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Joe G.N. "Skip" Garcia, MD
Director, Institute for Personalized Respiratory Medicine
Vice President for Health Affairs
Earl M. Bane Professor of Medicine
Joe G.N. "Skip" Garcia, MD, the Vice President for Health Affairs at the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System is a leading authority on lung biology and disease, and the genetics, prevention, and treatment of inflammatory lung injury especially in susceptible populations such as African Americans and Latinos. His research focuses on understanding biochemical and the molecular basis of lung inflammation, especially vascular leak. Dr. Garcia is also the Director of the Institute for Personalized Respiratory Medicine, founder/president of Aqualung Therapeutics (http://www.aqualungtherapeutics.com/), and the Earl M. Bane Professor of Medicine, Pharmacology, and Bioengineering at UIC.
Dr. Garcia received his BS in Biology from the University of Dallas in 1976, followed by his MD from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in 1980. He completed his internship and residency at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and a Fellowship in the Division of Pulmonary Diseases at Albany Medical College. He joined the faculty of the University of Texas Health Center as an Assistant Professor of Medicine in 1985, followed by an appointment as Associate Professor of Medicine, Physiology and Biophysics at the Indiana University School of Medicine in 1988. After becoming full Professor in 1992 and later Dr. Calvin H. English Professor of Medicine in 1995, Dr. Garcia joined the Johns Hopkins faculty in 1998 as the David Marine Professor of Medicine and Director of the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine and Director of the Center for Translational Respiratory Medicine. He was also appointed as Professor of Biomedical Engineering in the JHU School of Medicine, and Professor of Environmental Health Sciences in the Bloomberg School of Public Health. In 2005, he was appointed as the Lowell T. Coggeshall Professor and Chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Chicago. During his tenure at the University of Chicago, the department of medicine was awarded nearly $80 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health--more than 40 percent of the medical school's research portfolio--and rose from a national NIH ranking of No. 25 to No. 10. In addition, he oversaw a greater than 300 percent increase in house staff diversity in three residency programs as well as marked increases in department faculty diversity. Dr. Garcia also served from 2010 - 2012 as the Vice Chancellor for Research at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago's largest university and one of the national's leading universities in federal research funding, where he oversaw a $350 million research enterprise encompassing all 15 of UIC's colleges and schools including many substantial academically renowned programs especially in biomedical discovery, urban resilience, and the global environment and community disparities.
As Vice President of Health Affairs for the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System, Dr. Garcia oversees the entire scope of operations for the $700 million health care enterprise and health science programs at all University of Illinois campuses. His goals are to provide cost-effective and extremely high-quality health care for patients, focusing on reducing health disparities through innovation and translational research.
Dr. Garcia's research focuses on a phenomenon called vascular leak, in which blood cells and fluid escape from the small vessels, causing edema in the surrounding tissues, especially the lungs. This often occurs after an acute injury or infection, during chronic inflammation, or in response to the stresses of mechanical ventilation. It causes flooding of the lungs, often leading to death, and can produce lasting organ damage. Garcia's studies of the basic biology of this process have led to new ways to prevent vascular leak, reduce swelling, inhibit tissue damage and restore the integrity of vessel walls. Several of his approaches to prevent vascular leak have been patented. Dr. Garcia is also involved in multiple clinical trials.
Dr. Garcia is the author or co-author of ~400 peer-reviewed publications and numerous book chapters. He serves on the editorial boards of several scientific journals, is associate editor of Journal of Organ Dysfunction, and is co-editor in chief for the journal Microvascular Research. He is a past president of the Central Society for Clinical Research, a past member of the board of directors for the American Thoracic Society, and a member or chairman of several NIH committees. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2009 Diversity Award from the Association of Professors in Medicine, the American Thoracic Society Distinguished Scientist Award, the Henry F. Christian Award for Meritorious Research from the American Federation of Medical Research, and the David M. Levine Excellence in Mentoring Award from the Johns Hopkins University.
Dr. Garcia, who is fluent in Spanish, is a passionate advocate for the training of physician scientists and is an active supporter of minority medical and science students.