Washington, D.C., October 29, 2006 - Richard D. Krugman, M.D., dean of the University of Colorado School of Medicine, begins his one-year tenure today as chair of the AAMC's (Association of American Medical Colleges) Executive Council. Dr. Krugman succeeds Thomas M. Priselac, M.P.H., president and chief executive officer of Cedars-Sinai Health System.

Dr. Krugman, a pediatrician, has served as dean of the University of Colorado (CU) School of Medicine since 1992. He is president of the medical school's faculty practice plan. He also is a former chair of the AAMC Council of Deans.

Dr. Krugman's medical career began in public service, with a two-year appointment in the early 1970s to the federal Public Health Service at the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration. He then joined the CU School of Medicine faculty in 1973 as an assistant professor of pediatrics. In 1980, Dr. Krugman moved back to Washington, D.C., for one year to serve as a Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellow and as a legislative assistant in the office of Senator Dave Durenberger (R-MN).

An internationally renowned scholar in the field of child abuse, Dr. Krugman served as director of the C. Henry Kempe National Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse and Neglect from 1981-1992. The center is affiliated with the university's department of pediatrics.

In decades of service to CU School of Medicine, Dr. Krugman, who is now a professor of pediatrics, has held a variety of other positions, including director of admissions, co-director of the Child Health Associate Program, director of the university's state-wide rural health and education programs, and vice chairman for clinical affairs in the department of pediatrics.

Dr. Krugman earned his undergraduate degree from Princeton University and his medical degree from New York University School of Medicine. He completed his internship and residency in pediatrics at the CU School of Medicine. He is a former editor-in-chief of Child Abuse and Neglect: The International Journal. He served on the board of Princeton University and is currently on the boards of trustees of Denver Health Medical Center, the Academy on Violence and Abuse, and the Kempe Children's Foundation. He was recently inducted into the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences.

Robert J. Desnick, M.D., Ph.D., professor and chair of the department of human genetics at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, was named chair-elect today. He will succeed Dr. Krugman as chair of the association next year. Dr. Desnick is immediate past chair of the AAMC Council of Academic Societies.

A molecular and biochemical genetics researcher, Dr. Desnick joined the faculty of Mount Sinai School of Medicine in 1977 as the Arthur J. and Nellie Z. Cohen Professor of Pediatrics and Genetics and chief of the division of medical and molecular genetics. In 1993 he became the chairman of the department of human genetics. He also serves as director of the Center for Jewish Genetic Diseases. He is a member of the American Pediatric Society, the American Society for Clinical Investigation, and the American Association of Physicians.

Dr. Desnick received his B.A., Ph.D., and M.D. degrees from the University of Minnesota. He completed his residency in pediatrics at University of Minnesota Hospitals, and subsequently joined the faculty of the University of Minnesota where he rose to associate professor of pediatrics, cell biology and genetics.

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The Association of American Medical Colleges is a not-for-profit association representing all 129 accredited U.S. and 17 accredited Canadian medical schools; nearly 400 major teaching hospitals and health systems, including 68 Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers; and 94 academic and scientific societies. Through these institutions and organizations, the AAMC represents 109,000 faculty members, 67,000 medical students, and 104,000 resident physicians. Additional information about the AAMC and U.S. medical schools and teaching hospitals is available at www.aamc.org/newsroom.

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