Leadership of the Biological Sciences Division and UChicago Medicine

To: All Faculty and Other Academic Appointees
From: Paul Alivisatos, President
Subject: Leadership of the Biological Sciences Division and UChicago Medicine
Date: January 5, 2022

I write to let you know that Kenneth Polonsky has announced his intention to step down as Dean of the Biological Sciences Division and Pritzker School of Medicine and Executive Vice President for Biology and Medicine and President of the University of Chicago Health System in September 2022. After this date, Kenneth will become Senior Advisor to the President and remain a tenured member of the faculty once his term as Dean and Executive Vice President has ended.  My goal is for Kenneth’s successor to be in place on October 1, 2022. More details on the search will be forthcoming.

Kenneth joined the University on October 1, 2010 to serve as Dean and Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs. Under his leadership important progress has been made on many levels, some of which are highlighted below. I am deeply grateful for all that has been achieved under Kenneth’s leadership, and that he will leave the Medical Center and the Biological Sciences Division and Pritzker School of Medicine very well-positioned to continue an upward trajectory.

Biological Sciences Division (BSD)

In recent years there has been substantial investment in recruiting research-intensive faculty to basic science and clinical departments, and the size of the faculty has grown significantly. The BSD has simultaneously made investments in research infrastructure, and expanded and enhanced shared research facilities and research core laboratories. These investments have been enabled by the strong financial performance of the BSD, fueled by external grant funding, philanthropy, and through expanding clinical practice.

Research awards and expenditures have increased and in Fiscal Year 2021 BSD Sponsored program awards totaled $466M, representing more than 60% of the sponsored program awards to the University of Chicago. A significant component of the recent increases in National Institutes of Health funding is through large awards, including funding for the NIH HEAL Data Platform and National Cancer Institute Genomic Data Commons, the Medical Imaging and Data Resource Center, the Illinois Precision Medicine Consortium, and the Statistics and Data Management Center for NRG Oncology.

New Centers and Institutes have been created and existing Centers have been strengthened, allowing for a sharper focus on strategic scientific priorities. 

Neuroscience. The Neuroscience Institute was established under the direction of John Maunsell and consists of 90 faculty from 16 departments spanning 3 divisions. The Grossman Center for Theoretical and Computational Neuroscience, under the direction of Brent Doiron, fosters partnerships between theorists and experimentalists to address fundamental questions of how brain circuits generate complex human behaviors.

Cancer. There have been recent enhanced investments in research recruitment in cancer in basic science and clinical departments. We have also substantially increased in our investment in the University of Chicago Comprehensive Cancer Center under the new UCCCC director Dr. Kunle Odunsi, a noted physician scientist in cancer immunotherapy.

Microbiome. The Duchossois Family Institute was established in 2017 with a $100M gift from Janet and Craig Duchossois and the Duchossois Family Foundation. Under the direction of Dr. Eric Pamer, the Institute focuses on investigating the microbiome with the goal of reducing susceptibility and/or enhancing resistance to a range of human diseases and inflammatory conditions.

Data Science and use of big data and artificial intelligence in biology and medicine. The Center for Translational Data Science was established in 2014 under director Bob Grossman. The Center is a world leader in the development of secure computing architecture for large-scale data and hosts all the data for NCI-supported Cancer Clinical Trials. The Center for Physics of Evolving Systems was established under the direction of Rama Ranganathan and has assembled a distinguished group of biologists, physicists, mathematicians, computer scientists and engineers who are using artificial intelligence to model test and validate the low-dimensional organizing principles that give rise to complex biological systems. The Center for Research Informatics was established to create an infrastructure to provide faculty with access to large data sets and assistance in analysis of these data. The Institute of Population and Precision Health directed by Hahib Ahsan uses large-scale epidemiologic and population data to develop novel approaches to prevent disease, promote health and reduce health disparities.

Education. The recently established undergraduate major in the neurosciences has grown substantially and is attracting outstanding students. The Pritzker School of Medicine is one of the most selective and diverse medical schools in the country. More than 35% of the student entering in 2021 are from groups underrepresented in medicine.

The doctor-patient relationship. The Bucksbaum Institute for clinical excellence was established in 2011 with a $42M gift from Matthew and Carolyn Bucksbaum. Directed by Mark Siegler, this Institute focuses on improving the doctor-patient relationship on our campus as well as nationally and internationally.

University of Chicago Medicine (UCM)

UCM has evolved from a hospital and clinical practice focused almost exclusively in Hyde Park in 2010 to a health system, with the incorporation of Ingalls Hospital and health system in 2017. UCM now has 10 ambulatory facilities in various locations in the Chicago area and several other practice sites. Aggressive growth plans continue and UCM will open a large ambulatory facility in Crown Point, Indiana in 2023 and a state-of-the-art ambulatory and inpatient Cancer Center of the Future on the Hyde Park campus is being planned currently and will open in five years.

The Hyde Park campus has been transformed with the opening of the Center for Care and Discovery in 2013, the new and expanded emergency department and parking garage, and many other construction projects. The hospital consistently runs at or near capacity reflecting the demand for the services and high-quality patient care that patients receive. 

Particularly important has been the focus on patient quality and safety. UCM has received an A grade from the Leapfrog Group 20 consecutive times.  Only 27 hospitals nationally have received this recognition out of over 2500 evaluated. UCM also was designated nursing magnet status, a highly prestigious recognition of the quality of nursing care.

Substantial attention has been given to expanding access to the South Side community. This has been accomplished through expansion of capacity and the opening of adult level I trauma center, now the busiest trauma center in the Chicago area. UCM’s commitment to the South Side was particularly evident during the pandemic during which time 70-80% of admissions were from South Side neighborhoods.  UCM is currently the single largest provider of Medicaid services in the state of Illinois for both inpatient and outpatient medical care.

Most recently UCM has played a leading role in setting up the South Side Healthy Communities Organization, a partnership between UCM, Advocate Healthcare and a group of Southside community hospitals and Federally Qualified Health Centers. This $150m initiative aims to transform healthcare on the South Side of Chicago by investing in community-based health care resources.

The financial position of both UCM and the BSD is strong and has met or exceeded budget targets in each year of Dr. Polonsky’s tenure. Net patient service revenue in UCM has increased from $1.1B to $2.6B, and operating revenue, including professional fee revenue, is now at $3.6B. The AA-bond rating has been maintained and this past year reported that ~ $300M in earnings before interest, depreciation, and amortization. Medicine and Biological Sciences Development was extremely successful during the last campaign raising just under $1.2B, thanks to many grateful patients, other loyal donors, and our own Board of Trustees.

In addition to the many achievements in the UCM and BSD community under Kenneth’s leadership highlighted above, I would be remiss not to mention the important partnerships that have developed with other academic and administrative areas of the University over the past 12 years. This has been most prominent and vital during the pandemic, during which the UCM and BSD have provided remarkable care and counsel for our community. I am confident that under Kenneth’s continued leadership and with the dedication of the entire UCM and BSD community we will move beyond the current surge in the pandemic and the many difficulties it is presenting, towards a promising future. 

Kenneth has truly made a profound impact on the University and the Medical Center, providing an excellent foundation for his successor to build upon and serve generations to come. Please join me in congratulating Kenneth on his outstanding tenure, and thanking him for his leadership.