Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine Names New Dean

Dr. Richard L. Gamelli, 60, a distinguished surgeon, 19-year chief of Loyola's Burn Center and a world authority on the care of burn wounds and burn research, has been named dean of the Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, located on the Loyola University Medical Center campus in Maywood. "As a physician, Rich Gamelli embodies the multi-dimensional ideal. He is a renowned researcher, a skilled surgeon and a teacher who demands excellence from his students. As a leader, Dr. Gamelli has brought our Department of Surgery, our Burn Center and our Burn and Shock Trauma Institute into international prominence. I have no doubt that Dr. Gamelli will bring renewed strength to our medical school and be an inspiration for our students," said Dr. Paul K. Whelton, president and CEO of Loyola University Health System. Gamelli will assume the duties that had been held by Dr. John "Jack" Lee, who resigned. Lee will remain at Stritch, serving as a tenured professor of pathology. A resident of Burr Ridge, Gamelli joined Loyola in 1990 as chief of the Burn Center and the founder and director of the Burn & Shock Trauma Institute. In 1995 he became the Robert J. Freeark Professor and Chairman of the Department of Surgery. Currently, Gamelli is a member of the LUHS Board of Directors and actively participates in many committees. In 2002 Gamelli received the Faculty of the Year award from Loyola University Chicago. He was inducted as a faculty member in Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. He also delivered the Commencement Address to the Stritch School of Medicine in 2006. Most recently, he was elected to lead the Council of Clinical Chairs and was awarded the Ralph P. Leischner Master Teacher Award from the Stritch School of Medicine. Gamelli is the editor-in-chief for The Journal of Burn Care and Research and is a past president of the American Burn Association, where he has been an active member since 1979. He recently was named a member of the Surgery, Anesthesiology and Trauma Study Section, Center for Scientific Review, of the National Institutes of Health. In addition, Dr. Gamelli has served as the associate editor of the Journal of Trauma and is a member of the editorial board of Annals of Surgery, Shock, Burns, and the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.