D. Brent Polk, M.D., Named Chair of Pediatrics and Vice President of Academic Affairs at
Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, and Chair of Pediatrics and Vice Dean for Clinical Affairs at the Keck School of Medicine of USC
CONTACT: Steve Rutledge, Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, (323) 361-4121, or
Leslie Ridgeway, USC Keck School of Medicine, (323) 442-2823
LOS ANGELES – D. Brent Polk, M.D., has been named chair of the Department of Pediatrics and vice president of Academic Affairs at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles and chair of Pediatrics and vice dean for Clinical Affairs (Childrens Hospital Los Angeles) at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, according to a joint announcement by the two institutions today (Nov. 18, 2009).
“We’re elated with the appointment of Dr. Polk to this pivotal position, and it comes at an important point in the history of Childrens Hospital Los Angeles,” said Richard D. Cordova, FACHE, president and CEO at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. “During the challenging days and months ahead, Dr. Polk will be called upon to help us open the doors to our New Hospital Building, lead our research agenda and to forge new and stronger relationships with the community and other health care providers, as well as strengthen our already close partnership with USC.”
“Dr. Polk is nationally and internationally recognized for his innovative research and comprehensive, caring treatment of pediatric patients,” said Keck School Dean Carmen A. Puliafito, M.D., MBA. “His achievements have placed him on the list of America’s Top 100 Pediatricians and Best Doctors in America in Pediatric Gasgtroenterology for the past five years. Dr. Polk’s leadership will enhance the partnership between the Keck School and both Childrens Hospital Los Angeles and LAC+USC Medical Center. He is a gift to the young patients who will benefit from his care and expertise.”
A distinguished researcher and clinician, Dr. Polk will serve as a professor of pediatrics at the Keck School of Medicine. As chair of pediatrics, he will be responsible for the department’s educational, research and service missions, and he will oversee faculty working at Childrens Hospital and Los Angeles County+USC Medical Center. He will have a dual reporting structure; reporting to Mr. Cordova at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles and Dr. Puliafito at USC.
Dr. Polk replaces Roberta G. Williams, M.D., FACC, who served as vice president of the Department of Pediatrics and Academic Affairs at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, and professor and chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, since 2000.
"I couldn’t be more excited about the opportunity to come to Los Angeles to work with the leadership of USC, the Keck School of Medicine and Childrens Hospital,” said Dr. Polk. “I see this as a chance to strengthen the ties between these historic institutions. I also look forward to assisting with the opening of the New Hospital Building in 2011. This unprecedented, state-of-the-art facility will provide comprehensive and cutting-edge services to children in the greatest need of medical care. The faculty and staff in pediatrics, The Saban Research Institute, the Keck School of Medicine and USC will be an integrated team in developing preventative, diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic approaches to a wide variety of childhood disorders, and I believe we can lead the country in this effort.”
Dr. Polk joins the Keck School of Medicine and Childrens Hospital Los Angeles from Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn., where he served since 1990, most recently as chief of the D. Brent Polk Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, director of the Digestive Disease Research Center and a tenured professor of pediatrics and cell and developmental biology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
“Brent is one of our premier physicians and has served Vanderbilt with distinction for nearly two decades,” said Jeffrey R. Balser, M.D., Ph.D., vice chancellor for health affairs and dean of the School of Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. “Under Brent’s leadership, his division has experienced significant growth in terms of faculty, programs and grant awards from the NIH. His talents will be missed, but we are proud he will be occupying this important leadership role with USC and Childrens Hospital Los Angeles.”
As a renowned researcher on pediatric inflammatory bowel disease and immune regulation of the gastrointestinal tract, Dr. Polk’s research interests focus on regulation growth and development of the intestinal cell as related to ontogeny (the development of organisms) and disease. He is currently investigating epidermal growth factor and tumor necrosis factor receptor family member signaling mechanisms leading to proliferation, differentiation or migration of intestinal cells and the relationship between inflammation and how tumors grow.
“During my years as chair of Pediatrics at Vanderbilt, I encouraged and observed the maturation of Dr. Polk into a thoughtful and visionary leader,” said Arnold Strauss, M.D., Rachford Professor and chair of Pediatrics at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. “His ability to recruit outstanding faculty and successfully mentor them has been exemplary. His research accomplishments have been exciting, well funded, and directly applicable to human disease. He will be an incredible leader for USC and Childrens Hospital Los Angeles and for academic pediatrics nationally.”
Steven Gabbe, M.D., chief executive officer of The Ohio State University Medical Center and a former dean of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, describes Dr. Polk as someone who “simply does everything incredibly well. He’s a nationally and internationally recognized investigator, a skilled clinician, and an effective educator. He has helped hundreds of children who have suffered from painful intestinal conditions and I’m always impressed with his ability to guide families through the complex and stressful process of diagnosis and treatment. It was a privilege to work with him at Vanderbilt.”
Dr. Polk was listed among America’s Top 100 Pediatricians (2004-09), in “Best Doctors in America” (2005-2009), as well as several “Who’s Who” listings. He was a Presidential Scholar (1976-80) at Ouachita University, winning the Turner Scholar Award (1999-2001) at Vanderbilt University, and the Grant W. Liddle Award (2009), which recognizes faculty who demonstrate exemplary leadership in the promotion of scientific research at Vanderbilt. He was honored with the Distinguished Alumnus award from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in September 2009.
Dr. Polk is a member of several professional organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Gastroenterological Society, the American Pediatric Society, the American Physiological Society and the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
He was recently elected to chair the American Gastroenterological Association Institute Council. He also is chair of the National Institutes of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases Committee (2009-2011), serving on the Scientific Advisory Board for the University of California, San Francisco’s Digestive Diseases Center (2009-present), serving as United States organizer and scientific advisor for the World Congress of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition in Brazil (2008).
Dr. Polk has served as an ad hoc journal reviewer for more than three dozen medical journals, including the American Journal of Pathology, Cancer Research, European Journal of Immunology, Gastroenterology, the Journal of Pediatrics, and Nature.
Dr. Polk is certified by the American Board of Pediatrics and the Subspecialty Boards in Gastroenterology, and is licensed in California, Tennessee and Arkansas.
Dr. Polk received a bachelor’s degree in biology and chemistry, graduating magna cum laude from Ouachita University (1980) in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, and his medical degree from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (1984).
Dr. Polk completed his internship and residency (1984-87) in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. He served a fellowship in pediatric gastroenterology and nutrition (1987-90) at Stanford University School of Medicine.
Founded in 1901, Childrens Hospital Los Angeles has been treating the most seriously ill and injured children in Los Angeles for more than a century, and it is acknowledged throughout the United States and around the world for its leadership in pediatric and adolescent health. Childrens Hospital is one of America’s premier teaching hospitals, affiliated with the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California since 1932. The Saban Research Institute of Childrens Hospital Los Angeles is among the largest and most productive pediatric research facilities in the United States.
Since 1990, U.S. News & World Report and its panel of board-certified pediatricians have named Childrens Hospital Los Angeles one of the top pediatric facilities in the nation. Childrens Hospital Los Angeles is one of only 10 children’s hospitals in the nation – and the only children’s hospital on the West Coast – ranked in all 10 pediatric specialties in the U.S. News & World Report rankings and named to the magazine’s “Honor Roll” of children’s hospitals.
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