"As a physician, as an educator, as a scientist ... all the right attributes, the dispositions. We feel incredibly fortunate," said University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) provost, senior executive vice president and Graduate School Dean Roger J. Ward, JD, EdD, MPA, MSL to a crowded Westminster Hall audience. All were gathered to formally greet and induct Mark Gladwin, MD, as dean of the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM), the John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor, and vice president of medical affairs at UMB.

Ward and Institute for Genome Sciences director Claire Fraser, PhD, co-chaired the nationwide search to find a replacement for former dean E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, who remains on faculty at UMSOM. The search was long, Ward told the audience, but we found the "best person to take us to the next level," he said.

Mark T. Gladwin, MD

Before taking the reins of UMSOM in July, Gladwin served as the Jack D. Myers Distinguished Professor and chairman of the Department of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, where he also served as the associate dean for physician-scientist mentoring and associate vice chancellor for science strategy, Health Sciences.

Gladwin received his medical degree from the University of Miami, performed his residency in the Oregon Health Sciences University Department of Internal Medicine, and served as a critical care fellow at the Warren G. Magnuson Clinical Center at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Md.

At NIH, he served as critical care fellow, senior research fellow, section head for the sickle cell/nitric oxide therapeutic and vascular therapeutic sections, branch chief for pulmonary and vascular medicine branches, and director of the Functional Genomics Core of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

In 2008, Gladwin joined the University of Pittsburgh as a tenured professor of medicine in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine and director of the Pittsburgh Heart, Lung, and Blood Vascular Medicine Institute, a position he held until 2019.

He also served as co-director of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s Heart and Vascular Institute chair of the school’s Department of Medicine, associate vice chancellor, and associate dean.

At the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Gladwin worked to establish clinical programs to increase patient access to quality care and developed signature clinical programs in clinical analytics, telemedicine, specialty consultation services, infection prevention and treatment, multidisciplinary clinical centers of excellence, and more. And as Department of Medicine chair, he supported the development of a long list of research centers of excellence, including in aging, the microbiome, antibody therapeutics, hypertension, behavioral health, palliative care, and sickle cell research — which has a been a focus of Gladwin’s own research for over 20 years.

Following Ward at the podium were two UMSOM faculty members who have worked with Gladwin at the University of Pittsburgh and NIH.

"It was a true honor to see the scientific achievements Dr. Gladwin has had over the course of his career," said Nirav Shah, MD, co-director of the DC-Baltimore Critical Care Educational Consortium, assistant dean for curriculum, and associate chief for education and faculty development at UMSOM. "It was not hard to know at that time that Mark was going to do great things based on his energy, intelligence, communication skills, and passion."

Another colleague, Andrea Levine, MD, now assistant professor in the Department of Medicine, was mentored by Gladwin during a critical care fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh. Levine described Gladwin as a consummate mentor, a "dreamer, whose words inspired and comforted" her. Gladwin, she said, supported her clinical passion and "never once asked me to do anything other than be the most genuine and dedicated version of myself."

Before receiving the medal from UMB President Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS, signifying his position, Gladwin praised his colleagues and expressed his enthusiasm and optimism for the work to come.

"What I've noticed in my time here is just the incredible pride of our alumni," Gladwin told the audience. "And the incredible partnership, which is very unusual, between hospital system leadership and the University. So it's just an incredible family.

"And it's very apparent that the drive all of you have at this institution is really infectious. And so I thank all of you for your mentorship and guidance as we go forward. And I very much look forward to that impact, serving our patients in advancing innovative science, building the best quality care, and training future generations at multiple levels of education."