Sam Ward Appointed Vice Dean for Research at School of Medicine

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Sam Ward, P.T., Ph.D., professor in the Departments of Orthopaedic Surgery and Radiology at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Bioengineering at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering, has been appointed vice dean for research.

“I have valued Sam’s partnership since my arrival at the School of Medicine and greatly appreciate his steadfast and creative leadership, especially during these fast moving times,” said Barbara Jung, associate vice chancellor and dean for the School of Medicine. “With this appointment, I am confident that Sam will continue to expand the School of Medicine's research mission to even greater heights. His leadership will be invaluable to support our community at large as we work together to find solutions to improve the health and wellness of the San Diego community and beyond.”

Ward has served as the interim vice dean for research since July 1, 2024. Over the last eight months, he has introduced several initiatives related to communications, finance, operations and external partnerships to strengthen the School of Medicine’s research enterprise.

He established a Council of Vice Research Chairs to help disseminate information and prioritize research activities for the school. He also initiated a new working group to create a process for the review of new centers and institutes.

To help improve research reporting, he is leading efforts to implement efficient and fair reporting for new and existing initiatives, including working with colleagues in the Health Sciences to ensure accurate financial reporting. He has also taken a critical leadership role in helping to plan for potential impacts to federal funding.

In addition, Ward is working to strengthen industry relationships across the San Diego region. This includes defining workforce development, research and development and innovation needs with community partners and leveraging campus resources to define and implement umbrella agreements with external organizations.

“The UC San Diego campus is filled with incredibly smart and innovative people,” said Ward. “Bringing these separate groups together and watching what discoveries and talent come out of these collaborations is very satisfying. In this role, I have the opportunity to both conceptualize and operationalize cross campus initiatives with our faculty and advancement colleagues, and our community partners here in San Diego. The diversity of ideas and thinking is incredible, and I love being a part of the process.”

Since joining the UC San Diego faculty in 2006, Ward has held several key leadership positions, including vice chair for research and innovation in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, director of the Device Acceleration Center at the Altman Clinical Translational Research Institute, co-director of the Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance at UC San Diego and director of translational research for the School of Medicine.

Ward is a distinguished scholar in translational musculoskeletal research, with a highly interdisciplinary approach that aims to advance knowledge in the field and improve care for patients with neuromusculoskeletal injuries and diseases. He has authored nearly 200 peer-reviewed papers and holds three U.S. patents. Additionally, Ward is a fellow of several professional societies, including the Orthopaedic Research Society, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, and the American Physical Therapy Association.

The path ahead

Ward is looking forward to the new opportunities for discovery in this new position. Though this is a challenging time, he notes that the School of Medicine has a responsibility to its students, patients and the field of academic medicine to lean into the changes and forge a path forward.

“Our campus, from the very beginning, has valued fundamental discovery,” Ward explained. “Translational and clinical research has benefitted tremendously from those bedrock principles. The speed and agility with which we identify the most pressing problems in science and patient care and leverage the full spectrum of intellectual resources on campus to solve those problems, will define us as a school and campus.”

In addition to his clinical interests, Ward is an avid craftsman and landscape photographer. “Like everyone in San Diego, I love the outdoors,” he said. “I also build furniture and make kitchen knives from scratch for my culinary-inclined friends.”