Newswise — Bethesda, Md. -- Arthur L. Kellermann, MD, MPH, Paul O’Neill-Alcoa Chair in Policy Analysis at the RAND Corporation in Washington, DC, has been named as the new Dean of the F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU), following a year-long search. Kellermann will be responsible for the undergraduate medical education of more than 640 uniformed medical students and more than 240 military and civilian graduate students each year.

"The search committee was extremely thorough in its efforts to find the best candidate to lead the School of Medicine, and Dr. Kellermann rose to the top of a very competitive field," said Charles L. Rice, M.D., USU President.

"In addition to being one of the nation’s leading experts in Emergency Medicine and Public Health, Dr. Kellermann is a recognized expert in health policy. His vast experience will be invaluable to the future of the F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine, and to USU, and we are very pleased that he will be joining us," said Rice.

“I am humbled and excited by the opportunity,” said Kellermann. “In many regards, USU is America’s medical school – it has a unique mission, an exceptional faculty and an amazing group of students from across the United States. I am honored to join the team.”

Kellermann’s distinguished career is anchored in academic medicine and public health. Before joining RAND, a non-profit research organization, he was a professor of emergency medicine and public health and associate dean for health policy at the Emory School of Medicine in Atlanta. He founded Emory's Department of Emergency Medicine and served as its first chair from 1999 to 2007. He established the Emory Center for Injury Control, and holds “excellence in science” awards from two organizations: the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine and the Injury Control and Emergency Health Services Section of the American Public Health Association.

A two-term member of the board of directors of the American College of Emergency Physicians, Kellermann was subsequently given the College's highest award for leadership. Elected to the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in 1999, Kellermann co-chaired the IOM Committee on the Consequences of Uninsurance, which issued six reports on this topic between 2001 and 2004. He also served on the IOM's Committee on the Future of Emergency Care in the U.S. Health System and the Committee on Effectiveness of National Biosurveillance Systems: BioWatch and the Public Health System. He currently serves on the IOM’s Governing Council. A clinician and researcher, he practiced and taught emergency medicine for more than 25 years in public teaching hospitals in Seattle, Washington; Memphis, Tennessee; and Atlanta, Georgia. His research has addressed a wide range of issues, including health care spending and information technology, prevention and treatment of traumatic brain injury, the synergy between emergency care and public health, and disaster preparedness. ---The F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine was established by Congress in 1972 to provide a cadre of career military physicians and leaders for the Uniformed Services. Medical students are active duty uniformed officers in the Army, Navy, Air Force and Public Health Service who receive specialized education in tropical and infectious diseases, TBI and PTSD, disaster response and humanitarian assistance, global health, and acute trauma care in addition to their regular medical school curriculum. A large percentage of the university’s more than 5,000 physician alumni are supporting operations around the world, offering their leadership and expertise. The F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine also has graduate programs in biomedical sciences and public health, most open to civilian and military applicants, and a robust research program that covers a wide range of areas important to both the military and public health. For more information about USU and its programs, visit www.usuhs.edu.