Erika Ramsdale, MD
Department of Medicine Chair Mitch Rosner announced on January 24 that DOM has created a new leadership position — associate chair for diversity and inclusion. He appointed Erika Ramsdale, MD, of the Division of Hematology-Oncology, to fill the new position.
In an email distributed to the department January 24, Dr. Rosner said making the Department of Medicine “inclusive of all opinions and persons, as well as diverse in its make-up, is a key priority” for the leadership team.
“While we have made some strides to improve the department in this regard, there is no doubt we have much work to do,” added Rosner. He said Dr. Ramsdale will help the department extend its diversity efforts, as well as integrate them with larger School of Medicine and University diversity initiatives.
About her new role, Dr. Ramsdale said: “I look forward to working with everyone in the department on enriching diversity and ensuring that everyone feels included, valued, and engaged. Our initial task will be to characterize in detail the current status of diversity and inclusion in the department, to help us set goals for improvement. We will be working on developing programs at multiple levels — departmental, institutional, and for the community — and integrating existing programs and resources into a larger framework.”
Dr. Ramsdale, an oncologist specializing in gastrointestinal malignancies, founded and directs the division’s Geriatric Oncology Clinic. A native of Wichita, Kansas, Dr. Ramsdale received her undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of Kansas. She completed a residency in internal medicine and fellowships in both hematology-oncology and geriatric medicine at the University of Chicago. She also did a fellowship in medical ethics at the MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics, part of U. Chicago’s School of Medicine. She joined the UVA faculty in 2013.
Dr. Ramsdale lives in Ivy with her husband and one-year-old son. In addition to spending time with her family, she enjoys hiking, knitting — and dancing Argentine tango!
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