It is my privilege to share that Stephanie Guzik—a healthcare leader and trained nursing-clinician with significant experience in critical care and research and national prominence in higher education administration—will join UTMB Health as Vice President and Chief of Staff on Monday, Feb. 19.

In this role, Stephanie will set the tone and direction, manage daily operations, provide administrative oversight and oversee institutional initiatives for the President’s and CEO’s Office. In addition, an important part of her responsibilities will be overseeing Patient Services and Patient Navigation in support of my role as CEO of the UTMB Health System, which will elevate the oversight of these functions moving forward. She will also have an appointment in the School of Nursing

Prior to joining UTMB, Stephanie served as the University Compliance Officer and the Associate Vice President for Research Compliance and Conflict of Interest for Rush System for Health in Chicago. She has also served as the Research Integrity Officer at Rush and was adjunct faculty in its College of Nursing.

Stephanie has spent much of her career at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, where she started as a Medical Intensive Care Unit nurse. She shifted to research, conducting sepsis and interventional heart and vascular research, and Phase I-IV trials that included novel drug, device, combination product, gene and radiographic investigational therapies. She also managed a cardiovascular research program at Rush.

In addition, Stephanie has been a campus- and system-wide resource at Rush and has provided support and guidance to its C-suite executive team on a range of issues, including AI integration and risk mitigation. 

Stephanie is a member of the Association of American Medical Colleges FOCI steering committee and is a regular contributor, participating as a program committee member, teaching faculty for COI 101 workshops, and co-chairing the AAMC 2018 conference. 

She holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from Valparaiso University and a master’s degree in business administration from Purdue University, and a certification in Healthcare Research Compliance from the Health Care Compliance Association. Most recently, she was selected as one of 24 women health leaders in the nation by the Carol Emmott Foundation for the Fellowship Class of 2024.

I also want to take this opportunity to thank Elizabeth (Beth) Stum for serving as Chief of Staff in the President’s Office since 2021. During her time as Chief of Staff and throughout her tenure at UTMB Health since the 1990s, Beth has overseen numerous initiatives that have positioned the university and its mission areas for success both now and into the future, and her efforts are greatly appreciated. Beth will serve as Associate Vice President, Presidential Operations and Institutional Support moving forward.

Please join me in welcoming Stephanie to UTMB Health when she arrives on Monday.

Thank you!

Jochen Reiser, MD, PhD

President CEO, UTMB Health System

Professor, John Sealy School of Medicine

John D. Stobo, MD Distinguished Chair