FAU Welcomes Dr. Julie Pilitsis as Dean of the Schmidt College of Medicine

Welcome, Dean Pilitsis!

Members of Florida Atlantic University’s Division of Institutional Advancement joined President John Kelly, faculty and staff at a reception for Julie Pilitsis, M.D., Ph.D., the new dean of the Schmidt College of Medicine. 

Dean Pilitsis graciously met with long-time supporters of the university, Barb and Dick Schmidt and Dr. Michael Dennis, former FAU Board of Trustee member and founding chair of the advisory board for the Schmidt College of Medicine.

“We are very excited to welcome Dr. Julie Pilitsis to the Schmidt College of Medicine and to our FAU family as we embark on the next phase of success for our burgeoning medical school,” said FAU President John Kelly. “She has made significant contributions at the national level in medicine, education, advocacy and research and will be an outstanding leader and mentor for our students, faculty and staff.”

Pilitsis joins us from Albany Medical College (AMC) in New York, where she was the division chief of functional neurosurgery and chair and professor of the basic neuroscience department. AMC is an integral component of the Albany Medical Center, the only academic center in northeastern New York and western New England.

Pilitsis is the co-founder and co-director of the Junior Faculty Development Program at AMC, which assists in the academic development of faculty and supports professional and leadership development activities. 

A successful physician scientist and fundraiser through philanthropy, grants and contracts, Pilitsis is a national leader across multiple organizations including the North American Neuromodulation Society. 

Pilitsis has been funded by the National Institutes of Health since 2009 and has been a principal investigator on multiple grants exceeding $7 million. She received more than $2.5 million in grant funding from industry partners, and she holds three patents and two filed patent applications.

As dean of FAU’s Schmidt College of Medicine, Pilitsis will build upon the success of the college’s innovative medical student and graduate medical education programs in partnership with a consortium of five Palm Beach County hospitals. In addition, she will spearhead the college’s vibrant research focus areas, which include healthy aging; geriatrics and neuroscience; chronic pain and opioid use; and genomics and precision medicine.