Diller Appointed to Lead Educational Activities at UC College of Medicine

CINCINNATI—Philip Diller, MD, PhD, has been appointed senior associate dean for educational affairs at the University of Cincinnati (UC) College of Medicine where he will be responsible for oversight of the overall educational mission of the college. The appointment is effective today.

Diller has been chair of the college’s Department of Family and Community Medicine since April 2011, after having been appointed interim chair in August 2010. He also has served as vice chair of the department from 2009 to 2010. Diller joined the College of Medicine faculty in July 1991 after completing his Family Medicine residency at UC. He received his doctorate in pathology 1987 and his medical degree in 1988 from the University of Chicago and his bachelor’s degree from the College of Wooster in 1979.

"Dr. Diller will be a great addition to the dean’s office. He understands all facets of medical education and has served in important leadership roles directing the Christ Hospital/University of Cincinnati Family Medicine Residency Program for a dozen years and chairing the college’s Education Program Committee,” says Andrew Filak Jr., MD, UC interim senior vice president for health affairs and dean at the College of Medicine. 

Diller will oversee the offices of Medical Education, Student Affairs and Admissions and Continuing Medical Education and also will be responsible for the college’s baccalaureate program, Simulation Center and Area Health Education Program. Additionally, he will work with UC Health on direction of the graduate medical education programs that are a part of both institutions and serve as vice president for education at UC Health.

"One of the primary missions of the UC College of Medicine is to educate and train the physician and scientist workforce for the region and beyond. This is one way we add value to our community. I look forward to working with Dr. Filak and the UC College of Medicine faculty on this key mission in the years ahead,” Diller says.

Filak also has named Diller as the interim chair of the Department of Medical Education. Filak has served as founding chair of the department since its creation in January 2009 and is stepping away from this responsibility as he starts his new duties today as interim senior vice president for health affairs and dean.

Diller will transition out of his role as chair of Family and Community Medicine during the next month, after which Barbara Tobias, MD, will become interim chair. 

Since 2011, Tobias has served as vice chair of community engagement and Robert and Myfanwy Smith Professor in Family Medicine. Beginning in 2009 she served for a year as a Robert Woods Johnson Health Policy Fellow serving in the office of the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Tobias completed her Family Medicine residency at UC after receiving her medical degree from the UC College of Medicine. 

"I am thrilled that Dr. Tobias has accepted this interim position. She is well respected in the community and very active in numerous organizations including Closing the Health Gap, where she serves as secretary of its Board of Directors, and The Health Collaborative, for which she serves as medical director,” Filak says.

The UC College of Medicine has nearly 1,700 students, including more than 670 medical students, 730 graduate students and 264 students in its bachelor of medical sciences program, which is the first of its kind in the country. Additionally, there are more than 670 physicians serving as residents and fellows who are receiving advanced specialized training in 56 accredited graduate medical education programs. The College of Medicine celebrates its 200th anniversary in 2019 and is the seventh oldest school of medicine in the country and the second oldest public medical college.