Ron Falk, MD, Nan and Hugh Cullman Eminent Professor, has announced that he will be stepping down from his role as chair of the Department of Medicine in the summer of 2025. He will continue to serve as professor and co-director of the UNC Kidney Center.
“We are incredibly grateful to Ron for his many years of dedication and service,” said Cristy Page, Executive Dean of the School of Medicine. “Ron has been a guiding light for generations of future doctors and physician scientists, and his leadership has strengthened our school of medicine and health system. We are thrilled he is staying on to continue his leadership in research and in service to our patients.”
Falk’s long and distinguished career at UNC School of Medicine began after he received his BA from Dartmouth University, and he came to Chapel Hill to pursue his MD. After medical school, he completed his residency in internal medicine and a clinical fellowship in nephrology, both at UNC Hospitals. Soon thereafter, he completed a research fellowship in pediatric nephrology at the University of Minnesota Hospitals, in Minneapolis, Minnesota before returning to Chapel Hill in 1983.
Falk is a clinical nephrologist and internationally recognized expert in vasculitis and autoimmune kidney disease. His career as a translational physician-scientist spans more than three decades. In 1985, Falk co-founded the Glomerular Disease Collaborative Network (GDCN) to coordinate kidney disease research by nephrologists throughout the southeastern United States. He founded the UNC Kidney Center in 2005, where he serves as co-director, a role he will continue to hold after ending his term as chair.
Falk is a highly respected scholar and mentor who has guided young physicians and scientists to successful careers in academia and industry. Before serving as chair, he was division chief of nephrology and hypertension for 22 years. Falk also established the Physician Scientist Training Program shortly after taking on his position as chair.
Falk has served as chair or charter member of a variety of National Institutes of Health Study Sections and Steering Committees since 1997. He has served in various capacities within the American Society of Nephrology including serving as ASN president from 2011-12. He was the Founder of the Kidney Health Initiative (KHI), a public-private partnership with the ASN and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that provided a framework for the rapid approval of several drugs for the treatment of glomerular diseases.
He has received numerous honors and awards during his long career, including recognition as one of the “Best Doctors in America” every year since 1982. In his spare time, Falk is an avid gardener and enjoys fishing and traveling with his family. Falk is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and a Fellow of the American Society of Nephrology (ASN).
“Ron’s research has touched the lives of countless patients, making a real difference in their health and well-being,” said Wesley Burks Dean of the School of Medicine and CEO of UNC Health. “As a clinical nephrologist and an internationally recognized expert in ANCA-induced vasculitis and autoimmune kidney disease, Ron’s work has been transformative. His leadership as chair of medicine and as co-founder of the UNC Kidney Center has left a lasting impact on our institution.”
Please join us in thanking Falk for his dedication to the school, his students and his patients.