Clinical Chairs

Dr. Michael A. Belfort is chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and obstetrician and gynecologist-in-chief at Texas Children's Hospital. Dr. Belfort is an internationally recognized expert in maternal-fetal medicine and fetal intervention. His appointment was effective Jan. 1, 2011.

Prior to this appointment, Belfort served as director of Perinatal Research, Fetal Therapy and Obstetric Telemedicine at HCA Healthcare in Nashville, Tenn., and as a professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Utah School of Medicine. He previously served in Houston from 1994-1997 as director of labor and delivery and as director of obstetric intensive care at Ben Taub Hospital, as well as an associate professor in the divisions of maternal-fetal medicine, hypertension and anesthesiology at Baylor. His teaching experience also includes serving as an adjunct clinical professor at Yale University School of Medicine, where he worked with Yale faculty in the development of their Fetal Intervention Program.

Belfort received his medical degree (MBBCH) at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, a Doctorate in Medicine (MD) at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, and his Ph.D. at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. He completed two residencies in obstetrics and gynecology (one in Cape Town and one at Baylor), trained in anesthesiology in South Africa, and did his fellowship in maternal fetal medicine at Baylor.

Belfort is board certified in obstetrics and gynecology and maternal-fetal medicine by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology. He also holds obstetrics and gynecology specialist qualifications in South Africa, the United Kingdom and Canada. He has received numerous professional awards for his contributions to research, teaching and medical practice. Belfort has been an active member of professional societies all over the world and has written more than 175 scientific articles and textbook chapters, as well as presented more than 350 abstracts and poster presentations. He is an author/editor of several textbooks, including "Hypertension in Pregnancy," "Obstetric Clinical Algorithms, Preeclampsia" and "Critical Care Obstetrics."

Dr. Michael Coburn, professor and Russell and Mary Hugh Scott Chair in Urology, holds the Carlton-Smith chair in urologic education. He is also the director of education and vice chair for academic affairs in the department, as well as chief of urology service at Ben Taub Hospital.

Coburn received his M.D. from New York University School of Medicine. He completed his residency and a fellowship in male reproductive medicine and surgery at Baylor College of Medicine.

Coburn has been recognized as an outstanding teacher, and has received numerous education related awards. He was listed in Texas Monthly magazine as a “Super Doc” (2004-2007) and is the 2009 chair of the Academy of Distinguished Educators at Baylor.

Coburn has authored numerous articles and chapters in books. He is a member of the Société International d'Urologie and on the board of directors of the Society of Genitourinary Reconstructive Surgeons (2008–2011). He is also a charter member of the Society of Urology Chairpersons and Program Directors and serves on the resident review committee of the AMA Council on Medical Education (2007-2010).

Dr. Donald Donovan serves as chair of the Bobby R. Alford Department of Otolaryngology. Donovan attended medical school at Baylor College of Medicine and completed his surgery and otolaryngology residency at Baylor as well.

He completed a fellowship in head and neck surgery at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, St. Vincent's Hospital and Medical Center, in New York. His clinical interests include Head and neck tumors, laryngeal/voice disorders, endoscopic sinus surgery.

Dr. Hashem El-Serag is a professor in the Department of Medicine. He earned his medical degree from Al-Arab Medical University in Libya. He completed his residency in internal medicine at Greenwich Hospital, Yale University, and a fellowship in clinical gastroenterology at the University of New Mexico. While there he also earned a master of public health degree.

Previously El-Serag served as chief of the gastroenterology and hepatology section at Baylor. He will continue to hold his position as the director of the Texas Medical Center Digestive Disease Center and also continue in his clinical practice.

He is an internationally recognized physician scientist who received the Michael E. DeBakey Excellence in Research Award in 2016. His research focuses on the epidemiology and clinical outcomes of hepatocellular carcinoma and esophageal adenocarcinoma. 

Dr. Wayne Goodman was named chair of the Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences on Sept. 1, 2016.

Goodman, who specializes in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder, is the principal developer of the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale, the gold standard for assessing the disorder. He is the co-founder of the International OCD Foundation and also is recognized for his work on deep brain stimulation for intractable psychiatric disorders.

Prior to joining Baylor, Goodman was chair of Mount Sinai’s Behavioral Health System, which includes four hospitals and three psychiatry departments. During his tenure, the Department of Psychiatry at Mount Sinai rose to No. 7 from No. 20 in the nation in National Institutes of Health funding, with more than $25 million annually.

Goodman is a graduate of Columbia University and received his medical degree from Boston University School of Medicine. He has published more than 300 articles, is a member of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology and a distinguished fellow of the American Psychiatric Association.

Dr. Daniel Hamstra is professor and chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology. He serves as the Radiation Oncology Lead at the Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center and Radiation Oncology Service Line chief for St. Luke’s Health – Texas Division. Hamstra specializes in prostate cancer and tumors of the brain and spine with a particular focus on understanding patients’ experience both during and after treatment. His work has made a substantial impact on the growing understanding and appreciation of patient reported quality of life after radiation therapy.

