New Director Appointed to Lead the University of Maryland Children's Hospital

Steven Czinn, MD, Appointed as Director to Enhance Multidisciplinary Pediatric Patient Care and Research

University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) President and Chief Executive Officer Mohan Suntha, MD, MBA and University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) Dean E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, announced today that Steven J. Czinn, MD, The Drs. Rouben and Violet Jiji Endowed Professor of Pediatrics and Chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, has been appointed to the role of Director of the University of Maryland Children's Hospital (UMCH). In this new capacity, he will help steer the performance, success, multidisciplinary collaboration and optimization of research and patient care at UMCH, part of the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC).

This newly-created position was designed to help advance a strategic plan and vision for the Children's Hospital, with optimal patient outcomes as the central tenet. Dr. Czinn, a nationally recognized pediatric gastroenterologist who has been a part of the University of Maryland family since 2006 is charged with charting a course for the future that takes the Children's Hospital to the next level, and improves upon the excellent care provided to its youngest patients. Among his new responsibilities include engaging across all internal stakeholder groups (leadership, faculty, nursing, patient care teams and partners throughout the UMMS enterprise) to establish and advance priorities; working across clinical departments to foster a multidisciplinary approach for the care of children; strengthening collaborative clinical research across pediatric subspecialties; helping spearhead philanthropic initiatives in support of the Children's Hospital; and leading efforts to promote performance on quality standards and patient experience metrics.

"The University of Maryland Children's Hospital is a remarkable institution, and a hallmark of excellence at the University of Maryland Medical Center," said Dr. Suntha, who is also The Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Professor of Radiation Oncology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. "Under Dr. Czinn's leadership, the Children's Hospital provides care for a broad range of patients, from the tiniest, most fragile newborns in the Drs. Rouben and Violet Jiji Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, to teens with complex medical needs. All of us look forward to seeing the fruits of the enhanced collaboration across the organization."

Dean Reece, who is also Vice President for Medical Affairs at the University of Maryland, and the John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, added: “Our leading pediatric clinical research programs are shaping the future of medical care for young patients across the region, nation and world. Under Dr. Czinn's augmented leadership role, we will advance our expertise as he steers the Children's Hospital to new and impressive heights as a national leader in pediatric subspecialty research and patient care."

Dr. Czinn is known for innovative treatments for children with chronic gastric and intestinal disorders. His areas of interest include mucosal immunology, Helicobacter pylori infections and the gut microbiome. In 2010, Dr. Czinn helped develop guidelines to diagnose and manage food allergies for the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. He also has lectured on the differences between children and adults with irritable bowel disease. Most recently, he was asked to update the Children's Digestive Health Foundation's educational slide set on Pediatric Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD).

From 2009 to 2013, Dr. Czinn was a scientific reviewer for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the area of gastrointestinal mucosal pathobiology studies. He is the lead author or co-author on more than 100 peer-reviewed publications and has served as an associate editor of the American Journal of Gastroenterology since 2003. He currently serves as an associate editor of both the Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Pediatric Research.

About the University of Maryland Children's Hospital

The University of Maryland Children's Hospital is recognized throughout Maryland and the mid-Atlantic region as a resource for critically and chronically ill children. UMCH physicians and staff excel in combining state-of-the-art medicine with family-centered care. More than 100 physicians specialize in understanding how to treat conditions and diseases in children, including congenital heart conditions, asthma, epilepsy and gastrointestinal disorders. The Drs. Rouben and Violent Jiji Neonatal Intensive Care Unit provides the highest level of care to the tiniest newborns.

About the University of Maryland Medical Center

The University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) is comprised of two hospitals in Baltimore: an 800-bed teaching hospital – the flagship institution of the 12-hospital University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) – and a 200-bed community teaching hospital, UMMC Midtown Campus. UMMC is a national and regional referral center for trauma, cancer care, neurocare, cardiac care, diabetes and endocrinology, women's and children's health, and has one of the largest solid organ transplant programs in the country. All physicians on staff at the flagship hospital are faculty physicians of the University of Maryland School of Medicine. At UMMC Midtown Campus, faculty physicians work alongside community physicians to provide patients with the highest quality care. UMMC Midtown Campus was founded in 1881 and is located one mile away from the University Campus hospital.

About the University of Maryland School of Medicine

The University of Maryland School of Medicine was chartered in 1807 and is the first public medical school in the United States and continues today as an innovative leader in accelerating innovation and discovery in medicine. The School of Medicine is the founding school of the University of Maryland and is an integral part of the 11-campus University System of Maryland. Located on the University of Maryland's Baltimore campus, the School of Medicine works closely with the University of Maryland Medical Center and Medical System to provide a research-intensive, academic and clinically based education. With 43 academic departments, centers and institutes and a faculty of more than 3,000 physicians and research scientists plus more than $400 million in extramural funding, the School is regarded as one of the leading biomedical research institutions in the U.S. with top-tier faculty and programs in cancer, brain science, surgery and transplantation, trauma and emergency medicine, vaccine development and human genomics, among other centers of excellence. The School is not only concerned with the health of the citizens of Maryland and the nation, but also has a global presence, with research and treatment facilities in more than 35 countries around the world. Visit us at www.medschool.umaryland.edu.