Medical School celebrates faculty who received named professorships in 2024

On June 10, the University of Michigan Medical School honored the 42 faculty members who were appointed to named professorships in 2024. A named professorship is one of the highest honors bestowed on a faculty member.

Medical School leadership gathered with the honorees for a reception in the Gilbert S. Omenn Atrium in the A. Alfred Taubman Biomedical Science Research Building.

“Professorships have long been a way for us to recognize the contributions and achievements of our esteemed faculty members, and to share our gratitude for their commitment and service to the organization,” said Marschall S. Runge, M.D., Ph.D., dean of the Medical School and a recipient of the McKay Professorship in 2024. “Your contributions help us remain at the forefront of growth, to build upon existing knowledge, develop innovative approaches to health care, and conduct groundbreaking research.”

The very first professorship ever established at the University of Michigan was in the Medical School. In 1898, Dr. Elizabeth Bates, a physician from a small town in upstate New York, who practiced medicine with her physician-father for many years, left nearly her entire estate to the University to establish a professorship in her family name to advance understandings in women’s and children’s health. The Bates Professorship for the Diseases of Women and Children was the first endowed professorship established by an individual anywhere at the University.

As of June 2025, the Medical School boasts 481 named professorships, with UMMS holding the most professorships of any school or college at the University of Michigan.

Medical School faculty members who received named professorships in 2024:

Prachi M. Agarwal, MBBS
Kyung J. Cho Collegiate Professorship in Radiology 

James M. Balter, Ph.D.
Allen S. Lichter, M.D., Professorship in Radiation Oncology

Shrinivas Bishu, M.D.
H. Marvin Pollard Collegiate Professorship in Gastroenterology IV

Timothy S. Blackwell, M.D.
John G. Searle Professorship in Internal Medicine

Frederic C. Blow, Ph.D.
Rachel Upjohn Research Professorship in Psychiatry

Erin Bonar, Ph.D.
Kathy Fant Brzoznowski Research Professorship in Behavioral Health Technology Innovations

Matthew J. Brody, Ph.D.
Pfizer Upjohn Early Career Research Professorship in Molecular Pharmacology

Dawen Cai, Ph.D.
Crosby-Kahn Collegiate Professorship in Cell and Developmental Biology

Andrew C. Chang, M.D.
Cameron Haight Collegiate Professorship in Thoracic Surgery

Robert Dickson, M.D.
Galen B. Toews, M.D., Legacy Professorship in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine

Joshua R. Ehrlich, M.D., MPH
Paul R. Lichter Research Professorship

Jonathan L. Eliason, M.D.
Frankel Professorship in Cardiovascular Surgery

Stephen A. Goutman, M.D., M.S.
Harriet Hiller Research Professorship

Patrick J. Grohar, M.D., Ph.D.
Russell G. Adderley Professorship in Pediatric Oncology

Jonathan W. Haft, M.D.
Joe D. Morris, M.D., Collegiate Professorship in Cardiac Surgery

Barbara Hamilton, M.D.
Cheryl Huey, M.D., Early Career Professorship

Benjamin Hampstead, Ph.D.
Philip B. and Myrna R. Fischer Research Professorship

Mary Ellen M. Heisler, M.D.
Kutsche Memorial Research Professorship in Internal Medicine

David T. Hughes, M.D.
James Lynds, M.D., Research Professorship

Andrew M. Ibrahim, M.D., M.Sc.
George D. Zuidema Professorship in Surgery

Nitin B. Jain, MBBS, MSPH
James W. Rae Collegiate Professorship in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Jacqueline S. Jeruss, M.D., Ph.D.
Alfred E. Chang, M.D., Research Professorship in Surgical Oncology

Joseph C. Kolars, M.D., MACP
Leslie D. Yamada and Tachi Yamada, M.D., Directorship in the Medical School

Naomi Laventhal, M.D., M.A.
Charles Neil Weller Children’s Development Research Professorship

Qing Li, M.D., Ph.D.
Betty Nixon Spurway and Don L. Nixon Leukemia Research Professorship

Prashant Mahajan, M.D., MPH, MBA
William G. Barsan Collegiate Professorship in Emergency Medicine

Susan M. Maixner, M.D.
Willard C. Blackney Jr. and Geraldine LaTendresse Blackney Clinician-Educator Professorship in Geriatric Psychiatry

Donovan T. Maust, M.D., M.S.
Willard C. Blackney Jr. and Geraldine LaTendresse Blackney Research Professorship in Geriatric Psychiatry

Rohit Mehra, MBBS
Godfrey Dorr Stobbe Research Professorship in Translational Pathology

Mishal Mendiratta-Lala, M.D.
Agree Family Research Professorship in Image Guided Intervention

Shahzad I. Mian, M.D.
F. Bruce Fralick Professorship in Ophthalmology

Kamran M. Mirza, MBBS, Ph.D.
Godfrey Dorr Stobbe Professorship in Pathology Education

Andrea T. Obi, M.D.
Marion and David Handleman Research Professorship in Vascular Surgery

David D. Odell, M.D.
John Alexander Distinguished Professorship in Thoracic Surgery

Stephanie Parks Taylor, M.D., M.S.
J. Griswold Ruth, M.D., and Margery Hopkins Ruth Research Professorship

Hallie C. Prescott, M.D., M.Sc.
Toews Family Legacy Professorship in Pulmonary and Critical Care

Anthony Rosenzweig, M.D.
Stanley and Judith Frankel Professorship in Heart and Brain Health

Marschall S. Runge, M.D., Ph.D.
McKay Professorship

Jason R. Spence, Ph.D.
H. Marvin Pollard Professorship in Gastrointestinal Sciences

Elliot Tapper, M.D.
Andrews Family Research Professorship in Hepatology

Maureen A. Walton, Ph.D., MPH
Toby Brzoznowski Research Professorship in Behavioral Health Technology Innovations

Zhen Xu
Li Ka Shing Research Professor of Biomedical Engineering