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William L. Roper, MD, MPH, CEO of UNC Health Care and Dean of the UNC School of Medicine, has appointed Ian B. Buchanan, MD, MPH, as UNC Health Care’s Chief Research Officer. Buchanan will assume the newly-created role effective Aug. 1.


William L. Roper, MD, MPH, CEO of UNC Health Care and Dean of the UNC School of Medicine, has appointed Ian B. Buchanan, MD, MPH, as UNC Health Care’s Chief Research Officer. Buchanan will assume the newly-created role effective Aug. 1.

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Ian Buchanan, MD, MPH

As UNC Health Care’s Chief Research Officer, Buchanan will be tasked with organizing and streamlining clinical and translational research across the UNC campuses, physician practices, and affiliate hospitals to ensure that research is conducted efficiently and with high quality. He will also work closely with the UNC School of Medicine and all other UNC health science schools to solidify and strengthen UNC’s standing as a national leader in biomedical and translational research with the goal of ensuring that UNC Health Care patients continue to receive care that utilizes the latest and most advanced clinical knowledge.

“I am excited to be able to focus on the enhanced integration of UNC Health Care’s research and patient care missions, and to work across the system to bring research innovations to patients across North Carolina,” said Buchanan.

He will also work closely with the North Carolina Translational and Clinical Science Institute (NC TraCS). NC TraCS director, John Buse, MD, PhD, praised Buchanan’s appointment.

“With the consolidation of health care and the emergence of health informatics, essentially all studies of patients involving processes, drugs, devices or diagnostics now involve the health care system.” Said Buse, professor of medicine and director of the UNC Diabetes Care Center. “We are so grateful to Dr. Buchanan for taking on the challenge of not only managing but also promoting research within UNC Health Care.”

In addition to these new responsibilities, Buchanan will continue in his roles as Vice President for Cancer and Children’s Services at UNC Hospitals, a position he has held since 2013, and as Vice Chair for Clinical Integration within the UNC Department of Pediatrics, a position he has held since June, 2016. He also serves the state as a member of the North Carolina Advisory Committee on Cancer Coordination and Control, a position to which he was appointed by Governor Pat McCrory in 2015.

Buchanan is a 2004 graduate of the UNC School of Medicine, and in 2006 earned his Master of Public Health from the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health.