Shaheen assumes role of co-Director for NC TraCS

Nicholas Shaheen, MD, MPH, the Bozymski-Heizer Distinguished Professor of Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has accepted the role of co-Director for the North Carolina Translational and Clinical Sciences (NC TraCS) Institute. He shares this role with John Buse, MD, PhD, the Verne S. Caviness Distinguished Professor of Medicine.

"NC TraCS is a dynamic, multifaceted institution full of talented, creative people," said Shaheen. "They work every day to make the research environment at UNC the best it can be. I am looking forward to working with the terrific TraCS staff, as well as the other faculty of the Institute, to support researchers at UNC and our partners RTI, NC State, and NC A&T."

Shaheen joined the UNC faculty in 1998 and became Division Chief of Gastroenterology in 2014. Until recently, he served as Director of the NC TraCS Collaboration and Team Science Program.

"I have known Nick for 30 years and really look forward to working with him more closely," said Buse. "He brings a lot of new ideas, energy and enthusiasm to the 15-year NC TraCS story that will newly inspire investigators and trainees as well as our funders."

Shaheen is a gastroenterologist and epidemiologist known for his groundbreaking research on Barrett's esophagus. Over the course of his career, he has developed and tested new endoscopic methods for treatment of patients with Barrett's and has served as the PI on several large, multi-center trials testing novel endoscopic technologies that have fundamentally changed the care of patients with early esophageal neoplasia. He is also a member of several national consortia that are conducting translational studies of Barrett's patients.