importance of balancing guidance with a respect for freedom to operate, optimizing the benefits of assembling exceptional personnel, and the power of transparency, diversity and respect. In addition to administrative endeavors, I have maintained a complementary career as a researcher and educator. My laboratory focuses on ion channels, essential proteins in each of our cells that produce heartbeats and other “excitable” membrane phenomena that are fundamental to health and treatment of disease. I am proud of the 60 research trainees who have worked with me and then gone on to exciting careers in academia, industry and service. As a clinician, investigator, teacher and leader, my singular aim is to foster individual potential. I believe that the surest path to repairing the world is to enable children, and the students, staff, faculty and community members they become, to achieve their personal goals. Follow the link to a listing of my published works: https://tinyurl.com/ycnqnwqt