Carl F. Marfurt, Ph.D., has been named interim director of the Indiana University School of Medicine-South Bend campus and interim associate dean at IU School of Medicine. He will begin his new duties May 1.

Dr. Marfurt is an associate director for research at the IU School of Medicine-Northwest and a professor of anatomy and cell biology at the IU School of Medicine campuses at Gary and South Bend. He has taught neuroscience to first-year medical students for 29 years and has been recognized for his dedication to education with 20 teaching awards, 19 of them from Indiana University.

A native of Rockville Centre, N.Y., Dr. Marfurt received his doctorate in anatomy from Temple University School of Medicine in 1980. He served four years as a faculty member at the Penn State Hershey Medical Center before joining the IU faculty in 1984.

Dr. Marfurt is internationally recognized for his research on corneal nerves. He has published 26 peer-reviewed articles and three book chapters on the physiology and neurochemistry of the corneal innervation.

The IU School of Medicine-South Bend campus has been directed by Rudolph M. Navari, M.D., Ph.D., since 2005. Dr. Navari is stepping down at the end of April to accept a position with the World Health Organization as director of the Cancer Care Program in Eastern Europe.

A national search will commence this spring to identify a new director and associate dean.  Taihung "Peter" Duong, Ph.D., director of IU School of Medicine-Terre Haute, associate dean and professor of anatomy and cell biology; and Emily Walvoord, M.D., assistant dean for faculty affairs and professional development and associate professor of clinical pediatrics, will serve as the co-chairs of the search committee.