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Meltzer-Brody will serve as Executive Dean; Hamedani named President of UNC Faculty Physicians and Vice Dean for Clinical Affairs


CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The UNC School of Medicine and UNC Health have appointed two renowned academic and clinical physicians to key leadership roles:

  • Samantha Meltzer-Brody will serve as new Executive Dean, where she will provide vision, leadership and support for the UNC School of Medicine, one of the nation’s top medical schools. Dr. Meltzer-Brody will ensure continued excellence across the school’s mission, encompassing education, research, and clinical care. She will report to Dr. Cristy Page, the Chief Academic Officer of the School of Medicine, and President of UNC Health Enterprises.
  • Azita G. Hamedani has been named President of UNC Faculty Physicians and Vice Dean for Clinical Affairs. She will lead strategy, growth, operations, and quality for faculty physicians and providers of the school while working closely with the president of UNC Hospitals. She will report to Dr. Meltzer-Brody and Dr. Matt Ewend, Chief Clinical Officer of UNC Health and President of UNC Physicians.

“The UNC School of Medicine and UNC Health are proud to welcome these talented and passionate leaders for key roles,” said Dr. Wesley Burks, CEO of UNC Health, and Dean of the UNC School of Medicine. “Dr. Meltzer-Brody and Dr. Hamedani will each bring valuable insight and experience as they help shape the future of North Carolina’s leading school of medicine and enhance our ability to care for patients.”

Dr. Meltzer-Brody has served as the Assad Meymandi Distinguished Professor and chair of the UNC Department of Psychiatry as well as the director of the UNC Center for Women’s Mood Disorders since 2019. She has worked for UNC-Chapel Hill for more than 20 years. She advocates for innovation and transformation in mental health care and leads efforts in North Carolina to improve mental health resources across the state. She will begin her new role on Jan. 20. Dr. Meltzer-Brody will continue as chair of psychiatry through March 31, and an interim chair will be named soon.

Dr. Hamedani will begin work in her new role on March 17. She is the founding chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine & Public Health. During her tenure, she oversaw the establishment of the emergency medicine residency program and medical school educational offerings, significant expansion of clinical services, and success of emergency medicine research programs.

 

About UNC School of Medicine
The UNC School of Medicine (SOM) is the state’s largest medical school, graduating more than 200 new physicians each year. Its faculty includes 21 members of the national academies and two Nobel laureates. The UNC School of Medicine receives more than $648 million in research funding annually. It has more than 2,000 total students, and its alumni go into health careers with less student loan debt than many of their peers across the country.

 

About UNC Health
UNC Health is a state entity and an affiliated enterprise of the University of North Carolina system, comprised of nearly 20 hospitals and more than 900 clinics along with the clinical patient care programs of the UNC School of Medicine (SOM). It exists to improve the health and well-being of North Carolinians and others we serve and to further the teaching mission of the University of North Carolina SOM. UNC Health provided more than $800 million in Uncompensated Charity Care during the past five years. Our hospitals have received numerous awards and recognition for quality care, patient safety, and the overall patient experience.