| August 20, 2009 | Media contact: Mary Masson E-mail: mfmasson@med.umich.edu Phone: 734-764-2220 |
Leading gastroenterologist named new chair of Internal Medicine
John M. Carethers, M.D., is Detroit native, has strong research background
John M. Carethers, M.D.
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Ann Arbor, Mich. —Bedlam was an understatement when the 12 Carethers children all were home from school for the summer. So their parents found a way to keep them busy.
Each week, each child had to write a short report using the family’s new set of encyclopedias and present their findings after church on Sunday. Then just 7 years old, John M. Carethers picked up the “A” volume and was entranced by the plastic overlays depicting the layers of organs that make up the human anatomy.
“I wanted to dissect everything after that,” laughs Carethers, the newly named chair of the University of Michigan’s Department of Internal Medicine.
Carethers will start at U-M on Nov. 1, pending approval of the University’s Board of Regents.
“We are delighted that Dr. Carethers will be leading our internal medicine department. He has proven throughout his career that he is committed to developing faculty, educating trainees and building research and clinical programs,” says James O. Woolliscroft, dean of the University’s medical school.
“We know that Dr. Carethers will provide excellent leadership for our largest department and play a major role in the expansion of research to our North Campus Research Complex on the former Pfizer property.”
At Cass Technical High School in Detroit, Carethers studied chemistry and biology, went on to earn his B.S. in biological sciences and his M.D. at Wayne State University.
Carethers completed his Internal Medicine residency at Massachusetts General Hospital, then a fellowship in gastroenterology at U-M in the early ‘90s. Since then, he’s developed an impressive resume of scientific research, earning a reputation among the top gastroenterologists nationwide with his study of colorectal cancers, especially among African Americans.
Carethers will lead the department of 585 faculty in 12 divisions, supervising its research, education, clinical care and development efforts. Woolliscroft says Carethers is well-suited to ensure the department remains among the nation’s leading Internal Medicine Departments, including its ranking as fourth largest recipient of National Institutes of Health grants.
A gastroenterologist, Carethers currently is chief of the University of California-San Diego School of Medicine’s Division of Gastroenterology — a position he’s held since 2004. He also is director of that university’s NIH Digestive Disease Research Development Center.
Carethers takes over from John Del Valle, M.D., Professor of Internal Medicine, who served as interim chair.
Carethers said he was attracted by Michigan’s top-notch research and clinical services and will work to continuously raise the profile of U-M’s medical school and faculty.
“U-M should be the place physicians love to practice and people want to come to for care,” Carethers says. “I want to build ways to enhance collaborative research as well as making sure the clinical program is top-notch.”
Carethers’ distinguished career includes many honors and awards, including fellowships with the American Gastroenterological Association, the American College of Physicians and the American College of Gastroenterology. He was elected in 2008 to the American Society of Clinical Investigation.
He also is excited by the potential for the North Campus Research Complex, the 30-building, 174-acre property that the University purchased in June. Woolliscroft currently is leading the planning for the University’s use of the former Pfizer property, and Carethers will be involved.
“No other place in the country has this opportunity,” he said. “My goal is to recruit the best and the brightest and grow programs to continue to enhance the University's research reputation, and the North Campus Research Complex space will be key for these strategic initiatives for Internal Medicine."
Carethers is married and has four school-age children. He’s looking forward to a return to Michigan.
“Important history was made here that changed the shape of medicine. The Chairman is on the national scene as part of the University of Michigan,” he says. “Opportunities at places like U-M only open up every so often … I intend to change the face of Michigan medicine. I told the Dean, you’ll see me working for this Department and the University of Michigan.”
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