Senior Faculty Scholars

Dr. David Meltzer is Chief of the Section of Hospital Medicine, Director of the Center for Health and the Social Sciences and the UChicago Urban Health Lab, and Chair of the Committee on Clinical and Translational Science at The University of Chicago, where he is The Fanny L. Pritzker Professor in the Department of Medicine, the Harris School of Public Policy Studies and the Department of Economics. Dr. Meltzer’s research explores problems in health economics and public policy with a focus on the theoretical foundations of medical cost-effectiveness analysis and the cost and quality of hospital care. Meltzer completed his MD and PhD in economics at the University of Chicago and his residency in internal medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. His awards include the Garfield Award from Research America, the AHRQ Eisenberg Excellence in Mentoring Award, and the AAMC Learning Healthcare System Award. He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine.

Dr. Miller is the inaugural director of the Center for Community Health and Vitality at the University of Chicago. The Center for Community Health and Vitality’s mission is to improve population health outcomes for residents on the South Side of Chicago through community-engaged research, demonstration and service models.

Prior to joining the University of Chicago in 2009, she served as national program director of New Health Partnerships, a demonstration project funded by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the California Health Care Foundation on collaborative self-management support. Dr. Miller is also a faculty member of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement in Cambridge, MA. Dr. Miller worked for 5 years as a program vice-president at The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation where she was responsible for strategic planning and program design in the clinical quality improvement area, using clinical and community-based strategies. Programs developed under her direction include demonstration projects designed to help improve the quality of care for people with chronic health conditions such as asthma, diabetes and depression. Dr. Miller’s work in the area of improving asthma outcomes through school and community interventions was noted by the American Academy of Asthma, Allergy and Immunology with a 2006 Special Recognition Award. Dr. Miller was a member of the 2002 Institute of Medicine committee that produced the report, Guidance for the National Healthcare Disparities Report. In 1993 Dr. Miller was recognized by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Community Health Leadership Program for her community-based efforts in improving the health and well-being of grandparents raising their grandchildren through an initiative called, Grandparents Who Care.

A general internist, Dr. Miller cares for patients in the Primary Care Group at the University of Chicago Medicine.

Michael Millis, MD, Professor of Surgery at the University of Chicago since 1994 is the Chief of the Section of Transplantation and Director of the University of Chicago Transplant Center. He is certified by the American Board of Surgery in both General Surgery and Surgical Critical Care. He is an internationally renowned expert in pediatric and adult liver transplantation. Dr. Millis has pioneered new techniques of operating on the liver, and has performed more liver transplants than any other surgeon in the region. He is know for his clinical technical skills as well as developing supportive relationships with his patients and their families.

Recognized for his successful interactions with China and other resource challenged areas, lead to his appointment as Vice Chair for Global Surgery at the University of Chicago Medicine in 2015. His goal is to broaden efforts to the increasingly important emerging area of Global Surgery, coordinate and strengthen clinical, research, educational, and humanitarian efforts for faculty, trainees, and students.

Dr. Millis’s research explores the application of cellular technology to patient care. For instance, he is investigating how hepatocyte transplantation, extracorporeal assist technology and stem cells can assist in the care of patients with liver disease or liver tumors. His research interests also include health and policy ethics. He is currently engaged with former Vice Minister of Health of the People’s Republic of China and current Director of the Organ Transplant and Donor Committee, Jiefu Huang, to help improve the practice and policy of transplantation in China, which is supported by the China Medical Board. He has been instrumental in assisting China move from the use of organs from executed prisoners to a voluntary citizen based organ donation system. He has co-authored articles published in high profile journals such as Lancet with Vice Minister Huang regarding changes in transplant regulation and policy in China.

Dr. Millis has been host to dozens of physicians and scientists from China desiring clinical and scientific experience in the United States. His focus in surgical research has been clinical and translational studies aimed primarily on improving graft and patient survival suffering from liver disease. In addition he has organized multiple clinical trials in China and is also a member of Chicago’s Sister City Committee. Dr. Millis has authored or co-authored more than 100 articles in medical journals and has visited and lectured at hundreds of universities and medical centers around the world.

1954-2018

Dr. Anthony Montag was a Professor of Pathology and the Associate Dean of Admissions for the Pritzker School of Medicine. Dr. Montag attended the Medical College of Wisconsin, where he also completed an Internal Medicine internship and Clinical Pathology residency. He completed an Anatomic Pathology residency and Gynecologic Pathology fellowship at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and was recruited to the Pathology and Obstetrics and Gynecologic faculties at the University of Chicago as an Assistant Professor.

Dr. Montag’s academic interests included clinical and translational work on ovarian and uterine carcinoma and bone and soft tissue tumors.

Dr. Montag taught medical and graduate students at the University of Chicago for over 30 years, and trained nearly two hundred Pathology residents and fellows. He received the medical school’s favorite faculty award six times, an AOA teaching award, and election to the Academy of Distinguished Medical Educators. In medical school admissions he focused on increasing the diversity of the matriculating class and recruiting empathetic students with a history of service to others.

Jennifer Moriatis Wolf, MD was born in Harrogate, Yorkshire, England and grew up in Baltimore, Maryland. She graduated magna cum laude from the University of Maryland, and completed her medical degree at the University of Pennsylvania. She completed her orthopaedic surgery residency and trauma fellowship at Brown University. She went on to do a hand surgery fellowship at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and has been on the faculties of the University of Colorado and the University of Connecticut. She joined The University of Chicago in 2016, where her clinical and research interests include the impact of hormones on basilar thumb arthritis, lateral epicondylitis, atypical nerve compression, and osteoporosis. She holds a Department of Defense grant to study the impact of Vitamin D on post-traumatic osteoarthritis.

