The Board of Visitors’ Health System Board heard from Colin Derdeyn, interim dean of the School of Medicine and Teresa Edwards, interim CEO of the University Medical Center.
The Board additionally heard a pulmonary fibrosis presentation during Thursday’s meeting, in which Jeffrey Sturek, associate professor and physician of pulmonary critical care, explained the work being done in his laboratory to uncover the relationship between immune cells and lung disease.
The Health System Board oversees and governs the subsidies of the Medical Center — including the School of Nursing, School of Medicine and U.Va. Community Health.
During Thursday’s open session, Mitchell Rosner, newly appointed CEO of U.Va. Health, commended Derdeyn — who has taken over from former School of Medicine dean Melina Kibbe after she left to become president of the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. Derdeyn attended the University for both undergraduate education and medical school, and returned to U.Va. Health as a diagnostic radiologist.
Derdeyn said that he is honored to serve at U.Va. Health, which he called an incredible institution with a culture of valuing patients and education.
“I am so deeply honored to have this privilege to serve,” Derdeyn said. “It is something that I wasn’t looking for but I do feel like I’m the right person at the right time and place in many ways — I have a deep, long attachment to this community and this institution.”
The Board also heard from Edwards, who began her role Monday, taking over for former Medical Center CEO Wendy Horton. Horton departed for a leadership role at the University of California San Francisco. Rosner emphasized his belief in Edwards’ capabilities, noting her past experience as senior vice president and regional president for the Eastern Division of Sentara Health, which has hospitals in Charlottesville. Rosner said she led five community hospitals while in this role, and said beyond that, she also serves as vice rector for James Madison University’s Board of Visitors.
Edwards said she appreciated being able to attend the committee meeting to better understand the inner workings of the U.Va. Health system before beginning her role. She also spoke about her belief in the highest quality patient care and said she looks forward to working with the Medical Center team, which she said has great excitement and energy.
“One of my focus areas is going to be the patient journey, from the time someone finds out their ER bill, to the ER, all the way through the system,” Edwards said. “[I will] try to understand the pain points and how we can make those better, to look at the metrics and make improvements.”
Following the short testimonials from both Edwards and Derdeyn, Rosner presented a video of the journey of six-year old patient Blakely, who underwent leukemia treatment through the University Health System. The video discussed the bravery and intelligence of Blakely, and Rosner said her story depicts the “extraordinary” care Blakely received from the team but also the hope and strength that drives the work of U.Va. Health team members.
“I like to tell people that I think a successful day at U.Va. Health is when a faculty or staff [member] can go home and tell their family a story on how they transformed another person’s life,” Rosner said.
The final portion of Thursday’s open session consisted of a presentation from Sturek regarding his research to uncover the role of the immune system in pulmonary fibrosis — a chronic lung disease caused by scarring of the lung tissue. A grant was recently renewed for U.Va. Health to conduct research on pulmonary fibrosis.
Sturek explained his goal to find targeted therapies for patients of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
He said the goal behind his research was understanding why patients got fibrotic lung disease, and that his research began because of an Institutional National Research Service Award — T32 — granted by the National Institutes of Health when he was an MD/PhD student of the University in 2005. T32 awards enable institutions to select individuals to conduct research in shortage areas.
“[The renewal] really is a fantastic mark of excellence for the institution,” Sturek said.
The Board then went into closed session to discuss information regarding the operations of the Medical Center, School of Medicine and School of Nursing, according to the agenda. The agenda states that disclosure of this information would threaten the competitive state of these institutions.
Also according to the agenda, a finance report was reviewed for the fiscal year to date June 30, 2025, which includes information such as balance sheets, income statements and number of team members for each entity of U.Va. Health.
The Health System Board will reconvene during the meetings of the Board Dec. 4 and 5.
Read More
Board of Visitors hears from Sheridan and Mahoney on U.Va.’s path forward
By Cecilia Mould | 1 hours agoThe central long-term goal which Mahoney said he is focused on is free and open inquiry.
U.Va. Wise reports record endowment, rising enrollment at Board of Visitors meeting
By Brendon Bordwine | 5 hours agoAccording to Henry, the College raised a total of over $131 million from thousands of alumni, parents, community members and corporate partners.
Finance Committee receives annual report from UVIMCO
By Nicolas Biernacki | YesterdayRobert Durden, chief executive officer and chief investment officer of UVIMCO, delivered an annual report to the Committee.
