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Judith Swain Announcement

Judith Swain, M.D., founding Director of the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine’s College of Integrated Life Sciences (COILS), has announced she will leave the university to serve as the founding Executive Director of the proposed “Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences (SICS)” of Biomedical Research Council (BMRC) of Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR). SICS will focus on clinical and translational research, bridging basic biomedical research and healthcare for patients. Swain has also been appointed Lien Ying Chow Professor of Medicine at the National University of Singapore.

This is a wonderful new opportunity that is perfectly suited to Dr. Swain’s tremendous talents. UCSD has benefited greatly from her experience and insights, as she has helped create a lasting structure for multi-disciplinary research and translational medicine that will serve us well into the future. We are sorry to be losing such a respected colleague but wish her the very best.

Dr. Swain, a graduate of our own School of Medicine, Class off 1974, was recruited to UCSD in 2005. A distinguished molecular cardiologist and academic leader, she previously served as Arthur Bloomfield Professor and Chair of the Department of Medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Prior to her tenure at Stanford, Swain was the Herbert C. Rorer Professor of Medical Sciences, professor of genetics and director of cardiovascular medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

At UC San Diego she also serves as Dean for Translational Medicine and professor of medicine. She is an internationally recognized researcher and scholar who has dedicated her career to bridging the gap between basic research and clinical medicine, and in training and supporting physician scientists. Dr. Swain has served in numerous national and international leadership roles during her career, including the presidency of the American Society for Clinical Investigation and membership on the councils of the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute and the National Center for Research Resources of the National Institutes of Health. Her professional memberships include election to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of Sciences, the Association of American Physicians and the American Society for Clinical Investigation.

As UCSD continues to build regional and international linkages to support educational and research advances, we look forward to future collaboration with Dr. Swain in her new role with A*STAR and the National University of Singapore.

Dr. Swain is married to Vice Chancellor Edward Holmes, who has also announced his departure from the university to accept positions with A*STAR and NUS.

David N. Bailey Deputy Vice Chancellor Dean, Faculty and Student Matters School of Medicine Jack Dixon Dean, Scientific Affairs School of Medicine