In January 2021, Dr. Victor J. Thannickal will undertake a new leadership challenge as Chair of the Department of Medicine at Tulane, after spending 11 years at UAB as director of the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine.

In the interim, Dr. Mark Dransfield will provide transitional leadership for the division. A graduate of the UNC School of Medicine, Dr. Dransfield trained in medicine and in pulmonary and critical care medicine at UAB, where he served as Chief Fellow. Dr. Dransfield serves as Professor of Medicine and the medical director of the UAB Lung Health Center. He holds the William C. Bailey Endowed Chair in Pulmonary Disease in honor of retired Professor William C. Bailey, the Founder of the UAB Lung Health Center. An elected member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, Dr. Dransfield is the principal investigator for multiple clinical trials at the Lung Health Center, including the NIH-sponsored COPD Clinical Research Network, COPDGene, and SPIROMICS.

As Interim Director, Dr. Dransfield will lead the Division in sustaining and growing its superlative clinical programs in pulmonary medicine and critical care as well as its programs in education and research. The Department of Medicine has begun a national search for the next Director of the Division.