Announcing the New College of Medicine Dean

Dear Faculty, Staff and Students,

It is my pleasure to announce the appointment of Mark Rosenblatt, MD, PhD, MBA as the next Dean of the University of Illinois College of Medicine, pending approval by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees, effective March 16, 2019.

I would like to thank the search committee, co-chaired by Dean Karen Colley and Dr. Terry Vanden Hoek, for their outstanding work during the extensive vetting and interview process for all of the candidates. Further, I thank all members of the campus and College of Medicine community for their participation in the campus interviews and for providing feedback on the finalists for this position.

Currently, Dr. Rosenblatt serves as the Illinois Lions/Charles I. Young Chair, Professor, and Head of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the University of Illinois College of Medicine Chicago.

Dr. Rosenblatt is an internationally recognized clinician-scientist.  As Director of the Corneal Regenerative Medicine Laboratory, he leads groups of scientists investigating the mechanism of corneal peripheral nerve regeneration following injury, and the use of nanoengineered biomaterials for use in stem cell delivery to the ocular surface. His work in regenerative medicine has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense, Research to Prevent Blindness, the Falk Family Foundation, and the Tri-Institutional Stem Cell Initiative. Dr. Rosenblatt has published widely, including over 150 original manuscripts, review articles, book chapters, and abstracts.

Dr. Rosenblatt is a graduate of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine’s Honors Program in Medical Education and the Combined MD/PhD program, receiving Alpha Omega Alpha honors. He completed his ophthalmology residency and combined clinical/research fellowship in corneal disease at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary/Harvard Medical School. Prior to his arrival at UIC, Dr. Rosenblatt was a faculty member in the Department of Ophthalmology at Weill Cornell Medical College, where he served as the department’s Vice Chair and as Director of the Margaret M. Dyson Vision Research Institute. Dr. Rosenblatt also completed his MBA at New York University’s Stern School.

I am confident that Dr. Rosenblatt will be an outstanding leader for the University of Illinois College of Medicine, having the innovative skills and experience necessary to lead across all domains of the college – education, research, clinical care, community engagement and philanthropy. He will be a great addition to the regional deans in Peoria, Rockford and Urbana, as well as the broader group of deans at UIC.

Please join me in thanking Dr. Charles Ray for his steadfast leadership as Interim Dean of the college. We have been fortunate to have had such an experienced and knowledgeable leader step into this role, and I very much appreciate his hard work and dedication to steering the college while we conducted this search.

Sincerely,

Robert A. Barish, MD, MBA
Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs

For more information, please contact:
Margaret Moser
mlmoser@uic.edu