UM Appoints Executive Dean for Clinical Affairs

Business Wire, June 28, 2006

MIAMI -- William O'Neill, M.D., a world leader in the field of interventional cardiology and in developing new techniques to diagnose and treat obstructed heart arteries, has been named Executive Dean for Clinical Affairs at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

O'Neill is director of the Division of Cardiovascular Disease at William Beaumont Hospital, a monumental teaching hospital in Royal Oak, Mich., that has one of the premier cardiology programs in the world. He was previously director of the cardiac catheterization laboratory at the University of Michigan Hospital and an associate professor of medicine at the University of Michigan Hospital and Medical School.

In announcing the appointment, Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., senior vice president for medical affairs and dean of UM's Miller School, said, "The recruitment of this world-class investigator and clinician is paramount to our ambitious plans to extend the reach of the University of Miami Health System. Dr. O'Neill joins our powerful senior leadership team to play a critical role, working to develop clinical programs and get them up and running around the region."

Central to the establishment of the University's network of health care sites is an unwavering focus on the patient, safety and medical innovation, with the goal of enhancing access to the clinical programs of South Florida's only academic medical center. O'Neill will also work to improve service to referring physicians and ensure effective and timely communication with patients' families.

"I am truly excited to join the senior leadership at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine," O'Neill said. "The opportunity to help create a world-class, internationally recognized health system is fantastic, and I look forward to working with physicians at the Miller School of Medicine and in the greater community to improve healthcare for the entire region."

The University of Miami Board of Trustees recently approved the construction of a new 14-story hospital at the Miller School of Medicine.

O'Neill, who was born in Alousi, Ecuador, earned his medical degree from Wayne State University School of Medicine and completed a cardiology fellowship at the University of Michigan Hospital. He joined Beaumont Hospital in 1987, and under his direction it has become one of the nation's top centers for cardiac catheterization, including high-risk balloon angioplasty, multi-vessel atherectomy, and percutaneous aortic valve therapy.

O'Neill helped to design the mechanical rotary atherectomy technique, which uses a catheter with a rotating, diamond-tipped burr to carve away and disintegrate plaque that obstructs the arteries.