Academic Enterprise Announcements

A Message from the Dean, John Sealy School of Medicine; Senior Vice President of Health Affairs; and Chief Research Officer

It is with great enthusiasm that I announce two important leadership appointments, both effective May 15, 2026.

• Harsh Thaker, MD, PhD, has been named Chair of the Department of Pathology in the John Sealy School of Medicine and will also hold the prestigious John Sealy Distinguished Chair for the Advancement of Clinical Laboratory Sciences. 

• Heather Stevenson-Lerner, MD, PhD, FCAP, has been named Director of the John Sealy Diagnostic Center.

Dr. Thaker has served as interim Chair of the Department of Pathology since July 2025. He is a distinguished physician-scientist and academic leader with an extensive record of achievement.

Since joining UTMB in 2018, Dr. Thaker has held a series of progressive leadership roles within the department, demonstrating a strong track record of strategic and operational excellence. Prior to UTMB, he served in key leadership positions in pathology and laboratory medicine at institutions across the United States.

Throughout his career, Dr. Thaker has demonstrated a strong commitment to innovation, particularly in the areas of digital and computational pathology, quality improvement, and systemwide clinical integration. An accomplished educator and mentor, Dr. Thaker has played a key role in training medical students, residents, and fellows, fostering the next generation of pathologists.

Dr. Thaker’s academic foundation includes rigorous training in both medicine and biomedical research, complemented by residency and advanced specialty training in pathology. He is board certified and actively involved in national professional organizations.

As Chair, Dr. Thaker will provide strategic leadership to the department, guiding its mission in clinical excellence, academic innovation, and education. His vision, collaborative approach, and high standards of excellence position the department for continued growth and impact.

Dr. Stevenson-Lerner is a physician-scientist and tenured Professor of Pathology with specialized training in liver and transplantation pathology. She has maintained sustained research and NIH funding and is widely recognized for her work in defining mechanisms of chronic liver diseases and translating these insights into improved diagnostics and patient care.

As the only fellowship-trained hepatopathologist at UTMB for over a decade, she brings deep clinical expertise in interpreting complex diseases, along with a strong track record of integrating molecular data, digital pathology, and clinical laboratory data to produce comprehensive reports. Her work has advanced risk stratification and precision approaches to chronic disease management. She is also a dedicated educator and mentor, serving as Co-Director of the MD/PhD Program and supporting the development of future physician-scientists.

The Diagnostic Center was founded by Michael Laposata MD, PhD, former Chair of Pathology, in September 2023 with generous support from the Sealy & Smith Foundation, to develop innovative and advanced diagnostic services with the goal of efficiently reducing diagnostic errors and improving patient outcomes. To this end, the center began to offer Pharmacogenomic testing and interpretation, and in collaboration with Dr. Peter McCaffrey, began using AI tools to develop a variety of comprehensive diagnostic services. Under Dr. Thaker’s leadership since July 2025, the center has accelerated the development of these services and brought new programs into production.

Today, the center collaborates with departments across the spectrum of care to deliver innovative solutions in multiple clinical settings. Notable programs include work with the Sealy Heart and Vascular Institute to carry out opportunistic screening for cardiac conditions; AI-enabled multimodal diagnosis of prostate cancer; and integrative pathology reports to improve diagnosis, patient access, and management of chronic diseases.

I am confident that Dr. Stevenson-Lerner’s leadership, scientific expertise, and focus on innovation will further strengthen the Diagnostic Center’s impact across our missions. We welcome her to this important leadership position while thanking Dr. Laposata and Dr. Thaker for their roles in establishing and leading the center to success.

Please join me in congratulating Dr. Thaker and Dr. Stevenson-Lerner and supporting them as they lead with vision, collaboration, and a shared commitment to excellence in patient care, research, education, and innovation.