Hamstra completed his undergraduate degree at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich., and both his medical degree and doctoral degree in pharmacology, as well as training in radiation oncology, at the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor, Mich. He completed a fellowship in pediatric radiation oncology at the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn. Hamstra joins Baylor after spending nine years at the University of Michigan and four years at the William Beaumont Oakland University School of Medicine.

Dr. Douglas Dirschl is Professor and Chair of the Joseph Barnhart Department of Orthopedic Surgery. He specializes in orthopedic traumatology, infections of bone and fragility fractures and bone health. His research interests include bone health, evaluating and improving the reliability of classification systems, imaging processing and neural networks and tissue engineering for fracture healing and management of bone infection.

Dirschl joins Baylor after serving since 2013 as the Lowell T. Coggeshall Professor and chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation Medicine and physician-in-chief of the musculoskeletal service line at the University of Chicago Medicine and Biological Sciences. Prior to that, Dirschl served for 10 years as the chair of the Department of Orthopaedics at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, where he spent the bulk of his academic career. He is nationally known as an academic leader, educator, fracture surgeon and advocate for bone health.

He earned his undergraduate degree from Stanford University in chemical engineering and received his medical degree cum laude from Oregon Health Sciences University. He completed his residency in orthopedic surgery at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 

Dr. Dick Kuo, professor of emergency medicine, was named chair of the Henry J.N. Taub Department of Emergency Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, on Feb. 18, 2019. He served as interim chair since the department was established in 2017. The department previously was a section within the Department of Medicine.

As chair of the department, Kuo will manage the department across the three adult hospitals: Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center, the DeBakey Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center and Ben Taub Hospital.

Kuo, a Houston native, earned his undergraduate degree from Johns Hopkins University before receiving his medical degree at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School. He served as a surgical intern at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas before completing his emergency medicine residency at the University of Maryland, where he stayed on as faculty for 15 years.

Before his tenure at Baylor College of Medicine, he served as medical director for the Department of Emergency Medicine and co-chair for emergency medicine faculty development at the University of Maryland.

He is a member of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine’s Faculty Development Committee and an oral board examiner for the American Board of Emergency Medicine. His research interests include cardiovascular disorders, such as ACS, heart failure and stroke, clinical effectiveness and testing in the emergency department, and competency in education.

Dr. Michael Lee, professor and executive vice chair of the H. Ben Taub Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, has been selected to serve as chair of the department effective August 2019. Dr. Lee takes on the role previously held by Dr. James McDeavitt, who stepped down to devote his full-time efforts as Baylor’s senior vice president and dean of clinical affairs. Dr. Lee joined Baylor last summer. He received his medical degree from the University of Illinois College of Medicine in 1984 and his Master of Health Administration degree from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill in 1999. Prior to joining Baylor, he was the Sidna C. Rizzo Distinguished professor and chair of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill since 1994.

Dr. Martin Matzuk, who holds the Stuart A. Wallace chair in the Department of Pathology and Immunology, was named chair in July 2020. He served as interim chair of the department since 2019. He joined the Baylor faculty in 1993 after completing his postdoctoral work at the College. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Chicago followed by his M.D. and Ph.D. from Washington University School of Medicine.

Matzuk’s research identifies the critical proteins and mechanisms involved in both normal and abnormal reproductive development and physiology. His lab focuses on discovering small molecules that would block sperm formation or function. His work also has uncovered important physiologic and pathophysiologic signaling pathways. This research has set the groundwork for the development of a reversible male contraceptive, and creating drugs for curing ovarian cancer and for treating muscle wasting diseases.

In addition, Matzuk is a professor of molecular and human genetics, molecular and cellular biology, and pharmacology, director of the Center for Drug Discovery, a member of the NCI-designated Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center, director of clinical chemistry at Harris Health’s Ben Taub Hospital, and a member of the National Academy of Sciences. He has been awarded the distinction of fellow in the National Academy of Inventors for his contributions to reproductive medicine and therapeutics. He is the first Baylor faculty member to be elected into the National Academy of Inventors.

Dr. Thomas Lloyd, an expert in ALS research and other neuromuscular disorders, was named chair of the Department of Neurology in April 2023.  
 
He joins Baylor from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicineand Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center where he was a professor of neurology and neuroscience and an attending physician. His other clinical interests include motor neuropathies, which are characterized by motor nerve damage leading to weakness, and muscle diseases such as muscular dystrophy and myositis. His research is focused on understanding the genetic mechanisms that cause these diseases with a goal of identifying novel drug targets.  

Lloyd earned his Ph.D. in molecular and cellular biology and his medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine. Prior to that, he earned his Bachelor of Arts in chemistry and biochemistry from Rice University.  

He has contributed chapters to textbooks and published nearly 100 studies and articles in high-profile medical journals such as Cell, Neuron, Nature, Science Translational Medicine and Neurology. He is a member of many professional societies, such as the Society for Neuroscience, the American Neurological Association and the American Society of Clinical Investigation. 

Dr. Eric Rohren, a national leader in radiology and nuclear medicine, is chair of Radiology at Baylor College of Medicine.

