Retirement of M. Christine Zink

To school of medicine faculty and staff

Dear Colleagues,

I am writing to announce that M. Christine Zink has decided to retire as director of the Department of Molecular and Comparative Pathobiology. She will continue as a part-time faculty member in the department. Joseph Mankowski will serve as interim director of the department, as he has during Dr. Zink's recent sabbatical leave.

Dr. Zink was appointed director of the department in 2007 and guided it through a growth period that led to national and international prominence in research, teaching and clinical service in the field of comparative medicine. She has been at Johns Hopkins for almost 30 years, beginning her career as a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Neurology and continuing as a faculty member studying the pathogenesis of HIV/SIV infection as a part of the Retrovirus Laboratory in what is now the Department of Molecular and Comparative Pathobiology. She also directed the department's veterinary training programs for the past 15 years, teaching and mentoring young veterinarians in biomedical research.

Dr. Zink has decided to continue to pursue her love of training young scientists in her leadership role as a specialist in veterinary sports medicine and rehabilitation. This is the newest specialty in veterinary medicine, one that Dr. Zink played a major role in developing over the past 20 years. In this role, she will be traveling nationally and internationally, teaching veterinarians about canine sports medicine and clinical research, and assisting veterinary medical schools in developing residency and research programs for this new specialty.

It is with great appreciation that we thank Dr. Zink for her dedicated service and leadership at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and wish her well in her new endeavor.

Sincerely,

Paul B. Rothman, M.D.
Dean of the Medical Faculty
CEO, Johns Hopkins Medicine