Dr. Nancy Sweitzer Named Co-Director of Clinical Translational Sciences Graduate Program

I am pleased to announce the appointment of Nancy Sweitzer, MD, PhD as co-director of the University of Arizona Health Sciences graduate program in Clinical Translational Sciences (CTS). Dr. Sweitzer is the director of the UArizona Sarver Heart Center and holds appointments as professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Cardiology in the College of Medicine – Tucson.

As the first graduate program administered by Health Sciences, the CTS program operates across our five colleges and offers training in translational biomedical research to post-baccalaureate students and to early-career clinicians who wish to become physician-scientists.

Dr. Sweitzer will serve as co-director of the CTS program alongside Ronald Hammer, PhD, the program's co-director in Phoenix. Dr. Hammer also is professor of basic medical sciences, pharmacology, and psychiatry, chair of the UArizona Graduate Council and director of the Graduate Training Office at the College of Medicine – Phoenix.

In her new role, Dr. Sweitzer will work closely with Dr. Hammer to continue growing the CTS graduate program on both campuses and further strengthen bonds between the strong pre-clinical sciences at the UArizona and our clinical faculty.

Dr. Sweitzer’s training and experience in both clinical and basic sciences make her uniquely qualified to co-lead the CTS graduate program. Through programs at Sarver Heart Center, Dr. Sweitzer has mentored many early-career physician-scientists and instilled a passion for academic medicine and life-long learning. In addition, she engages cardiovascular trainees in the rigors of scholarly publication and review as the editor-in-chief of Circulation: Heart Failure, and serves as president of the Association of Professors of Cardiology.

Please join me in congratulating Dr. Sweitzer on her new role. I am confident that her leadership will help further advance the CTS graduate program as a strategic resource in translating scientific discoveries in Health Sciences to the clinical research arena.

Michael D. Dake, MD
Senior Vice President for University of Arizona Health Sciences