Darren DeWalt, MD, MPH, has been named chair of the UNC Department of Medicine after a national search. He will begin his work in the role on July 1.
DeWalt currently serves as the John R. and Helen B. Chambliss Distinguished Professor of Medicine, executive director of the UNC Institute for Healthcare Quality Improvement, and chief of the Division of General Medicine and Clinical Epidemiology.
DeWalt is an expert in primary care and innovative care delivery and financing models. His research spans health communication, health literacy, quality improvement, patient-reported outcomes, and alternative payment models. After completing a medicine/pediatrics residency at UNC and the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program, he joined the faculty of the UNC School of Medicine in 2004. He has served in various roles at UNC-Chapel Hill and with the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation.
“Dr. Darren DeWalt is an incredibly thoughtful, highly effective and respected leader who is well poised to assume the role of chair of the department of medicine,” said UNC School of Medicine Executive Dean Samantha Meltzer-Brody. “I am thrilled to have him assume this new role and look forward to his important contributions to the UNC School of Medicine.”
In November 2024, Ron Falk, MD, Nan and Hugh Cullman Eminent Professor, announced he would step down as chair of the Department of Medicine. Falk has served in the role since July 2015.
Please join us in congratulating DeWalt on his new role and thanking Falk for his many years of distinguished service and leadership to the UNC School of Medicine.