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For Release: August 8, 2012
Contact: Derik Hertel, 603-650-1211 or derik.hertel@dartmouth.edu

Dr. Richard Rothstein Appointed Chair of Medicine at Dartmouth's Geisel School of Medicine


Richard I. Rothstein, MD

Hanover, N.H.—The Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth has named Richard I. Rothstein, MD as the Joseph M. Huber Professor of Medicine and Chair of the Department of Medicine. Dr. Rothstein, who has served as the interim chair of the Department of Medicine for the past year, will immediately assume his new role.

"Rich Rothstein has exercised very effective leadership this past year as the interim Chair of the Department of Medicine," says Wiley "Chip" Souba, MD, ScD MBA, Dean of the Geisel School of Medicine. "Rich is recognized as one of our medical school's top educators, has been successful as a clinical investigator, and is a top-notch physician."

"I look forward to his leadership in advancing the Geisel School of Medicine's ambitious 2020 Plan for Excellence and realizing our academic and clinical goals at Dartmouth-Hitchcock," said Souba.

"Rich Rothstein is an exemplar of the academic medical center: A brilliant and accomplished researcher, a skilled and passionate physician, and an inspiring and empowering leader for his team," says James N. Weinstein, DO, MSc, CEO and President of the Dartmouth-Hitchcock health system. "As we work to create a Sustainable Health System in a time of enormous challenges and opportunities, Rich will be a driving force. I am thrilled with his appointment to this important post."

"I am honored to be selected as the Chair of the Department of Medicine," says Dr. Rothstein. "At this time of rapid changes in health care delivery, our department is superbly positioned to lead and demonstrate how our evolving local, regional and national collaborations will continue to enhance our patient care, research and education efforts."

Dr. Rothstein is a graduate of the Boston University School of Medicine (1980), and did his residency training in Internal Medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in Worcester, MA (1980-1983). Hepursued his fellowship training in Gastroenterology at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Hanover, NH (1983-1985) joining the medical school faculty in 1985.

Dr. Rothstein served as the Section Chief of Gastroenterology and Hepatology for 15 years. Under his leadership, the section developed centers of excellence in gastrointestinal and liver disorders and endoscopy. Dr. Rothstein has a special interest in esophageal function and disease. His research has included the development of less invasive endoscopic therapies for the management of gastroesophageal reflux disease, Barrett's esophagus, and obesity. Dr. Rothstein is considered a pioneer in the evolving field of natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgery (NOTES), and he is evaluating the role of robotics in endoscopy. He is a principal investigator in the Norris Cotton Cancer Center studying the effect of dietary supplements to prevent gastrointestinal cancer.

Actively involved in professional education and leadership development, Dr. Rothstein is the Associate Dean for Continuing Medical Education. He is also Professor of Surgery at the Geisel School of Medicine. In June, he was named one of the inaugural members of the Medical School's Academy of Faculty Master Educators. Members of this distinguished group were nominated by their fellow Geisel School of Medicine faculty because of their demonstrated commitment to excellence in teaching and medical education.

The Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, founded in 1797, strives to improve the lives of the communities we serve through excellence in learning, discovery, and healing. The nation's fourth-oldest medical school, the Geisel School of Medicine has been home to many firsts in medical education, research and practice, including the discovery of the mechanism for how light resets biological clocks, creating the firstmultispecialty intensive care unit, the first comprehensive examination of U.S. health care cost variations (The Dartmouth Atlas), and the first Center forHealth Care Delivery Science, which launched in 2010. As one of America's top medical schools, Dartmouth's Geisel School of Medicine is committed to training new generations of physician leaders who will help solve our most vexing challenges in health care.

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