Improving the Health of Humanity

Michael D. Dake, M.D., an internationally recognized physician-scientist, health educator and innovative medical researcher, is the new senior vice president for health sciences at the University of Arizona. He also will hold an appointment as a professor of radiology.

“I am excited about the appointment of Dr. Dake to this important leadership position at the University of Arizona,” says UA President Robert C. Robbins. “Mike is a pioneer, recognized internationally in the field of interventional radiology, with whom I was privileged to work for over two decades at Stanford University. Mike’s visionary leadership style will facilitate our partnership with Banner Health and prepare the Health Sciences Center to be a global leader in improving the health of humanity.” 

Dake most recently served as Stanford University’s Thelma and Henry Doelger Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery. He made medical history in 1992 with the implantation of the world’s first thoracic stent-graft at Stanford, the first aortic stent-graft done in the U.S. 

As the UA senior vice president for health sciences, Dake will lead the integration of undergraduate and graduate education, research and clinical activities among the UA health colleges and their clinical partners. The UA Health Sciences include the College of Medicine – Tucson; College of Medicine – Phoenix; College of Pharmacy; College of Nursing; the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health; and the UA Cancer Center. 

“It is an honor to join the University of Arizona at such an exciting time in its distinguished history. With five health colleges and a strong partnership with Banner Health, the UA is positioned to emerge as a transformative force in medical education, patient care and the health sciences,” Dake says. “I look forward to working with the talented students and world-class faculty and staff on a new era of multidisciplinary research and leading-edge initiatives to benefit not only the people of Arizona, but the future of global health care.”

In addition to his academic appointment at Stanford, Dake directed the Catheterization and Angiography Laboratories at Stanford Medical Center. He also served as chair of the Department of Radiology and Medical Imaging and the Harrison Distinguished Medical Teaching Professor at the University of Virginia Health System from 2005-08.

Dake has an international reputation for revolutionary work in improving vascular health to help treat debilitating diseases. He has published more than 300 peer-reviewed articles and more than 100 book chapters. His publications in Nature Medicine have been cited more than 1,000 times, and his papers in the New England Journal of Medicine have been referenced more than 1,500 times. Overall, Dake’s contributions to the medical literature have earned more than 30,000 citations, which puts him among the top scientists in his field. He holds 31 U.S. patents and has founded five companies.

Dake is a graduate of Harvard College, where he was voted First Class Marshal by his graduating class, and Baylor College of Medicine, where he completed an internship, residency and chief residency in internal medicine. He is board certified in internal medicine, pulmonary disease, diagnostic radiology, and vascular and interventional radiology.