New NIH Chair

Originally Released: June 2, 2000
Contact: Colleen Henrichsen 301-496-2563
Joan Schnipper 410-328-6776

NIH CLINICAL CENTER ANNOUNCES NEW CHAIR OF BOARD OF GOVERNORS

Stephen C. Schimpff, M.D., chief executive officer of the University of Maryland Medical Center and executive vice president of the University of Maryland Medical System, has been named chair of the Board of Governors of the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center.

"Dr. Schimpff has the clinical and administrative expertise to guide the Clinical Center through the complex challenges of conducting clinical research in the 21st century," said Ruth Kirschstein, M.D., acting NIH director who announced the appointment. "We are honored to have him lead the board as the Clinical Center advances its tradition as a center of excellence in clinical research."

Schimpff, a member of the NIH board and its executive committee since their inception four years ago, is currently chair of the finance-working group. He will be installed as chair at the June 5, 2000, meeting of the board.

"I am very excited about the opportunity to serve as chair of the Board of Governors of the NIH Clinical Center," said Dr. Schimpff. "The Clinical Center is the world-wide leader in clinical research, bar none, and is a national treasure. It is critical that its mission be preserved and extended as medicine continues rapidly to evolve. The discoveries made there over the past 47 years are truly incredible. I am very proud to be able to contribute to this great institution."

As Chief Executive Officer of the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, Dr. Schimpff is responsible for patient care services, operations, finances, strategic planning and business development for the academic medical center encompassing 724 beds, 5,000 employees, 800 physicians, and an annual budget of $500 million. As Executive Vice President of the University of Maryland Medical System, Dr. Schimpff supports initiatives of a three-hospital system, which includes all levels of care, from community medicine to rehabilitation, to care for the most acutely ill patients in the state and surrounding regions.

Dr. Schimpff's depth and breadth of experience has been a valuable asset to the board since it was established," said Dr. John Gallin, NIH Clinical Center director. "His leadership will continue to enhance the Clinical Center efforts to improve the health of the nation."

Schimpff obtained his MD from Yale Medical School in 1967. His internship and residency training were completed at Yale-New Haven Hospital in 1969. He was a clinical associate in the Baltimore Cancer Research Center of the National Cancer Institute, from 1969 to 1972. He was a guest worker at the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases, at NIH, from 1972-1973. He remained with the National Cancer Institute as a senior investigator until 1982, when the University of Maryland Cancer Center was created at the University of Maryland Hospital to replace the Baltimore Cancer Research Center. Dr. Schimpff was named director of the University of Maryland Cancer Center when it opened.

Dr. Schimpff is board certified in internal medicine, oncology, and infectious diseases. He is a professor of medicine, oncology and pharmacology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

He resides in Columbia, Md. with his wife, Carol. He is the father of two children.

The Board of Governors was established in 1996 by DHHS Secretary Donna Shalala to oversee the management of the hospital at NIH. The Board is made up of physicians, scientists, and health care mangers from some of the nation's top medical centers and from across NIH. The 47-year-old Clinical Center is the world's largest hospital dedicated entirely to clinical research. A new facility, the Mark O. Hatfield Clinical Research Center, is slated to open in January 2000.

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