Faculty Affairs Associate Dean Appointed

The University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix announces the appointment of nationally recognized physician-scientist Kenneth S. Knox, MD, as the associate dean of faculty affairs.

Dr. Knox joined the College of Medicine – Phoenix in November; he will oversee the Faculty Affairs Office, whose charge is to promote an engaged, diverse community of faculty and scholars that sustain a culture of engagement, professionalism and inclusion. He also will serve as director of research at the Banner Lung Institute.

Dr. Knox is a pulmonary disease specialist known for his research and clinical expertise in sarcoidosis, fungal diagnostics and immunologic lung disease. His work includes developing treatments for HIV, AIDS and valley fever.

“During my career and as division chief, I have always taken a strong interest in issues that affect our faculty, whether it be mentoring junior faculty, advocating for colleagues, or facilitating professional development,” Dr. Knox said. “A faculty affairs leadership role is both the next logical step in my career and a professionally rewarding opportunity.”

Dr. Knox, who joined the UA College of Medicine – Tucson in 2008, is the Murray and Clara Walker Memorial Endowed Chair in Emphysema and has served as a tenured professor of medicine. As division chief of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, Dr. Knox was responsible for dramatic growth in the division. His accomplishments include increasing the number of clinical and basic science faculty from five to 30 and fellowship trainings from six to 20, rekindling the sleep program, establishing a section of allergy and revamping the teaching model in the intensive care unit. He also served as vice chair for education in the Department of Medicine.

UA College of Medicine – Tucson Department of Medicine Chair Monica Kraft, MD, said Dr. Knox has built a great division.

“He has been an anchor for many of the advances and innovative programs initiated in recent years,” Dr. Kraft said. “I’m sure he’ll bring the same energy and initiative to his new post in Phoenix.”

“Dr. Knox is the perfect candidate for this position,” said Kenneth S. Ramos, MD, PhD, interim dean of the College of Medicine – Phoenix. “He has taken extraordinary steps in his leadership and research on the Tucson campus to help the College excel in health care and education. Dr. Knox will help the Phoenix campus continue to flourish and help us become recognized as a leader in academic medicine across the nation.”

Dr. Knox is co-principal investigator on the Arizona portion of a $9.7 million National Institutes of Health-funded clinical trial to test the use of fluconazole as an early treatment for valley fever victims being run by Duke University’s Human Vaccine Institute. Additional grants for more than $6 million have been submitted for efforts to develop a valley fever vaccine.

He has received continuous funding since 2001 for his research on the use of bronchoalveolar lavage for immunodiagnostics and lung immunity. He is NIH-funded to perform longitudinal translational studies correlating immunological findings and the lung microbiome with clinical disease in HIV as his lab seeks to understand the role of pulmonary inflammation in the development of HIV-related lung diseases.

“I am honored that the senior UA leadership, Drs. Joe G.N. “Skip” Garcia and Ken Ramos, have entrusted me with this very important position,” Dr. Knox said. “I am excited for the LCME site visit as the college prepares to highlight its offerings and talent. This is an exciting time for Phoenix as we have an amazing relationship with the community and a transformational UA-Banner partnership. I am energized and very much look forward to continuing my research and clinical activities with new friends, colleagues and collaborators in Phoenix.”

Prior to joining the UA, Dr. Knox served as chief of medicine for the Southern Arizona Veteran Affairs Health Care System in Tucson, where he was instrumental in faculty recruitment and academic affairs. He is affiliated with the UA Health Sciences Asthma and Airway Disease Research Center and the UA Valley Fever Center for Excellence.

A native of Youngstown, Ohio, Dr. Knox graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in microbiology from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. He completed his medical degree and residency training in Internal Medicine at Ohio State University and a fellowship in Pulmonary/Critical Care/Sleep Medicine at Indiana University in Indianapolis where he remained on faculty for eight years, serving as educational director and director of the immunologic lung disease program.

*Above image courtesy of Roni Ziemba©