Mark D. Fox, M.D., Ph.D., MPH, took the helm of Indiana University School of Medicine-South Bend (IUSM-SB) on August 3 as the third associate dean and director of the regional center for medical education. He arrived just in time to greet members of the Class of 2019 on their first day of medical school.

Fox told students he looks to the day when all IUSM-SB medical students “can complete all four years of training here.” He noted that strengths behind the campus experience: a faculty frequently lauded with teaching and research awards, generous and dedicated volunteer clinical faculty, and students who have been achieving stellar scores on national boards.

Fox comes to South Bend from the University of Oklahoma (OU) School of Community Medicine in Tulsa, where he served as associate dean for community health and research development since 2008. He also was medical director of the OU Wayman Tisdale Specialty Health Clinic and associate director of the Oklahoma Bioethics Center in Tulsa. A medical ethicist and specialist in public health, Fox describes his interest as “improving the health of the community and the people in the community.” Like IU, OU has a regional medical school campus system.

Although still in his early days on campus, Fox expressed enthusiasm for a Northern Indiana simulation center, a facility where medical, nursing, radiography and other health science students could practice on state-of-the-art simulation equipment before testing their skills on human patients. The project likely would involve collaboration among a number of institutions.

He also has taken note of the Indiana General Assembly’s recent legislation to increase the number of residencies in Indiana to match the state’s growing number of medical students. (Currently, the only local residency option in the region is the family medicine specialty.)

“I would like to see students be able to complete medical school and pursue residency training in any of a variety of specialties,” Fox said. “I think that would be good for Northern Indiana and Southwestern Michigan.”

Dr. Fox received his medical degree as well as a doctorate in religion, ethics and society at Vanderbilt University, and a master of public health degree from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, where he completed residency training in internal medicine/pediatrics. Fox’s clinical interests include medicine/pediatrics, preventive cardiology, and care for underserved populations.