VCU Medical Center infectious disease exert appointed to national research advisory council

By Malorie Burkett

RICHMOND, Va. (Oct. 18) – Richard P. Wenzel, M.D., chair of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Department of Internal Medicine, has been appointed to the National Research Advisory Council of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Wenzel will meet with the council periodically to define the priorities for research in the U.S. Veterans Affairs Health System. The council also will advise the undersecretary for health and the secretary of Veterans Affairs on research and development sponsored or conducted by the Veterans Health Administration.

"I am extremely honored to be part of such a distinguished group of individuals, and I look forward to working with the council on issues that focus on improving health care and research areas that are especially beneficial for veterans," said Wenzel.

While on the council, Wenzel also said he hopes to strengthen the relationships between VA medical centers and their academic partners and improve the efficiency of the research grant application process.

One of 12 members on the council, Wenzel will serve as secretarial appointee and joins, among others, David Korn, M.D., senior vice-president at the Association of American Medical Colleges and former vice-president and dean of Stanford University; Jeffrey M. Drazen, editor-in-chief of the New England Journal of Medicine; and Louis M. Sherwood, M.D., former senior vice-president of Merck and Company and former physician-in-chief at the Montefiore Hospital in New York.

Wenzel, a professor in internal medicine at VCU, is an internationally known expert on infectious diseases and is the author of more than 470 publications. He serves as president of MCV Physicians, the physician practice plan of more than 600 physicians who are faculty of VCU’s School of Medicine. He has a secondary appointment at the McGuire VA Medical Center in Richmond.

Wenzel received his medical degree from Jefferson Medical College in 1965, and his Master of Science degree from the University of London in 1986.