Dean Christian Larsen

I am pleased to announce two new appointments in the School of Medicine:

Georgia Tech and Emory have named Ravi Bellamkonda to chair our joint Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, a role he will begin next month.

Dr. Bellamkonda, who joined Georgia Tech in 2003, is currently the Carol Ann and David D. Flanagan Chair in Biomedical Engineering and a Georgia Cancer Coalition Distinguished Scholar. He currently serves as associate VP for research at Georgia Tech and is the new president-elect for the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering. His research focuses on neural tissue engineering, targeted drug delivery for brain tumor therapy, and peripheral and central nerve regeneration.

Ravi Bellamkonda

His appointment concludes a national search begun last year to fill the position, which is responsible for overseeing the department's academic and research programs in areas such as biomedical imaging, tissue engineering, cancer technologies, neuroscience, computer-assisted surgery, and drug delivery. The department has 40 faculty members at Georgia Tech and Emory and more than 1,300 undergraduate and graduate students. He succeeds Larry McIntire, who is retiring after 10 years as chair of the joint department. Read more.

Leon Haley

Leon Haley, associate professor of emergency medicine, has been appointed the new executive associate dean of clinical services for Grady and chief medical officer of the Emory Medical Care Foundation.

Dr. Haley will begin his new role on July 8, serving as the primary liaison between the medical school and the Grady Health System. He will be responsible for executive oversight and the strategic vision and direction for Emory's clinical, research, and teaching practices at Grady. Dr. Haley joined the faculty in 1997.

As executive associate dean for clinical affairs, Dr. Haley succeeds William Casarella, who is retiring after serving in that position since 2000. Dr. Casarella also chaired radiology from 1981 to 2004.

Hany Atallah is being promoted to chief of emergency medicine, Grady Health System and medical director for the Emergency Care Center (ECC) at Grady, replacing Haley in those roles. Dr. Atallah joined the faculty in 2003 and was appointed associate medical director for the ECC in 2008. Read more.

Please join me in congratulating Drs. Bellamkonda, Haley, and Atallah in their new roles.

Best regards,

Christian Larsen, MD, DPhil
Dean, Emory Medicine
Vice President for Health Center Integration,
Woodruff Health Sciences Center
Chairman, Board of Directors, The Emory Clinic