22 | MAY 28 • 2020 

M

ark Schweitzer, M.D., 57, the new 
dean of Wayne State University 
School of Medicine and vice 
president of Health Affairs for the univer-
sity, is a preeminent radiologist who served 
most recently as chair of the Department 
of Radiology at the Stony Brook University 
School of Medicine in New York. 
“We conducted in-depth interviews 
with a number of outstanding candidates 
during a yearlong national search, and Dr. 
Schweitzer’
s experience, enthusiasm and 
vision made him a perfect fit for Wayne 
State University,
” said M. Roy Wilson, 
M.D., university president. 
Dr. Schweitzer succeeds Jack Sobel, 
M.D., who served as dean for the past five 
years and will continue on the medical 
school’
s faculty.
In addition to extensive achievements as 
a researcher and educator, Dr. Schweitzer 
has served as an administrator in many 
hospitals, including vice chair for clini-
cal practice and chair of the Information 
Management Group for Thomas Jefferson 
University Hospital in Philadelphia. He has 
served on advisory panels for the National 
Institutes of Health and the Food and 
Drug Administration and as a principal or 
co-principal investigator on more than 30 
grants. 
A native of Plainview, New York, Dr. 
Schweitzer received his bachelor of sci-
ence in biomedical education at the City 
University of New York and graduated 
from a combined six-year medical pro-
gram at the State University of New York 

at Buffalo at age 23. He 
completed a residency 
in diagnostic radiolo-
gy at Nassau County 
Medical Center (now 
Nassau University 
Medical Center) and a 
fellowship in musculo-
skeletal radiology at the 
University of California, San Diego. He has 
published extensively, served as a lecturer 
at Harvard University Medical School, and 
holds many medical patents.
“I attended inner-city public universities 
during my undergraduate and medical 
school training, and I served at public safe-
ty net hospitals,
” Dr. Schweitzer says. “My 
passion throughout my career has been 
education at all levels. The DNA of Wayne 
State University and the city of Detroit are 
intertwined, and the university’
s national 
reputation is illustrious. I’
m very much 
looking forward to serving the people of 
greater Detroit and Michigan.
”
Dr. Schweitzer says that his religion and 
Jewish heritage, including its ethical teach-
ings, are an important aspect of his profes-
sional life. He and his wife, Sharyl, a Stern 
College graduate, and their family live in 
West Bloomfield and attend The Shul.
Dr. Schweitzer explained more about his 
career and new position during a recent 
online video interview.

JN: What was the appeal of this position?
Dr. Schweitzer: My passion is medical 
education. I like to solve problems — that’
s 

my skill set. I thought I could make a dif-
ference.
JN: What are the School of Medicine’
s 
strengths?
Dr. Schweitzer: It has a 150-year illus-
trious history. There is a can-do attitude of 
the students and graduates and a commit-
ment to Detroit.
JN: What are your short-term and long-term 
goals?
Dr. Schweitzer: Wayne State University 
is the largest single-campus medical school 
in the U.S. It trains 300 stu-
dents a year. We need to shore 
up clinical sites and implement 
a new curriculum.
JN: What do you see as the 
biggest challenges for your role?
Dr. Schweitzer: To ensure 
that medical education is avail-
able to students whatever dis-
ruptions may occur. (He noted 
that most medical students 
couldn’
t work in hospitals 
during the COVID pandemic).
JN: How does Wayne 
State University School of 
Medicine rank as a research 
institution?
Dr. Schweitzer: Toward the upper 
middle. It’
s a good research institution, 
especially in ophthalmology and visual 
sciences, basic sciences, biochemistry and 
population health.
JN: Your biography mentions that 
you have participated in many clinical 
trials and hold a lot of patents. Can you 
describe these?
Dr. Schweitzer: I worked on rheumato-
logical agents for 20 to 25 years. I consult 
once or twice a year for the Food and Drug 
Administration (FDA).
JN: What is the status of the School of 
Medicine’
s relationship with the Detroit 
Medical Center?
Dr. Schweitzer: I’
m hopeful that we can 
have a positive, mutually beneficial rela-
tionship but there won’
t be an alignment of 
incentives. Tenet (the for-profit corporation 
based in Texas that has owned the Detroit 
Medical Center since 2013) has to send 
money to Dallas while the Detroit Medical 
Center is taking care of poor people. These 
are different missions but commonalities 
in our needs. I am open-minded about 
nonprofits.

Jews in the D

Challenges and
Opportunity

New dean looks to 
enhance Wayne State
Medical School.

SHARI S. COHEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

WSU School 
of Medicine

Mark Schweitzer, M.D.

WSU

