Kelly Dooley, MD, PhD, MPH, has been appointed Addison B. Scoville Jr. Professor of Medicine and Director of the Division of Infectious Diseases in the Department of Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC). Dr. Dooley comes to Vanderbilt from The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, where she was Professor of Medicine, and Pharmacology, and Molecular Sciences.
Kelly Dooley, MD, PhD, MPH
Kimryn Rathmell, MD, PhD
“We are delighted to welcome a physician-scientist of Kelly’s stature and experience to the leadership of our vibrant Division of Infectious Diseases,” said Kimryn Rathmell, MD, PhD, Hugh J. Morgan Professor and Chair of the Department of Medicine. “With her clinical background, interests in tuberculosis and [human immunodeficiency virus], significant contributions as a clinical trialist, and strong credentials as a medical educator and academic author, Kelly quickly emerged as a top candidate in our leadership search. She will bring a tremendous energy to this unit that has proven itself to be so important in the pandemic. I know everyone will join us in welcoming her to VUMC and to our team in the Department
of Medicine.”
“Many of the health threats we will be facing in the next several years, locally and globally, are related to infectious diseases, as we’ve all experienced personally with the COVID-19 pandemic,” Dr. Dooley said. “I am eager to be part of efforts to address these threats, through cutting-edge research, expert clinical care, and training of the next generation of infectious diseases clinicians and scientists. Vanderbilt has an exceptionally strong [infectious diseases] division, with broad and deep expertise in many critical [infectious diseases] arenas, and it is a privilege to be invited to be part of the team. Vanderbilt also has a world-class clinical pharmacology division, which was a draw for me. Most importantly, when I interviewed, everyone was warm and welcoming. I could feel the strong collaborative spirit and wanted very much to be part of it.”
Dr. Dooley’s Background
Dr. Dooley studied economics at Northwestern University and, following a premed program at the University of Pennsylvania, received her medical degree from Duke University, her Master’s in Public Health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and her PhD in clinical investigation from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. At Johns Hopkins she also completed an internal medicine residency, an infectious diseases fellowship, and a clinical pharmacology fellowship.
Dr. Dooley has served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Chad, and as a hospitalist at Providence Portland Medical Center in Oregon. She joined the faculty at Johns Hopkins in 2010. At the Department of Medicine at Johns Hopkins she held appointments in the Divisions of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Pharmacology.