Rohren has held leadership positions in several national groups, including the American College of Radiology, the Radiologic Society of North America, the American Board of Nuclear Medicine and the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging. His research interests include cancer imaging, novel radiotracers in oncology and neurology and targeted radioisotope therapies. He has worked extensively on PET/CT reporting and has developed guidelines for report structure and content through his work with the PET Utilization Task Force.

Rohren received his bachelor’s degree from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn., and earned his medical degree from Mayo Medical School in Rochester, Minn., and his doctorate from Mayo Graduate School in Immunology. He completed residency in diagnostic radiology and fellowship training in nuclear medicine at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C., and is board certified by the American Board of Radiology and the American Board of Nuclear Medicine.

Dr. Todd Rosengart, nationally recognized cardiothoracic surgeon and a pioneer in gene therapy, became chair of the Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery at Baylor College of Medicine Nov. 1, 2012. Rosengart came to BCM from Stony Brook University, where he served as professor and chair of the Department of Surgery, chief of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery and co-director of the Stony Brook University Heart Center. He also served as president of Stony Brook Surgery Associates and board officer of the Stony Brook Clinical Practice Management Plan.

Rosengart is an NIH-supported scientist with nearly uninterrupted NIH funding since 1998, and has published extensively, most recently being named editor of Seminars in Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. He was one of the early leaders in the field of gene therapy, with work beginning in the 1990s on gene transfer therapy and delivery and minimally invasive gene therapy delivery.

Dr. Timothy Stout, recognized leader in gene therapy and eye diseases, serves as chair of ophthalmology at Baylor College of Medicine.

A graduate of Baylor College of Medicine, Stout returns to BCM from Oregon Health and Sciences University, where he served as vice president for commercialization strategies and professor of ophthalmology and molecular genetics.

Dr. Stout specializes in retina/macular and retinal vascular diseases. His current research projects include human gene and stem cell therapy for proliferative and inherited ocular disease, retinal disease genotype-phenotype correlation and intraocular angiogenesis.

Stout received a bachelor’s of arts degree from Rice University and a master’s of business administration degree from the University of Oregon. He completed his internship at Texas Children’s Hospital and his residency at the University of Southern California after earning his Baylor degrees.

James Anton, M.D.,  was named chair of the Department of Anesthesiology on Nov. 1, 2021.

Dr. Anton has served as the Interim Co-Chair of the department since May 2019 and serves as Chief of Cardiovascular Anesthesia & Critical Care Medicine. He received his medical degree from Georgetown University School of Medicine and completed his residency training at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in 2002. He went on to complete fellowship training at Texas Heart Institute and joined the Baylor faculty in 2005. In addition to his clinical work, Dr. Anton is an active physician scientist and educator.

Dr. John E. Wolf, Jr., chair of the Department of Dermatology, is a graduate of Rice University and the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. He completed a medical internship at Cornell University/Bellevue Hospital in New York City before serving two years as a Peace Corps physician in the Micronesian Islands. Wolf was subsequently a dermatology resident at the University of California in San Francisco, a fellow in tropical dermatology in Guadalajara, and senior registrar at St. John's Hospital for Diseases of the Skin in London, England.

Wolf is also chair of the Public Affairs Advisory Committee and serves on the steering committee of the History of Medicine Society.

Wolf has authored more than 150 publications and delivered more than 1,000 professional lectures.

Dr. Ganesh Rao was named chair of Neurosurgery July 1, 2020. He will hold the Marc J. Shapiro Endowed chair in neurosurgery.

Dr. Rao received his medical degree from the University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson in 1998 and completed his residency training at the University of Utah. In 2005, he moved to MD Anderson where he completed a fellowship in neurosurgical oncology before joining the faculty. 

Dr. Rao’s clinical practice is largely focused on the management of primary brain tumors. His research is focused on understanding the process of malignant progression of glioma from low- to high-grade and has been supported by the National Institutes of Health since 2011. He is extensively published and is nationally and internationally recognized for his research. He has held prominent positions in professional societies including most recently as the president of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons in 2019.
 

Dr. Roger J. Zoorob joined the Department of Family and Community Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine on March 15, 2014, and holds the Richard M. Kleberg, Sr. chair and professor of Family and Community Medicine.

An experienced educator, administrator, and faculty mentor, he has served as principal investigator and investigator of numerous federally funded grant projects, and has a strong track record of stewardship with programs in chronic disease prevention and management, alcohol use screening and brief intervention, cancer control and prevention and health provider training.

Dr. Zoorob leads the department’s Center for Primary Care and Preventive Health Research. The center’s work includes research and service programs focusing on disease prevention, health disparities, chronic disease management, substance use disorders, integrated behavioral health, and antibiotic stewardship. Dr. Zoorob has published over 100 peer-reviewed journals and has produced 25 books and book chapters.

Zoorob earned his medical and master of public health degrees from the American University of Beirut College of Medicine. He completed residency training at Anderson Memorial Hospital in South Carolina and a faculty development fellowship at the University of Kentucky in Lexington.