Associate Professor Daniel Chu, M.D., MSPH, FACS, FASCRS, has been named Vice Chair of Health Services Research and Selwyn M. Vickers Endowed Scholar in the UAB Department of Surgery.

Chu will help plan and lead the strategic growth of health services research activity across the department as well as research improvement initiatives. He will also become a member of the department’s senior leadership council.

Chu will continue to serve as co-leader of surgical grand rounds. He joined the department in July 2014 as an assistant professor in the Division of Gastrointestinal Surgery. He completed his undergraduate studies at Yale in 2002 and obtained his medical degree from The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in 2006.

Chu completed his general surgery residency at Boston University Medical Center in 2013, which included a two-year research fellowship. He then completed a fellowship in colon and rectal surgery at the Mayo Clinic in 2014. He is double board-certified by the American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgery.

In addition to his clinical interests in colorectal diseases, Chu is a dedicated researcher and educator. He is the co-chair of the UAB Heersink School of Medicine Asian American and Pacific Islander Faculty Association Social and Networking Committee. He also serves on national committees, including the Association for Academic Surgery and the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons, and he is the secretary-elect for the Society of Asian Academic Surgeons.

Fay Fletcher Kerner Endowed Chair Herbert Chen, M.D., FACS, is looking forward to the research and academic strides Chu will support in his new position.

“Dr. Chu has a proven leadership record when it comes to health services research in the department,” said Chen. “His knowledge, experience, and expertise is perfect for the role, and I am thrilled to see how our research efforts grow with Dr. Chu at the helm.”