James H. Willig, M.D., MSPH, associate professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases, has been named the assistant dean for Clinical Education, a new position that will strengthen collaborative and coordinated clinical training for medical students across the School of Medicine’s four campuses. In this role, Willig will report to and work closely with Kevin J. Leon, M.D., associate dean for Undergraduate Medical Education, to lead development of curriculum for all clinical education; develop new clinical models that will meet emerging needs for future physicians, including developing new clinical assessment tools, and recruiting new clinical sites and preceptors for clinical experiences; collaborate with other leaders to integrate basic sciences into clinical education and to maximize value and opportunity for simulation in the clinical curriculum; and represent the needs of the clinical educators within the School of Medicine. Willig will dedicate 40 percent of his time to this new role, effective October 1.
"I look forward to learning from our students and our branch campuses new and exciting approaches to enhance medical education at UAB, and working with the amazing team at UAB SOM on incorporating innovative strategies into our curriculum,” Willig said.
He joined UAB in 2004 as a fellow in the Division, becoming a chief fellow in 2007 and joining the faculty as an assistant professor in 2008.
Willig earned his medical degree from the Insituto Tecnologico de Santo Domingo (INTEC) in 1996 and completed a residency in internal medicine at the University of Virginia Roanoke-Salem in 2004, where he also served as Chief Medical Resident. Willig also holds a master’s of science in public health in Clinical Epidemiology from the UAB school of Public and became certified in Clinical Informatics in 2015. He’s currently a co-director of the Internal Medicine clerkship and has serves as part of various medical informatics initiatives within UAB Health System Information Services, the CCTS and the Informatics Institute.