Sonia Kupfer, MD, has been named the inaugural director of the community advancement of physician-scientists at the University of Chicago.
The new program aims to unite and support the physician-scientist pipeline at UChicago, and to address the critical shortage of physician-scientists by providing career stage-specific support and a community for physician-scientists at UChicago, according to a Sept. 26 press release.
Dr. Kupfer is a professor in the section of gastroenterology at UChicago, in addition to serving as the director of the physician-scientist development program in the department of medicine.
Her National Institute of Health-funded research program studies genetics and genomics of GI cancers, with a focus on host-environment interactions, inherited predisposition and health disparities.
Dr. Kupfer also founded the GI Cancer Risk and Prevention Clinic and now leads the Center for Clinical Genetics and Genomics in the department of medicine.
As director, she will work with other institutional leaders to implement a strategic plan for strengthening and unifying all aspects of physician-scientist development, including partnering with existing development programs, supporting departments and institutes seeking to establish training programs, and helping academic departments recruit, train, and retain physician-scientists to grow physician-led research.