University of Iowa unveils first candidate who could replace VP Robillard

IOWA CITY - The first of two finalists picked to replace Jean Robillard as the next University of Iowa vice president for medical affairs and dean of its Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine is a human genetics professor and chairman of the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan.

John M. Carethers' academic, administrative and clinical experience spans both coasts and most recently landed him back in the Midwest, where he started. The Detroit native earned his bachelor's and medical degrees from Wayne State University in Detroit before taking an internship and residency at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

He came back to Michigan for a fellowship in gastroenterology and postdoctoral research at the University of Michigan Medical Center before moving to San Diego for an assistant professorship at the University of California. Climbing the ranks, Carethers racked up titles like director, section chief and then division chief of gastroenterology in 2004.

A report from the UC-San Diego School of Medicine in 2008 tells of his election to the American Society of Clinical Investigation and heralds Carethers as the youngest division chief in the institution's Department of Medicine.

The chairman of that department at the time, Ken Kaushansky, said in the report that Carethers epitomized ideals of the national society - scholarship, instruction and clinical practice.

'He is one of the true triple threats at UCSD, and all should aspire to achieve John's high standards and accomplishments,” Kaushansky said at the time, according to report.

Carethers is scheduled to visit the UI campus Tuesday. During his visit, he will meet with faculty, staff and administrators. He also is scheduled to participate in a public forum at 5 p.m. in the Medical Education Research Facility and afterward attend a public reception in the building's atrium.

The second candidate is scheduled to visit campus Oct. 9. That person also is scheduled to participate in a public forum and reception. The name of the second candidate will be made public 24 hours before he or she arrives on campus.

UI President Bruce Harreld will make a final hiring decision. Spokeswoman Jeneane Beck said Harreld has no timetable for the decision.

Current Vice President Robillard announced plans more than a year ago to step down from his leadership role. At that time, he said he would stay on until someone replaces him.

Robillard first came to UI in 1973 to complete his pediatric nephrology fellowship. His more recent stint as the enterprise's leader began in 2003, when he was chosen to lead the UI Carver College of Medicine. He ascended to vice president in 2007 and in 2015 stepped in as interim UI president while also continuing his role atop UI Health Care.

The Board of Regents later took his advice and merged the roles of vice president and medical college dean - a dual role his replacement also will fill.

A 17-member search committee in July interviewed 11 semifinalists for the job and then conducted more research about each before agreeing on the two finalists, according to Beck.

UI Health care is a $1.9 billion enterprise and major contributor to the state's economy. At a time of unrest in the health care industry, Robillard's replacement will take on a system that similarly is wading through change.

After years of soaring revenue - including 2016, which became its best budget year in history with a revenue total of $1.45 billion, or 3.5 percent above budget and nearly 11 percent above the previous year - the hospital last month reported that operating income for 2017 was down nearly 50 percent from its budget and more than 72 percent from 2016.

The university also reported a deficit in its first month of the new budget year, citing - among other things - changes in Medicaid managed care payments, state budget cuts and commercial payers exiting the insurance market.

In his current role as internal medicine chairman at Michigan, Carethers' research interests include familial cancer and polyposis syndromes, mechanisms of tumor progression, tumor genetics, tumor markers, DNA mismatch repair, molecular pathology and colorectal cancer disparities, according to his Michigan biography.

The UI has a world-renowned Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center, and it houses the Iowa Institute of Human Genetics, focused on human genetics research and practical applications in the clinical setting.

The public can provide feedback on Carethers' candidacy at the search committee's website.

If you go

Carethers will participate in a public forum from 5 to 6 p.m. Tuesday in the Prem Sahai Auditorium of the Medical Education Research Facility, 375 Newton Rd., Iowa City. After the forum, he will attend a public reception from 6 to 7 p.m. in the MERF Atrium.

l Comments: (319) 339-3158; vanessa.miller@thegazette.com