Alice M. Posey, MD – Endowed Chair in General Internal Medicine

In July 1997, the Department of Internal Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine, received generous funding from the estate of Alice M. Posey, MD, to establish an endowment to support research and teaching. This gift memorializes Dr. Posey, who graduated in 1934 from Rush Medical College in Chicago, when only ten percent of her class were female. Dr. Posey started practicing in the Hyde Park (Cincinnati) area in 1935, and held a faculty appointment at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine where she taught family medicine for well over 25 years. Her commitment to academic medicine still thrives today in the form of funded research and teaching.

In concert with the recruitment of the new Division Chief of General Internal Medicine in July, 1999, Robert Luke, MD, Chair, Department of Internal Medicine, proudly announced the appointment of Mark H. Eckman, MD, as the inaugural Alice M. Posey Chair. Dr. Luke recalls, “I recruited Dr. Eckman from a similar position at the Tufts Medical School in Boston. He was already established as a recognized expert in medical decision analysis and is now nationally recognized for his expertise in this area, with an extensive bibliography. The Posey endowed Chair was essential for that recruitment of such a prominent figure in his field. Mark has admirably succeeded in leading the Division- now the largest in the Department- in clinical primary care, medical education and in extending decision analysis and quality improvement throughout the Medical Center and UC Health. I am grateful to him, and to the donor of the Posey Endowed Chair, for his achievements.”

Dr. Eckman’s influence throughout the Medical Center has been expressed through a variety of positions he has held including Director, Center for Clinical Effectiveness; Interim Director of the University of Cincinnati’s (UC) Institute for Health Policy and Health Services Research; Executive Director of the Center for Health Informatics; and Director, Outcomes Research Fellowship track in the Department of Internal Medicine’s STAR program. Dr. Eckman also co-directs the Research Informatics track in the Master’s degree program in Clinical and Translational Science, and co-directs the informatics core of UC’s Clinical and Translational Sciences Award (CTSA) program.

Having served as PI on 18 research grants, and Co-I on another 25 research projects, Dr. Eckman has authored over one hundred manuscripts in the peer-reviewed medical literature, 12 book chapters, 14 editorials, and more than 100 published abstracts. Among the numerous areas of his research focus are thromboprophylaxis for atrial fibrillation, screening and treatment strategies chronic hepatitis C virus infection, and shared decision-making for patients with cystic fibrosis. In recognition of his excellent teaching, Dr. Eckman was the first (and only to date) recipient of the Clinical & Translational Research Training Program Teaching Excellence Award for his teaching in the course Decision Analysis and Cost-Effectiveness Analysis.

When asked what the Posey Chair has meant to him, Dr. Eckman replied, “I am greatly honored and thankful to the bequest from Dr. Alice Margaret Posey. Support from this endowed chair has given me the flexibility to advance a dynamic research agenda in our Division of General Internal Medicine. As I reflect upon Dr. Posey’s career and accomplishments, I think she would be very pleased that women constitute a large proportion of the faculty in our Division. A number of our female faculty have leadership positions in the Division, and in the UC Health system. On a related note, the heart and soul of our Division continues to be our clinician educators, holding fast to the same patient care mission that defined Dr. Posey’s career. I am committed to continuing the legacy supported by her generous contribution.”

Current chair, UC Department of Internal Medicine, Gregory Rouan, MD, appreciates the vital role that endowed chairs play in achieving the academic mission of the UC College of Medicine. Per Dr. Rouan, “The Department of Internal Medicine, since 2011, has been extremely successful in accomplishing and growing each of our divisions’ tripartite mission: clinical, education and research. We have done so through generous philanthropic support resulting from endowments of 19 chairs to enhance our mission, particularly in education and research. Additional funding for the Posey Chair in general internal medicine will allow for further expansion of Dr. Eckman‘s very successful healthcare outcomes research program.”

Supplemental contributions to the Posey Chair are welcome and may be sent to:
The UC Foundation
Attn. Jeff Taylor
PO Box 11970
Cincinnati, OH 45219-0970