SUBJECT:	Chair of Pediatrics, UCSD School of Medicine
	Physician-in-Chief, San Diego Children’s Hospital and
	Health Center

I am pleased to join Blair Sadler, President and CEO of Children’s Hospital and Health Center in announcing the appointment of Gabriel G. Haddad, M.D. as Chair of the UCSD School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics and Physician-in-Chief, San Diego Children’s Hospital and Health Center. A distinguished leader in American pediatrics, Dr. Haddad is an exceptional administrator and pioneering researcher. In addition to heading up the Department of Pediatrics he will jointly serve as Physician-in-Chief at San Diego’s Children’s Hospital and Health Center. Dr. Haddad will begin his tenure at both institutions on September 1st.

Blair and I want to convey our great appreciation to Dr. Kenneth Lee Jones for serving as Interim Chair and Physician-in-Chief for the last five years during this period of transition. His skill and direction have ensured the department’s continuing accomplishments. Dr. Jones is returning to his research and clinical activities after serving in these roles since July of 2000.

Dr. Haddad is a leading specialist in pediatric respiratory medicine. He was jointly recruited from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, where he served as the Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics, and as Pediatrician-in-Chief at The Children’s Hospital at Montefiore Hospital. An accomplished physician-scientist, Dr. Haddad is passionate about developing better care through research. In recent years his research has focused on the basis for cell and tissue injury at the molecular level when tissues and organs are deprived of nutrients and oxygen.

Dr. Haddad’s research background will serve as a stepping stone to furthering Children’s Hospital’s and UCSD’s research goals. Equally important, Dr. Haddad will continue to build upon the link forged between Children’s and UCSD. In 2001 UCSD, Children's Hospital and Health Center, and Children's Specialists of San Diego (CSSD) formally unified pediatric patient care, research, education and community service programs, creating a university-affiliated children's health system to serve the region. The formal agreement provided transition of UCSD's pediatric inpatient programs and specialty services to Children's Hospital, the region’s only health care system dedicated to the health and well-being of children.

Dr. Haddad has published over 220 articles and manuscripts, written over 70 chapters, and authored numerous medical texts including the landmark Basic Mechanisms of Pediatric Respiratory Disease. He sits on numerous national committees such as the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, and is a member of 17 distinguished medical societies, many in a leadership role. Haddad has held numerous editorial appointments, is a reviewer for 17 respected medical journals, is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, and has been invited to speak at over 100 national and international conferences.

Dr. Haddad received his medical education and initial medical training at American University of Beirut in Lebanon, followed by additional training at University of Texas and Columbia University before joining the faculty at Columbia in 1978. Ten years later he accepted an appointment at Yale to direct Respiratory Medicine and serve as Chief of Clinical Service in Respiratory Medicine, becoming a Professor of Cellular & Molecular Physiology shortly thereafter. He was appointed Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at Albert Einstein in 2002.

UCSD's Department of Pediatrics was among the School of Medicine's original departments when the medical school opened in 1968. Today the department has about 115 faculty physicians and researchers, approximately $30 million in research funding, and an extensive community outreach program. The UCSD Medical Center has 40 licensed neonatal intensive care beds, with primary and specialty services provided at UCSD outpatient facilities in Hillcrest and La Jolla. The pediatrics graduate training program has 84 interns, residents and clinical fellows.

Children's Hospital opened its doors in 1954, and over the years has evolved from a 59-bed hospital to a major regional resource for the prevention and treatment of pediatric diseases and injuries, and for advocacy and education on behalf of children. The hospital's Rose Pavilion, which opened in 1993, blends innovative design, color, lighting and proportion to give children the best environment for recovery. Children's has 226 inpatient beds, a 32-bed NICU, a 59-bed convalescent hospital, an extensive network of primary care and specialty care centers, medical staff of over 700, and approximately $8.5 million research funding.

Children’s Specialists of San Diego (CSSD) is a group of private practice, pediatric specialty physicians affiliated with Children’s, UCSD, Scripps, Sharp, Mercy and Palomar-Pomerado hospitals.

Dr. Haddad is married and the father of three children. Please join me in welcoming him and his family to UCSD and San Diego.

Edward W. Holmes, M.D. Vice Chancellor, Health Sciences Dean, School of Medicine