Bruce Ovbiagele, MD, MSc, MAS, MBA, Appointed Associate Dean of the San Francisco VA Healthcare System (SFVAHCS)

School of Medicine Dean Talmadge E. King, Jr., MD, announced the appointment of Bruce Ovbiagele, MD, MSc, MAS, MBA, as the new Associate Dean of the San Francisco VA Healthcare System (SFVAHCS), effective August 9, 2018. Dr. Ovbiagele will also assume the role of Chief of Staff at the SFVAHCS. In his Associate Dean role, Dr. Ovbiagele will serve as the liaison between the SFVAHCS and UCSF, to ensure the SFVAHCS remains an excellent site for the teaching of medical students and residents and supports the acquisition of new knowledge through the clinical and basic research done by UCSF faculty.

SFVAHCS has National Centers of Excellence in the areas of Epilepsy Treatment, Cardiac Surgery, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, HIV, and Renal Dialysis, and is designated as one of only five VA Centers of Excellence in Primary Care Education. SFVAHCS has one of the largest funded research programs in the Veterans Health Administration.

We welcome Dr. Ovbiagele to UCSF from the Medical University of South Carolina, where he most recently served as professor and chairman of the Neurology Department. He is a clinical epidemiologist and global health scholar, with a focus on reducing the burden of stroke in the United States and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Dr. Ovbiagele maintains several National Insititutes of Health funded research programs, focused on improving outcomes for those with, or at risk for stroke, including the largest study of stroke in Sub-Saharan Africa, to-date. In 2008, his work was recognized by the American Academy of Neurology with the Michael Pessin Stroke Research Leadership Award.

Dr. Ovbiagele is an elected fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (London), American Academy of Neurology, American Neurological Association, American Heart Association Stroke Council, American Association of Physician Leadership, and European Stroke Organization, as well as an AAMC Council of Deans Fellow. He is also the immediate past chair of the International Stroke Conference, the premier scientific stroke conference in the world, and is a National Spokesperson for the American Stroke Association, interpreting the latest stroke science for medical professionals and the lay public.

Dr. Ovbiagele earned his MD from the University of Lagos, Master of Science in Clinical Research (MSc) from UCLA, Master of Advanced Studies (MAS) from UCSD, MBA from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and an Executive Certificate in Public Leadership from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

"I am confident that Dr. Ovbiagele will provide outstanding guidance and leadership to the clinical, educational and research enterprises at SFVAMC, and I look forward to the excellent work he will accomplish to best position the organization for continued success," Dean King stated in his announcement. "I want to express my appreciation to Dr. Rina Shah, for her support and leadership over the last year, serving as Interim Associate Dean of SFVAHCS. She will continue to guide and manage the operational aspects of this organization, and I am confident that her partnership and extraordinary institutional knowledge will be deeply appreciated by Dr. Ovbiagele."