Debra Romberger, MD, chair of the UNMC Department of Internal Medicine, has announced that David K. Warren, MD, will join UNMC as the chief of the division of infectious diseases on Jan. 13, 2025.
Dr. Warren, who also holds a master of public health degree, will succeed Mark Rupp, MD, who announced in 2023 that he would be stepping away from the position while remaining at UNMC and Nebraska Medicine in his faculty and clinical roles.
Dr. Warren is a professor in the division of infectious diseases at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, where he also currently serves as the director of the Clinical Research Training Center at Washington University and as director of the university’s Master of Science in Clinical Investigation Program. He also serves as a hospital epidemiologist for Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis.
“We are very pleased that Dr. Warren has chosen to join us at UNMC. His experience will be valuable in helping our strong infectious diseases division continue to grow and achieve even greater success,” Dr. Romberger said.
Bradley Britigan, MD, dean of the UNMC College of Medicine, said Dr. Warren is an excellent choice.
“We look forward to Dr. Warren’s arrival,” Dr. Britigan said. “In the wake of international and domestic crises such as the Ebola outbreak and the COVID pandemic, the UNMC Division of Infectious Diseases has an established and growing national reputation of excellence. Dr. Warren is a leader who can help the division build on that reputation and continue to flourish in its educational, research and clinical missions.”
Dr. Warren’s clinical expertise is infection prevention, and he has a track record of CDC and NIH funding. He specializes in clinical research in hospital epidemiology and infection prevention, with a special focus on the epidemiology and prevention of device-related infections and surgical site infections, plus improving diagnostic stewardship of microbiological testing to accurately diagnose infectious diseases. He has a long history of mentorship both with infectious diseases fellows and students in the Master of Science in Clinical Investigation Program.
“I am grateful for the excellent leadership of Dr. Mark Rupp, who has served as infectious diseases division chief since 2011,” Dr. Romberger said. “We will be making plans to celebrate his contributions to the division and department.”
Dr. Rupp will continue in his role until Dr. Warren arrives at UNMC.
Dr. Romberger also expressed appreciation the search committee and its leader, Jill Poole, MD, chief of the UNMC Division of Allergy and Immunology.
“The strength of our infectious diseases division attracted outstanding internal and external candidates for the chief position,” Dr. Romberger said.