After an extensive nationwide search, University of Houston President Renu Khator has appointed two accomplished and highly respected individuals to key leadership positions at UH.
Jonathan A. McCullers, M.D., will become the new vice president of health affairs and dean of the Tilman J. Fertitta Family College of Medicine on Sept. 1, and effective July 1 Claudia Neuhauser, Ph.D., will be appointed vice chancellor/vice president for research at the University of Houston System and University of Houston, respectively. Both appointments are contingent upon the UH System Board of Regents approval during its next meeting.
"We are excited and fortunate to have someone of Dr. McCullers' caliber joining our university," said UH President Renu Khator. "He is a well-respected physician-scientist, seasoned leader in academic medicine and, most significantly, a man of the community. I'm confident that he will realize our Fertitta Family College of Medicine's mission, while accelerating its growth in research and patient care."
McCullers joins UH from University of Tennessee Health Science Center where he served as the senior executive associate dean of clinical affairs and chief operating officer at the College of Medicine since 2019. In this time, he provided oversight of all clinical affairs across Tennessee for the UTHSC College of Medicine, acting as the main liaison to more than a dozen major affiliated health systems across the state. In addition, he helped lead the undergraduate and graduate medical education clinical training at the affiliated health systems and the university, city and county through thoughtfully coordinated and unprecedented responses to COVID-19.
As chair of pediatrics, he grew Le Bonheur Children's Hospital from a regional, community hospital into a comprehensive academic medical center, which is now recognized as a 'Best Children's Hospital' by U.S. News & World Report, having made the prestigious list with recognition in five specialties.
The timing for this appointment could not be more perfect, McCullers says, as UH is celebrating its first graduates from the Fertitta Family College of Medicine. "I believe the University of Houston is poised for growth," said McCullers. "It's a new medical school and it's a growing health science center. The ability to come in at a time where we're really going to get bigger and better, add research and grow the clinical enterprise is very exciting," he said.
McCullers is a physician-scientist whose professional career spans more than 30 years. He established an NIH-funded research laboratory studying influenza viruses and how infections with the flu can lead to secondary bacterial pneumonia. He's also directed investigations related to virology, bacterial pathogenesis and innate immunity. He has published more than 180 peer-reviewed articles and won numerous awards over his distinguished career including the city of Memphis Martin Luther King, Jr. Luminary Award for his leadership throughout the pandemic, the Memphis Business Journal Health Care Hero Award and its Power 100 award, among others.
The Fertitta Family College of Medicine is focused on training students to become primary care physicians who deliver compassionate, high-value care to underserved communities in Houston and Texas. This vision is what attracted McCullers to this unique role. "There are significant health disparities here, and there are a lot of people who need help in the community. That's what medical schools are for, to train the next generation of physicians who are going to deliver care in those communities," he said.
McCullers is a native of Virginia and attended the University of Virginia as an undergraduate. He received his medical degree at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where he also completed his internship and residency.
At the University of Houston, McCullers will help position the Tilman J. Fertitta Family College of Medicine as a leader in community medicine and research. This role is critically important in ensuring the continued transformation of the University of Houston and the health of our community and state.
Claudia Neuhauser, Ph.D., joined UH in 2018 as associate vice chancellor/associate vice president for research and technology transfer for UH and the UH System. She assumed the additional role of director of UH's Hewlett Packard Enterprise Data Science Institute in 2019 and was appointed interim vice chancellor/vice president for research in 2022. In her interim role, Neuhauser has successfully grown the division's staff, streamlined operations and built a positive culture of innovation and collaboration.
The VC/VP for research leads the Division of Research, overseeing research operations, research and scholarly development support. This role is integral to the University as UH aims to rapidly increase its research output.
"We're in a new and bold era of research at UH, and I'm elated to have Dr. Claudia Neuhauser at the helm," said UH President Renu Khator. "She has exceptional strategic-leadership skills, hands-on experience as an accomplished researcher and immense passion for the field. We've doubled our research expenditures in the past decade, and we look forward to her further expanding this essential enterprise."
Neuhauser brings an extraordinary depth of experience and a remarkable track record of academic and administrative excellence.
Prior to her roles at UH, she served as the associate vice president for research and director of research computing at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. In this capacity, she directed the University of Minnesota Informatics Institute, the Minnesota Supercomputing Institute and U Spatial. Her visionary leadership was instrumental in advancing research computing infrastructure and fostering innovative research across multiple disciplines.
Before her impactful contributions at University of Minnesota Rochester, Neuhauser was professor and director of graduate studies in the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. She has also held esteemed faculty positions in mathematics at the University of Southern California, the University of Wisconsin Madison and the University of California Davis.
Neuhauser's academic journey began with a diploma in mathematics from the Universität Heidelberg in Germany, followed by a Ph.D. in mathematics from Cornell University. Significant achievements include being named Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professor, fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and fellow of the American Mathematical Society, among others.
In addition to her academic roles, Neuhauser has served on several national committees and boards, including the Board on Mathematical Sciences and Their Applications of the National Academy of Sciences. Her prolific output includes 75 publications and numerous research grants from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.
Rather than reflecting on her journey, Neuhauser is looking ahead. "Its an exciting opportunity at the University of Houston. There are lots of opportunities with growing the research enterprise here. Joining UH has been a profoundly rewarding experience. I am excited to continue working with such a dynamic and forward-thinking community to drive innovative research and foster academic excellence."
Neuhauser's research sits at the intersection of mathematics and biology, focusing on the analysis of ecological and evolutionary models and the development of statistical methods in biomedical applications.
In just the last year, she co-authored the book "The Road to Ethical Science: A Guide to Restoring Trust in Science," which serves as a roadmap for both current and future scientists as well as the lay public in how to frame scientific decisions in ethically appropriate ways.
