New executive director named for UI Health Mile Square Health Center

Dear colleagues:

It is my pleasure to announce the appointment of Karriem Watson, DHSc, MS, MPH, as the new executive director of the UI Health Mile Square Health Center, effective Dec. 1, 2024, pending approval by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees. After an extensive national search, Watson was identified among a strong group of candidates to lead our Federally Qualified Health Center network of clinics that serve communities and neighborhoods across Chicago and Rockford.

Watson comes from immediate experience as the chief engagement officer for the All of Us Research Program at the National Institutes of Health. In this role, he led the program's efforts to foster relationships with participants, communities, researchers and providers across the United States to help build one of the largest, most diverse health databases of its kind to study health and illness. His focus was on connecting with people and populations underrepresented in scientific research while inviting them to participate in the development and discovery of new therapeutics and models of care.

Prior to this role, Watson spent over 15 years as a community-engaged research scientist with the Mile Square Health Center Federally Qualified Health Center network and the Chicagoland area. Previously, he was the associate executive director at Mile Square Health Center while also serving as the associate director of community outreach and engagement for the University of Illinois Cancer Center and as a research assistant professor in the UIC School of Public Health. Beyond his work with UIC, he has served as co-lead of the All of Us Engagement Core at the Meharry-Vanderbilt Alliance, cultivating positive relationships with the program's participant ambassadors.

Watson received a doctorate degree in health science (with a concentration in global health), a master's of science degree in basic medical research and a master's degree in public health, with a community health sciences concentration. He has served as a principal investigator on multiple projects including those funded by the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute and the All of Us Research Program. He also served as board chair of the Community Campus Partnerships for Health. His contributions have earned him recognition by the Chicago Urban League, American Heart Association, LUNGevity Foundation and others.

I would like to thank the leadership of the Mile Square Health Center, its board and the members of the search committee, led by the committee chairs UIC School of Public Health Dean Dr. Wayne Giles and Mile Square Health Center Board Chair Carl Marlone, who made this search a success.

Finally, I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to retiring Mile Square Health Center Executive Director Henry Taylor. In his more than 28 years of distinguished service to our patients and community, he has helped grow the care offerings and national reputation of the Mile Square Health Center to place it among the most prominent in the country.

Please join me in congratulating Watson on this appointment as he assumes this role during this transition later this year. We are thrilled he will be re-joining our UI Health community in this next step in his exceptional career.

Sincerely,

Robert A. Barish, MD, MBA
Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs

For more information, please contact:
Margaret Moser
[email protected]

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