She is currently the deputy editor in chief for the Journal of Hand Surgery, as well as the hand surgery fellowship director at the University of Chicago. She has been on the governing Council for the American Society for Surgery of the Hand for the past 4 years, first as a member-at-large, and as the treasurer.

She spends her free time with her husband and two sons, and enjoys distance running and traveling.

Margaret (Maggie) Mueller, MD is an internationally recognized urogynecologist and reconstructive pelvic surgeon, serving as Associate Professor at the University of Chicago. She specializes in minimally invasive and robotic gynecologic techniques, offering patients a broad spectrum of personalized treatment options tailored to their individual needs and goals. Dr. Mueller and her team pioneered the Single Port Robotic Surgery program, advancing surgical care by improving precision and accelerating recovery times. She provides comprehensive care for pelvic organ prolapse, urinary and fecal incontinence, complex urogenital fistulas, and mesh complications, and she has unique expertise in the management of congenital genitourinary anomalies in adolescents and young women. Recognizing the importance of specialized care in this population, she earned the ABOG Focused Practice Designation in Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology and established a multidisciplinary program dedicated to congenital anomalies, including Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome.

In addition to her clinical practice, Dr. Mueller is a committed researcher advancing the field of urogynecology and reconstructive pelvic surgery. An NIH-funded investigator, she leads multicenter, cutting-edge research aimed at improving outcomes for women with pelvic floor disorders. Her work focuses on surgical outcomes, education, and advocacy, and has been widely published in leading journals, including Obstetrics & Gynecology, American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Urogynecology, Journal of Urology, International Urogynecology Journal, and Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology.

Passionate about surgical education, Dr. Mueller has been recognized for her contributions across undergraduate and graduate medical education. She has served as Associate Program Director and Program Director for the Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery Fellowship, mentoring the next generation of surgeon-scientists. Nationally, she collaborates with ACGME, AUGS, and ABOG to develop curricula, redesign milestones, and shape certification pathways that influence training in urogynecology. She previously directed the national Robotic Surgery course for fellows and has taught extensively at national and international courses on advanced surgical techniques and the prevention and management of lower urinary tract injury.

Dr. Mueller has dedicated her career to transforming the care of women with pelvic floor disorders and is recognized as a leader and change agent in the field. She currently serves as Chief of Quality for Gynecologic Surgery, where she partners with colleagues to drive improvements in safety, outcomes, and patient experience across the health system. In this role, she integrates her clinical expertise with systems-level leadership to ensure that surgical care is delivered with consistency, transparency, and equity. To further strengthen her ability to lead transformative initiatives, she earned a Master of Business in Operational Excellence and Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Certification from The Ohio State University. Combining her clinical innovation, research leadership, and administrative vision, Dr. Mueller continues to shape the future of women’s health by advancing surgical excellence, mentoring future leaders, and championing quality improvement on a national scale.

Dr. Edward T. Naureckas is the Vice President of the Medical Staff at the University of Chicago Medicine and a Professor of Medicine in the Section of Pulmonary and Critical Care. He is the Director of the Adult Cystic Fibrosis Program, the Asthma and COPD Center and the Adult Pulmonary Function Laboratory at the University of Chicago. Dr. Naureckas received his MD from Washington University School of Medicine and performed his residency in Internal Medicine at Michael Reese Hospital. He completed his subspecialty fellowship in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the University of Chicago. Dr. Naureckas is a distinguished teacher and clinician, and has received several Outstanding Teacher Awards. He is a recipient of the Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award as well as the University of Chicago Medicine Department of Social Work Humanism award. Nationally, Dr. Naureck has served as the Chair of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s Guidelines Steering Committee.

Douglas Nordli, Jr., MD, is a Professor and Chief of the Section of Child Neurology within the department of pediatrics at the University of Chicago.

After earning his medical degree (AOA) from Columbia University, Dr. Nordli completed a pediatrics residency, followed by a child neurology residency and a postdoctoral clinical fellow in EEG and epilepsy at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center.

Dr. Nordli has published more than 100 original, peer-reviewed studies with research focusing on epilepsy classification, epilepsy surgery, infantile epilepsy, febrile seizures and the ketogenic diet.

Board-certified surgical oncologist, Cristina O’Donoghue, MD, MPH, specializes in treating cancer surgery, particularly melanoma, breast cancer and sarcomas.

Dr. O’Donoghue has extensive experience in managing complex cancer conditions, and she is dedicated to providing individualized care to her patients using the latest advancements in surgical techniques and technology to ensure the best possible outcomes. Her expertise includes performing advanced robotic surgery, cutaneous oncology regional therapies, intralesional injection therapies, oncoplastics and more. She works closely with a multidisciplinary team of experts to develop comprehensive treatment plans tailored to each patient’s unique needs, and is committed to supporting her patients through every step of their cancer journey.

In addition to her clinical work, Dr. O’Donoghue is actively involved in research focused on improving care with clinical decision making and healthcare costs for cancer patients. She has published numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals, such as Annals of Surgical Oncology, Journal of the American College of Surgeons and JAMA Surgery.