SOM alum to lead U-M Department of Internal Medicine
August 20, 2009
John M. Carethers, M.D.
John M. Carethers, M.D., of the Class of 1989, recently agreed to accept the position. He will begin at the University of Michigan on Nov. 1, pending approval of the university’s Board of Regents.
“We are delighted that Dr. Carethers will be leading our internal medicine department. He has proven throughout his career that he is committed to developing faculty, educating trainees and building research and clinical programs,” said James O. Woolliscroft, M.D., dean of U-M’s medical school. “We know that Dr. Carethers will provide excellent leadership for our largest department and play a major role in the expansion of research to our North Campus Research Complex on the former Pfizer property.”
At Cass Technical High School in Detroit, Dr. Carethers studied chemistry and biology. He earned his bachelor’s degree in biological sciences and his medical degree at Wayne State University. He completed his internal medicine residency at Massachusetts General Hospital, and then performed a fellowship in gastroenterology at U-M in the early 1990s. He has developed an impressive resume of scientific research, earning a reputation among the top gastroenterologists nationwide with his study of colorectal cancers, especially among African-Americans.
“We are happy for and proud of Dr. Carethers,” said Valerie Parisi, M.D., M.P.H., M.B.A., interim dean of the WSU School of Medicine. “He will make a fine leader for our sister university. His work and achievements speak to his personal dedication to medicine, and to the quality education he received at our School of Medicine.”
Dr. Carethers currently is chief of the University of California-San Diego School of Medicine’s Division of Gastroenterology, a position he’s held since 2004. He also is director of that university’s NIH Digestive Disease Research Development Center.
Carethers said he will work to raise the profile of U-M’s medical school and faculty. “I want to build ways to enhance collaborative research as well as making sure the clinical program is top-notch,” he said.
Carethers has earned many honors and awards, including fellowships with the American Gastroenterological Association, the American College of Physicians and the American College of Gastroenterology. He was elected in 2008 to the American Society of Clinical Investigation.
