New boss for Med

Paul B. Rothman has been named CEO of Johns Hopkins Medicine and dean of the School of Medicine. Rothman, a molecular immunologist and rheumatologist, previously served as dean of the Carver College of Medicine at the University of Iowa.

A basic science researcher who investigates how cytokines (specific types of molecules within the human immune system) can spur chemical changes that can lead to leukemia, Rothman has also compiled a résumé heavy on administrative achievement. In his three years at Iowa, Rothman updated the medical school's curriculum and opened a new medical campus in Des Moines. Earlier, while serving as vice chairman for research at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, Rothman started up a division of pulmonary, allergy, and critical care medicine. "Paul Rothman is a visionary leader with a deep and highly sophisticated understanding of the challenges facing health care and academic medicine today," university president Ronald J. Daniels said in an announcement.

Rothman, a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Yale School of Medicine, replaces Edward D. Miller, who led the health system and the School of Medicine for 15 years. Under Miller's tutelage, Johns Hopkins Medicine grew to include six hospitals, dozens of specialty health care outfits, and a new $1.1 billion patient care complex that will open in April. Rothman will work alongside Ronald R. Peterson, executive vice president of Johns Hopkins Medicine and president of the Johns Hopkins Hospital and Health System. "Johns Hopkins is the best medical center in the world," Rothman said in the announcement. "The opportunity to help lead that medical center, along with Ron Peterson, is just my dream job. I'm thrilled, humbled, and honored to have been chosen."

Rothman, who takes over July 1, will oversee 34,000 full-time faculty members and staff and 1,400 graduate and medical students.