James Neutens, PhD, dean of the University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine since 2007, is retiring after a 34-year career with UT. He served as the third dean since the formalization of the UT Graduate School of Medicine in 1991.
CEO and president of The University of Tennessee Medical Center Joe Landsman said, “As part of an academic medical center, we have a shared mission with our academic partner, the UT Graduate School of Medicine (UTGSM). The role of the dean is to foster growth in medical education and research while supporting our pursuit for excellence in healing, and Dr. Neutens’s track record in supporting our mission speaks for itself. "I am tremendously honored to have gotten to work with Dean Neutens for almost 20 years and highly value him, his accomplishments and the tremendous culture of partnership he helped cultivate,” said Landsman.
"I am tremendously honored to have gotten to work with Dean Neutens for almost 20 years and highly value him, his accomplishments and the tremendous culture of partnership he helped cultivate.” said Landsman.
As dean, Neutens oversaw incredible growth for the UT Graduate School of Medicine. His leadership in managing partnerships with physicians, UT institutions and local organizations leaves a legacy that will continue to be prominent for the medical center.
Education
William Metheny, PhD, assistant dean of Graduate Medical and Dental Education said, “Dr. Neutens made medical education the first priority in his leadership to sustain, improve and expand our residency and fellowship programs.”
Dean Neutens’s track record proves it. Since 2007, several residency programs have grown in size including Anesthesiology, Internal Medicine, General Surgery, and Urology.
During his tenure, UTGSM added several fellowships including:
- Cardiovascular Disease
- Dental Operating Room Fellowship
- Interventional Cardiology
- Pulmonary and Critical Care Disease
- Oral/Head and Neck Oncologic Surgery
- Forensic Dentistry
- Dental Operating Room
- Advanced GI MIS/Bariatric
In 2008, the UT Center for Advanced Medical Simulation opened in a 400-square-foot facility. In 2012, the center moved to its new 6,500 square-foot facility, allowing physicians, medical students and other members of the health care team to learn, practice and improve skills in a safe, controlled environment.
In 2013, the addition of education programs for medical students in neurology, pediatrics and psychiatry allowed UTGSM to offer a full third- and fourth-year medical school curriculum in Knoxville to UT Health Science Center College of Medicine students, who primarily learn in Memphis.
Dean Neutens also reinstated an educational research-based program, the I. Ried Collmann, MD Medical Student Educational Endowment, for medical students to begin learning about bench research and how it ultimately affects patient care.
Eric Carlson, DMD, MD, EdM, chair of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, said Dr. Neutens has been very supportive of faculty development for his academic chairs as well. “He has accomplished essential growth in his chairs through intentional listening and coaching rather than dogmatic direction. The end result has been very favorable professional development through adaptive leadership on the part of Neutens. We are all very lucky to have benefited by his presence and encouragement.”
Discovery
Discovery embodies many important aspects to both medical education and healing, and having a dean who understood its importance was critical. Mitchell Goldman, MD, assistant dean for Research, said, “He was the right man for the right time.”
As dean, Neutens influenced significant growth in scholarly activity, encouraging faculty and residents to participate in national and international presentations as well as publish original research in peer-reviewed journals.
During a time when laboratory-based research received less national focus, Neutens helped establish and grow bench research related to molecular imaging, vascular research, anesthesiology, and amyloidosis and cancer. This research has led to several discoveries and changes in health care including:
- A strengthened collaboration with Siemens Healthineers that led to the development of new technology and tools that enhanced PET/CT and PET/MRI imaging technology and improved detection of cancer and other diseases.
- Development of a free-to-use web-based breast cancer recurrence prediction tool.
- Identification of two novel immunotherapy agents (antibodies) for the treatment of systemic light chain amyloidosis that resulted in international clinical trials.
- Identification of human papillomavirus in oral cancer, previously thought to only be pathogenic in oropharyngeal cancer.
- Performance of the first-in-man evaluation, using PET/CT imaging, of the antibody 11-1F4 for the detection of amyloid deposits, which had never been achieved.
- Discovery of ODAM, a previously undiscovered protein that has been shown to be an indicator of metastatic disease in patients with breast cancer and melanoma.
- Studies that identified the complex role of aspirin as an anti-coagulant.
- Identification and characterization of new disease mechanisms that underlie the pathology of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease.
- Development of a biostatistics resource that resulted in an exponential increase in the academic productivity of faculty and residents.
Overall, Dean Neutens’s strength was in seeing a big picture.
Under his leadership, UTGSM has increased research collaborations with other UT institutions as well as area organizations such as Siemens and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He supported several seed grant opportunities for UTGSM faculty members who collaborated with UT Knoxville and the UT Institute of Agriculture, and supported the initiation of several communities of scholars to further grow collaborations.
Healing
As an educational institution for physicians, healing patients is the ultimate goal. The UTGSM clinical partner, University Health Systems Inc., spearheads most of these endeavors; however, Dean Neutens has been instrumental in several key areas of growth.
During his tenure, Dentistry, formerly a division of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, formed its own department. Also, Urology, formerly a division of General Surgery, formed its own department. This benefits patients through the ability to recruit prominent physicians up-to-date on the most advanced and latest techniques in health care.
W. Bedford Waters, MD, chairman, Department of Urology, said, "One of Dean Neutens's priorities was for Urology to become a separate department before his retirement. He was very instrumental in making it become a reality, and I am forever grateful to him for this. He has truly been a leader and a friend."
Family Medicine also expanded its clinic, University Family Physicians, adding more patient rooms and creating a more holistic approach to its health care.
Preston Medical Library expanded its facilities and its services in educating the medical center community as well as the public in health literacy and health information.
Overall, Dean Neutens’s strength was in seeing a big picture. Amy Paganelli, assistant dean for Finance and Administration said, “Dr. Neutens was thorough in researching facts before making a decision.”
In 2009 he enlisted assistance through the formation of the Board of Visitors, a diverse group of community leaders to advise and assist him in strategic planning, development, community outreach and implementation of short-term and long-term goals.
Rajiv Dhand, MD, chair of Medicine and associate dean of Clinical Affairs, said, “Dean Neutens is a dedicated educator, an effective leader with a great sense of humor and he has unique story-telling skills. Over the years, he has guided the UTGSM to a position of strength as an academic institution.”
O. Lee Wilson, DMD, chair of Dentistry added, “Dr. Neutens has been a fantastic leader for the UTGSM. His guidance and support of all of the departments has led to great success in all the important areas of our mission. He was able to stay the course in times of instability making the necessary adjustments with focused leadership. He has set the stage for the new dean to have a successful transition.”
It is through these successes that Neutens will be remembered as a dean who promoted collaborations, multidisciplinary care, novel research and compassion in education and healing, always reaching to break through barriers on the path to excellence.
Paul J. Hauptman, MD, succeeds Neutens as dean of the Graduate School of Medicine and senior vice president and chief academic officer of The University of Tennessee Medical Center.