Melina Kibbe

About Melina Kibbe

Melina R. Kibbe, MD, became president of UTHealth Houston and the Alkek-Williams Distinguished Chair in September 2025. Prior to this appointment, she served as the University of Virginia (UVA) School of Medicine’s dean and chief health affairs officer. Melina Kibbe is a nationally renowned researcher in the field of vascular surgery and a former chair of the Department of Surgery at the University of North Carolina (UNC). Prior to UNC, Dr. Kibbe was vice chair of Research in the Department of Surgery and deputy director of the Simpson Querrey Institute for BioNanotechnology at Northwestern University. She graduated from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, completed her internship, residency, and research fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, and completed her vascular surgery fellowship at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Clinically, Dr. Kibbe has significant experience with both open and endovascular surgery. She is board-certified in general and vascular surgery and is RVT and RPVI certified by ARDMS.

Dr. Kibbe’s research interests focus on developing novel drug-eluting therapies for patients with vascular disease while simultaneously studying the mechanism of how these therapies impact the vasculature. She has been funded as Principal Investigator (PI) by the NIH, DOD, VA, AHA, and AMA, among others, in addition to serving as co-Investigator, consultant, or mentor on many other federally supported awards. She has also served as the national PI or site PI for many gene and cell-based clinical trials for patients with critical limb ischemia, as well as a consultant for many clinical trials for patients with peripheral artery disease. She holds >10 patents or provisional patents. Her Research was recognized by President Obama with the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers in 2009.

2025 UChicago Alumni Awards | Flickr Photo Album: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCdX7F