Carle Illinois College of Medicine Dean King Li has announced the appointment of Issam D. Moussa, M.D., M.B.A., as Associate Dean for Research effective August 16, 2021. He succeeds Dr. Marty Burke, who is stepping down from the associate dean’s position to devote more time to his own research efforts.
Dr. Moussa has served in leadership roles at Carle Health and Carle Illinois since 2018. As Associate Dean for Research, he will provide strategic leadership for policies and procedures related to research and innovation at Carle Illinois and will be responsible for advancing foundational, translational, educational, and clinical research at the college.
“Issam is excited for the opportunity to apply his knowledge, experience, relationships, and passion for research and innovation, to make a meaningful impact in his new role,” Li said.
A clinical professor of medicine, Dr. Moussa currently serves as head of Carle Illinois’ Clinical Sciences department, as medical director of the Carle Heart & Vascular Institute, and as co-lead of the Carle Illinois Neurocardiology Research Initiative at the Beckman Institute. He will continue to serve as Department Head of Clinical Sciences until a successor is hired.
Dr. Moussa earned his M.D. degree from Damascus University Medical School in Syria and an M.B.A. in health administration from the University of Colorado. An interventional cardiologist, Dr. Moussa specializes in performing complex catheter-based cardiovascular procedures in patients with coronary artery disease, structural heart disease, and peripheral arterial disease. His research is focused on structural heart disease and the area of neurocardiology and heart-brain interaction in health and disease.
Moussa takes on the position that Dr. Burke has filled for the last three years. During his tenure, Burke played a key role in the college’s development, promoting cross-disciplinary research and innovation. During the pandemic, he helped lead the University of Illinois SHIELD team that developed and implemented the covidSHIELD saliva-based testing program. The group continues to work through peer review on its paper, “Mitigation of SARS-CoV-2 Transmission at a Large Public University.” Burke also served as co-host of Carle Illinois’ annual Health Make-a-Thon competition to democratize health innovation by challenging citizen-scientists to propose solutions to broad-based health problems.
“I want to thank Marty Burke for his vision, leadership, and achievements on behalf of Carle Illinois,” Li said. Burke will continue a member of the Carle Illinois faculty in the biomedical and translational sciences department.