2025 is a year of leadership transitions for our division. At the beginning of the year, we welcomed our new Division Chief, Dr. Dave Warren, to the division. Recently a few other leadership transitions have occurred starting July 1, and we are excited to share!
New Specialty Care Clinic Leadership: Dr. Fadul–>Dr. Bares
Dr. Nada Fadul is a Professor of Medicine and Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs at UNMC. A University of Khartoum graduate, she has been the Medical Director of the Specialty Care Clinic since she came to UNMC in 2018. She leads the Ryan White HIV programs and focuses on health disparities and global health. During her time in this role, Dr. Fadul has guided the clinic through rural expansion through telehealth, COVID-19 and mpox crisis management, implementation of long-acting antiretroviral treatment programs, and comprehensive HIV education programs. After serving in the Medical Director role for the past 7 years, she is stepping away from these responsibilities to focus on her new role as Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs. She will continue to direct the Ryan White program and see patients in her clinic. Dr. Fadul is a published researcher, mentor, and advocate, serving on the Board of the HIV Medical Association, and multiple other local, national, and international organizations.
Dr. Sara Bares is an Associate Professor at UNMC and as of July 1, is the new Medical Director of the Specialty Care Center. A graduate of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, she completed her residency and fellowship training at the University of Chicago. Since joining University of Nebraska Medical Center in 2013, Dr. Bares has been active in patient care, clinical research, and medical education. She specializes in HIV care, especially for Spanish-speaking populations, and founded a Spanish-language HIV clinic. Dr. Bares is an NIH-funded, nationally and internationally renowned researcher whose scholarship focuses on HIV comorbidities and women’s health. She provides education in both the undergraduate and graduate medical education curricula and has received multiple teaching awards throughout her time at UNMC.
New Orthopedic Infectious Diseases Service Leadership: Dr. Hewlett–>Dr. Cortes-Penfield
Dr. Angela Hewlett is Professor of Infectious Diseases and George W Orr MD and Linda Orr Chair in Health Security at UNMC. Dr. Hewlett has been at UNMC since 2009. Her areas of expertise include biopreparedness/biocontainment and orthopedic infections. She is the Medical Director of the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit, and played a key role in treating patients with Ebola virus disease as well as some of the first COVID-19 patients in the U.S. A UTMB graduate, she is the author of a biopreparedness textbook. She leads education in biocontainment at UNMC and developed a biopreparedness and biocontainment Enhanced Medical Education Track (EMET) program in the medical school. Dr. Hewlett was the founding Medical Director of the Orthopedic Infectious Diseases Service Line, is a past-President of the Musculoskeletal Infection Society (MSIS), and is a national and international expert on orthopedic infections.
Dr. Nicolas Cortes-Penfield is an Associate Professor at UNMC and as of July 1, he is the Medical Director of the Orthopedic Infectious Diseases Service Line. He specializes in orthopedic infectious diseases and outpatient IV antibiotic therapy. He has been the Medical Director of the Nebraska Medicine Outpatient Parental Antimicrobial Therapy Program since 2019, leading the expansion of this program and guideline development. A Baylor College of Medicine graduate, Dr. Cortes-Penfield is a national and international expert known for his work on device-related infections and evidence-based practice. He’s a mentor, educator, and award-winning faculty member, active in the IDSA Medical Education Community.
New Leadership Position: Nebraska Biocontainment Unit
Dr. Richard Hankins will be joining the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit (NBU) Leadership team as Associate Medical Director of the NBU. Dr. Hankins is an Assistant Professor at UNMC, and an Associate Medical Director of Antimicrobial Stewardship and Infection Control at Nebraska Medicine. Dr. Hankins has been a member NBU team for several years. He will be working closely with Dr. Hewlett to continue the success of the NBU.
Congratulations to Drs. Bares, Cortes-Penfield, and Hankins on their new leadership roles, and huge thank you to Drs. Fadul and Hewlett on their outstanding leadership and mentorship of junior faculty to step into their roles.