The University of Texas System Board of Regents has named Melina R. Kibbe, MD, as the sole finalist for the presidency of UTHealth Houston. Dr. Kibbe is currently chief health affairs officer at UVA Health and dean of the University of Virginia School of Medicine.
“Dr. Kibbe is a nationally recognized physician-scientist committed to delivering first class clinical care, health innovation and exceptional medical training,” said UT System Board of Regents Chair Kevin P. Eltife. “The regents and I were pleased with the high level of interest from outstanding candidates across the country, and we are grateful to the search advisory committee and chancellor for the strong recommendations they brought forward.”
UTHealth Houston is a major center for health care innovation in Texas and plays a significant role in training much of the state’s health professional workforce.
“Dr. Kibbe is well-equipped to lead UTHealth Houston’s promising future and its exceptional community of educators, researchers and clinicians. She has contributed in high-impact ways in discovery, academic success, and enhancing the clinical enterprise everywhere she served,” said UT System Chancellor ad interim John Zerwas, MD, who chaired the presidential search advisory committee.
Since joining UVA in 2021, Dr. Kibbe has managed Virginia’s largest medical school by budget size, faculty count, and research activity. Under her leadership, UVA recruited 16 new chairs and over 550 faculty members while launching new departments and clinical centers such as the UVA Health Leadership Institute.
Dr. Kibbe practices vascular surgery and conducts research on therapies for vascular disease supported by several federal agencies including the National Institutes of Health. She co-founded VesselTek BioMedical to develop devices for treating vascular disease, published over 300 peer-reviewed articles, and holds multiple patents.
“It’s an extraordinary honor to be named as sole finalist for the presidency at UTHealth Houston, an institution that stands at the forefront of health education, research and patient care. UTHealth Houston is uniquely positioned to shape the future of health care in Texas and beyond. I am inspired by its mission, and I look forward to building on UTHealth Houston’s legacy of innovation and excellence to strengthen our communities across the state and nation,” Kibbe said.
Kibbe earned degrees from University of Chicago College of Biological Sciences and Pritzker School of Medicine before completing residency at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and a vascular surgery fellowship at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Before her time at UVA she led surgical departments at both UNC Chapel Hill and Northwestern.
A required 21-day waiting period will follow before Dr. Kibbe can be officially named president; she would succeed Interim President LaTanya J. Love, MD.
“We thank Dr. Love for her leadership and her work to advance UTHealth Houston’s important mission,” Eltife and Zerwas added.
The UT System comprises 14 institutions enrolling more than 256,000 students each year—making it Texas’ largest university system—and educates more than half the state’s health care professionals annually while awarding most medical degrees statewide (https://www.uthealthhouston.edu/about/overview.html). The system also maintains a $4.3 billion research portfolio that ranks among national leaders in research expenditures (https://www.texastribune.org/2024/02/26/university-of-texas-research-expenditures/).
