Melina R. Kibbe, MD
Melina R. Kibbe, MD, became president of UTHealth Houston and Alkek-Williams Distinguished Chair in September 2025, bringing a distinguished career as a physician-scientist, educator, and national leader in academic medicine.
Prior to joining UTHealth Houston, Kibbe served as dean of the School of Medicine, Chief Health Affairs Officer, and the James Carroll Flippin Professor of Medical Science at the University of Virginia. She previously served as chair of the Department of Surgery at the University of North Carolina and held leadership roles at Northwestern University including her appointment as the first woman to chair the Department of Surgery.
A board-certified vascular surgeon, she has extensive clinical experience in both open and endovascular surgery.
Kibbe is an internationally recognized researcher focused on developing novel therapies for vascular disease. She has authored more than 300 publications, holds multiple patents, and has led federally funded research and clinical trials. Her work has been recognized with numerous honors, including the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. She currently serves as editor-in-chief of JAMA Surgery and is a member of the National Academy of Medicine.
David L. Lakey, MD
David Lakey, MD, serves as the Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs and Chief Medical Officer at The University of Texas System, and as administrator and presiding officer of the Texas Child Mental Health Care Consortium. Key leadership roles while at the UT System have included assisting in the establishment of the Texas Collaborative for Healthy Mothers and Babies, the UT System Population Health Initiative, the Texas Health Improvement Network, the Healthier Texas Summit, the Texas Child Mental Health Care Consortium, and the Trauma Research and Combat Casualty Care Collaborative.
Lakey has served as an officer and board member of several national organizations and currently serves on the board of Trust for America’s Health. Dr. Lakey is a proud member of the Texas Medical Association and serves on both the Council for Science and Public Health and the Committee on Graduate Medical Education. He has received numerous awards, including the TMA President’s Award, the Founder’s Award from Texas Cares for Children, and the AMA’s Foundation Award for Health Education.
As Commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services from 2007 to 2015, Lakey led the response through numerous high-profile events including the H1N1 pandemic, multiple hurricanes, and the Dallas response to Ebola. Prior to being appointed commissioner, Dr. Lakey served as an associate professor of medicine, chief of the Division of Clinical Infectious Disease and medical director of the Center for Pulmonary and Infectious Disease Control at The University of Texas Health Center in Tyler.
Nader A. Nadershahi, DDS, MBA, EdD
Nadershahi serves as Executive Director of the American Dental Association and previously served as the ninth Dean of University of the Pacific’s Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry and Vice Provost of the San Francisco campus, bringing to the role nearly 30 years of leadership experience in dental education, organized dentistry, and clinical practice.
He earned his DDS, completed GPR training, and has also earned MBA and EdD degrees. He is a fellow of the American College of Dentists, Academy of Dentistry International, International College of Dentists, and Pierre Fauchard Academy. He also completed fellowship in the ADEA Leadership Institute.
Nadershahi served on the boards of the Bay Area Council, the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, and was appointed by the Governor and serves as Chair of California Health Workforce Education and Training Council. He practiced in Marin County, California, and during his academic career, has more than 140 presentations, 30 publications, five book chapters, and numerous abstracts and other publications.
As chair of the American Dental Education Association Board of Directors, Nadershahi has held numerous volunteer leadership roles at the California Dental Association, American Dental Association, and the Santa Fe Group.
Rex Marco, MD
Marco is a professor in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston and currently serves as the program director for the Orthopedic Spine Fellowship.
Earning his medical degree from the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California-Los Angeles, Marco spent his internship year at the Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle before returning to California for his residency in orthopedic surgery at the University of California Davis Health System Program. Marco’s graduate medical education included the completion of two fellowships, one at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center followed by another at Rush University Medical Center.
Marco’s primary objective is to offer his patients the highest standard of compassionate and all-encompassing health care, aiming for the most favorable outcomes. Over the course of his extensive career, he has fostered valuable connections with some of the most accomplished medical professionals in various specialties. His team and connections include accomplished experts in adult and pediatric radiation and medical oncology, surgical oncology, pathology, and reconstructive surgery. Marco also works very closely with a similarly exceptional group of physical therapists and specialists in physical medicine and rehabilitation to cater to patients dealing with spine-related disorders.
Furthermore, Marco’s contributions to the field are underscored by his impressive portfolio of more than 130 presentations and publications in esteemed medical journals and textbooks.
After a tragic accident left him with quadriplegia, Marco turned his personal journey into a mission of advocacy, education, and healing. He is now a national voice for inclusion and disability awareness in medicine.
Marco shared that his lived experiences are helping uncover and challenge disparities in health care, especially for people with disabilities.
His story is one of resilience, hope, and leadership. We are honored to have him as part of our team.
Kevin Johnson, MD, MS
Johnson is the David L. Cohen University Professor of Biomedical Informatics, Computer and Information Science, Pediatrics, and Science Communication at the University of Pennsylvania; Vice President of Applied Informatics for the University of Pennsylvania Health System; and Director of the Artificial Intelligence for Ambulatory Care (AI4AI) Lab. He received his MD from Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore and his MS in Medical Informatics from Stanford University.
An internationally respected developer and evaluator of clinical information technology, Johnson’s research focuses on developing and encouraging the adoption of clinical information systems to improve patient safety and compliance with practice guidelines. He is widely known for his work with e-prescribing and computer-based documentation. Recent research is focusing on AI-enabled screening, patient-clinician interaction, and symptom quantification in a project called REDUCE (Re-imagining Encounter Documentation Using Computation and Engineering).
He is the author of over 200 publications and has won dozens of awards over his career. Notably, he was elected to the American College of Medical Informatics in 2004, The Academic Pediatric Society in 2010, the National Academy of Medicine (Institute of Medicine) in 2010, the International Association of Health Science Informatics in 2021, and the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering in 2022.
Bradley Goetti, DNP, DHA
This year’s Cizik School of Nursing commencement speaker is Bradley Goettl.
Goettl has more than 20 years of experience across clinical practice, health care administration, academia, and nonprofit leadership. He began his career in rural health care and practiced as a flight nurse and nurse practitioner before moving into executive roles.
He currently serves as Chief Nursing Officer for the American Nurses Enterprise, which includes the American Nurses Association, the American Nurses Credentialing Center, and the American Nurses Foundation. In this role, he advocates for the nation’s five million nurses and provides executive oversight for nursing and credentialing programs. Goettl is a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and the American College of Healthcare Executives. He also holds an adjunct faculty appointment at Georgetown University’s Berkley School of Nursing.