Above, from left: Edward Ferris, M.D., FACOG, Paul Hartung, Ph.D., Thomas Macabobby, M.D., FAAFP, and Neel Parekh, M.D. (’13).
The College of Medicine announced the following leadership transitions:
Department of Family and Community Medicine
With the retirement of John Boltri, M.D., FAAFP, as chair of Family and Community Medicine, the College of Medicine has begun a search for the next chair of the department. In the interim, the College is pleased to announce the appointment of two co-chairs who will be leading the department during this time of transition.
Paul Hartung, Ph.D., professor of Family and Community Medicine and previous vice-chair, will now serve as interim co-chair. Dr. Hartung will focus on administrative oversight of the department on the Rootstown campus, where he has been a faculty member since 1994. He will also manage the academic affairs of the department and its role in preclinical education. Dr. Hartung directs the College of Medicine’s first-year courses in the psychosocial foundations of clinical medicine and serves in leadership roles on various College and University committees. He has received both the Liebelt Wheeler Award for Faculty Excellence and the Outstanding Faculty Research Award. He maintains a national and international reputation of excellence for his work in the areas of career development and vocational psychology, including publishing numerous articles, chapters, and edited books. Dr. Hartung is a 2024 UH-NEOMED Faculty Scholar and listed in Elsevier’s 2023 World’s Top 2% of Scientists for career and single-year publication citations.
Thomas Macabobby, M.D., FAAFP, is a 1992 graduate of NEOMED and associate professor of Family and Community Medicine. He will serve as interim co-chair for the department along with Dr. Hartung. Dr. Macabobby will focus his efforts on student advising and the family medicine clerkship (in collaboration with the clerkship director and local site directors). Dr. Macabobby is a practicing physician and the founding family medicine residency program director at Mercy St. Elizabeth Boardman Hospital, where he has been since 2010. In this role he directly supervises, educates and evaluates residents and students, including NEOMED students. He holds several hospital leadership positions including Regional Medical Director for Primary Care for Mercy Health Physicians, where is the director for policy and practice for over 140 physicians across twenty-nine clinical sites. He has taught in both the M2 and M3 curriculum and is a graduate of NEOMED’s Fellowship in Academic Medicine.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
After serving as interim chair of obstetrics and gynecology since September 2023, Edward Ferris, M.D., FACOG, has been named as the permanent chair following an extensive search.
Dr. Ferris is an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at NEOMED and has been practicing in Northeast Ohio for over 25 years. He is currently the medical director for the Women's Health Institute and the Vivian E. von Gruenigen M.D. Endowed Chair in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Summa Health.
Dr. Ferris received his medical degree from The Ohio State University College of Medicine. He completed his residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Summa Health.
Section of Urology
Raymond Bologna, M.D., the former chair of Urology, retired in 2023. After careful consideration, it has been decided that the chair position of the Urology department will be closed. The Urology Department will become a section within the Department of Surgery, effective July 1, 2024. Current faculty will maintain their academic titles under Urology until they are promoted. While this transition represents a significant change, our commitment to educating the next generation of urologists remains strong.
Neel Parekh, M.D. (’13), has been named the Section Chief of Urology. Dr. Parekh is a clinical assistant professor of urology and a practicing urologist at the Glickman Urological and Kidney Institute at Cleveland Clinic. He completed his residency in urology at Cleveland Clinic Akron General and fellowship in male infertility and men’s health at Cleveland Clinic.
Dr. Parekh has a long history of student mentorship and resident teaching, and we are confident that he will provide exceptional guidance for our students.
Please join us in welcoming Dr. Hartung, Dr. Macabobby, Dr. Ferris and Dr. Parekh to their new roles!
- Submitted by Aeriole Conner and Jennifer Lint, College of Medicine