Letter from the IOMC President Archana Chatterjee, MD, PhD 

A MESSAGE TO OUR FELLOWS and COLLEAGUES 

Dear Fellow and Colleagues:

It is my deep honor to step forward as President of the Institute of Medicine of Chicago (IOMC). To follow in the footsteps of the distinguished leaders who have guided this Institute for more than 110 years is both humbling and energizing. I am grateful for the trust you have placed in me, and eager to serve with you to deliver our mission.

I come to this role with the background of a physician-scientist and educator. As a pediatric infectious disease specialist, I have spent my career at the intersection of clinical care, research, community service, and the education and training of healthcare professionals. That work has taught me a simple truth: progress in health is never the achievement of one person or one discipline. It is the product of many hands, many fields, and many perspectives working toward a shared goal. That is precisely what the IOMC has always represented.

Our Institute was founded on the belief that eminent leaders across medicine, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, public health, law, policy, and the community can accomplish together what none of us can achieve alone. Today, that conviction matters more than ever. We face persistent disparities in healthcare access and outcomes, evolving questions about vaccines and preventive care, urgent needs in maternal and child health, behavioral health, and communities seeking trustworthy information that they can act on. These are not abstract challenges. They touch families in every neighborhood across Chicagoland and the State of Illinois.

In the year ahead, I want us to lean into what the IOMC does best: convening expertise, communicating trusted evidence, and translating it into action. I am committed to strengthening our role as a credible, independent voice on the health issues that matter most, to expanding the stream of diverse talent entering the health professions, and to ensuring that the work we do advances health equity by reducing the disparities that hold our communities back. I have spent much of my career championing greater opportunity and inclusion in academic medicine, and lending my expertise to advancing public health education and advocacy. I intend to bring that same commitment to the IOMC.

I believe deeply in the power of education and mentorship in engaging and preparing the next generation of healthcare leaders to address our most challenging problems. Programs that open doors for learners and early-career professionals are investments that pay dividends for decades into the future. I look forward to supporting and expanding our educational and community-engagement efforts so that the talent of our region reflects the full diversity of the people we serve.

None of this happens without you. Our strength has always been our Fellows and members—your knowledge, your generosity, and your willingness to give your time and talent to drive our mission. I invite each of you to stay or become engaged: join a workgroup, lend your voice to a program, express new ideas, mentor a learner, or simply share the expertise that earned you a highly respected place in our community. Together, we can help make Illinois and Chicago a national model for innovation, inclusion, and well-being.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve, and thank you for all that you do, every day, to improve the health of the public. I am honored to walk alongside you in the year ahead.

With gratitude and optimism,

Archana Chatterjee, MD, PhD

Dean, Chicago Medical School, and Senior Vice President for Medical Affairs,

Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science

President, Institute of Medicine of Chicago