The University’s School of Medicine appointed new chairs for two of its departments in August, naming Bettina Winckler, School of Medicine faculty member in the Department of Cell Biology, as chair of the Department of Cell Biology and Nassima Ait-Daoud Tiouririne, current interim chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences, as the department’s permanent chair.
In an interview with The Cavalier Daily, Colin Derdeyn, interim dean of the School of Medicine, explained the selection process of the two chairs and the new chairs’ plans for their departments.
According to Derdeyn, both faculty members were selected to lead their respective departments following an extensive search process, which included a national search for the chair of the Department of Cell Biology and an internal search process for the Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences.
Faculty were involved as much as possible in the School of Medicine’s search procedures for both candidates, according to Derdeyn.
“To [not include faculty] would be such a big mistake,” Derdeyn said. “There's so much shared governance [at the School of Medicine], it’s really a coalition of the willing, and getting faculty to believe in a vision or understand a way forward and working to develop consensus on these things requires [their involvement].”
Department of Cell Biology — Dr. Bettina Winckler
Winckler assumed the position of chair of the Department of Cell Biology the week of Aug. 3. Winckler has been a faculty member within the School of Medicine since 2004 when she joined the Department of Neuroscience before transitioning her work to the Department of Cell Biology in 2016. Her primary focus of research is cellular neuroscience research, and she has co-authored over 70 peer-reviewed publications. More specifically, she has done extensive research on neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson’s disease.
According to Derdeyn, the search for a new chair for the Department of Cell Biology started over a year ago when former Chair Douglas DeSimone announced he was retiring as chair. Derdeyn explained that the School of Medicine search process for leadership positions is similar to other University departments and schools and includes a national search process, a series of interviews and faculty input.
Derdeyn said that for the Department of Cell Biology, the School of Medicine hired executive search firm Korn Ferry — a consulting organization that helps both private and public sector entities with talent acquisition. He explained that the School of Medicine also formed a committee to oversee the search which included faculty from other departments within the School of Medicine.
According to Derdeyn, the Committee first narrowed down potential applicants to a pool of 10, including Winckler, who all participated in one-hour Zoom interviews with the Committee. From that group, around five candidates were invited to Grounds and were expected to give a guest lecture, present their “vision” for the department and meet with other faculty and students.
Following the in-person visit to the University, the Committee reflected on candidates’ presentations and listened to faculty feedback before selecting Winckler to be a finalist and entering a negotiation with her regarding her employment contract. Derdeyn explained that the negotiation included details like provisions to hire additional faculty to aid in research and new equipment required for the candidate’s vision for the department.
According to Derdeyn, both the faculty within the School of Medicine and the Committee felt confident that Winckler would be the best choice for the position.
“The enthusiasm from the faculty and leadership around the school [showed that] she was the clear first choice,” Derdeyn said. “I don't think she ever says no, and she is such a trusted, effective mentor and supervisor of graduate students, which is really the life of these research departments.”
Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Science — Dr. Nassima Ait-Daoud Tiouririne
Derdeyn appointed Ait-Daoud Tiouririne as chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Science Aug. 10. Ait-Daoud Tiouririne previously served as the interim chair of the department, beginning in September following the abrupt retirement of the department's previous Chair Anita Clayton, Derdeyn explained.
Ait-Daoud Tiouririne is a board-certified physician who specializes in psychiatry and addiction medicine. Since she joined U.Va. Health as a faculty member in 2015, she has served in various positions including vice chair of clinical affairs and medical director of ambulatory psychiatry.
According to Derdeyn, instead of doing a national search for this position, the School of Medicine opted to conduct an internal search for a chair and named Ait-Daoud Tiouririne as interim chair in September.
Derdeyn explained that a search committee released an internal poll to the department asking who they believed would be best suited as the next permanent chair, and two candidates came forward as potential chairs based on responses from their peers. Both of the candidates gave presentations about their vision for the future of the department to the Committee.
According to Derdeyn, faculty praised Ait-Daoud Tiouririne for her work as interim chair, which ultimately led her to be selected as the permanent chair.
"There was such great enthusiasm over how [Ait-Daoud Tiouririne] was performing in terms of transparency, listening to the concerns of faculty and solving problems,” Derdeyn said. “After some internal discussions and a clear consensus from the faculty, we went ahead and named her [as chair].”
Derdeyn said that he has full confidence in Ait-Daoud Tiouririne and Winckler and is looking forward to their time as chair of their respective departments.
“I couldn't be more excited about either one of them in terms of how much impact they're going to have on their departments, on their faculty, on their students and on the institution," Derdeyn said. “I think they're both exceptionally good people, and I'm really grateful that we have them here.”
Michael Racz is a staff writer on the news desk. He is a second-year student in the College majoring in Biology with plans to go to Medical School. Outside of The Cavalier Daily, Michael is a member of the Emergency Medicine Scribe Program and the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity. He enjoys writing about health topics and student self-governance.
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