Dr. Ralph Snyderman Named Chair of American Association of Medical Colleges

By Duke Medicine News and Communications

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Dr. Ralph Snyderman, chancellor for health affairs at Duke University and president and CEO of the Duke University Health System, was named chair of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Saturday at the association's 112th annual meeting in Washington, D.C.

Snyderman has been an executive committee member of the AAMC Council of Deans for two years. He succeeds Dr. George F. Sheldon, chair of the department of surgery at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine.

Snyderman has been instrumental in the development of the Duke University Health System, which is internationally known for its academic medicine, initiatives in clinical research, genetics and the neurosciences.

In 1987, Snyderman left Duke, for a time, to join the biotech firm Genentech, Inc., as vice president for medical research and development. While at Genentech, he led the development and licensing of several new therapies and supervised staff members in the departments of pharmacology, clinical research and regulatory affairs.

Snyderman has received numerous honors, including the CIBA GEIGY Award in 1992, the highest honor for lifetime achievement in the field of inflammation research and, in 1997, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Arthritis Foundation. He has been honored by Downstate Medical Center of the State University of New York with their Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award and with an honorary doctor of science degree.

Theresa Bischoff, president of NYU Hospitals Center, was named AAMC chair-elect. She will succeed Snyderman as chair next year.

The Association of American Medical Colleges represents the 125 accredited U.S. medical schools; the 16 accredited Canadian medical schools; some 400 major teaching hospitals, including 74 Veterans Administration medical centers; 91 academic and professional societies with nearly 88,000 faculty members; and the nation's 67,000 medical students and 102,000 residents.