The department asked current members to share a memory or a note of gratitude to let outgoing Interim Chair and DEO Isabella Grumbach, MD, PhD, know just what her nearly three years in the role has meant to them.

Name: anonymous

Have really appreciated your work to communicate clearly and regularly, and your warmth with employees and their families at social events. Thank you!

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Name: Diana I Jalal

Dear Isabella,
Thank you for stepping up to this role and taking it on. I know it must have been extremely challenging considering that we were just emerging from the pandemic and the institution was going thru considerable transition. I know many very much appreciated your steady leadership and poise, including myself.
Warmly,
Diana

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Name: Emma Stapleton Thornell

Thank you so much for your dedication and hard work as interim chair. You were always so personable and friendly and did a great job.
Best,
Emma

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Name: Christopher Iverson

Dr. Grumbach,
I’m so appreciative of your leadership to the Department these last few years. You have guided us through many a challenge, and have done so with grace and understanding. I thoroughly enjoyed my “Chats with the Chair” and look forward to continuing to cross paths with you in the future.
Chris Iverson
Occupational Medicine

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Name: Kris Greiner

Isabella: I want to thank you for interviewing and recommending me for the first-ever position of editor within the Design Center seven years ago. My move to Internal Medicine has been the best move I have ever made. I have loved my “job” from day one. I can’t really call it a job as I love what I do and the people with whom I work. You continued the collegial and welcoming atmosphere that Dr. Abel fostered, which was apparent when I first arrived. I am forever grateful for having landed in Int Med, with all thanks to you.

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Name: Jitendra Kumar

Dear Dr. Grumbach,
Your energy and bright ideas made work so much more enjoyable!
Thank you for being a great Chair!
I met you a couple of times at a departmental event. Your caring nature and motivational words will always inspire me.
Thank you for your great leadership and kudos for your next journey.

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Name: Alejandro Pezzulo

Dear Dr. Grumbach, thank you for being an amazing role model for physician scientists. I will always be grateful for how you’ve encouraged me to apply for funding that I hadn’t considered! Looking forward to learning more from you.

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Name: Abbey Gilpin

Dr. Grumbach, thank you for always welcoming our residency applicants on recruitment days! It means a lot that you took time out of your busy schedule to log into Zoom and share your thoughts about our program, our people, and our mission. You strongly supported our residents and program leadership group, including chief residents, and that did not go unnoticed. With gratitude, Abbey

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Name: Alex Garza

Thank you for all you’ve done for the department of internal medicine. It was a pleasure interacting with you on chair rounds last year and teaching the residents and medical students.

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Name: Kristin Goedken

Dr. Grumbach
I will forever be grateful for the opportunity to have worked with you in your capacity as Interim DEO. You are a brilliant, compassionate, and skillful leader, and I am thankful to have learned from you. Thank you for the patience you have shown in me and for the mentoring you have provided to me. I look forward to continuing to collaborate with you in the future and know that you will continue to accomplish greatness.
Best,
Kristin

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Name: Jerry Weiss

Though mostly viewed from afar, my loss, your energy, commitment and humanity are striking.
All the best in the many new chapters that will be possible.
All the best,
Jerry

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Name: Marcelo Correia

Thanks for the most outstanding leadership in a complex time for the department.

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Name: Claire McGranahan

Dr. Grumbach,

Though I’ve had the pleasure of working directly with you only a few times, I quickly came to admire your candor, your wit, and your unquestionable dedication that you’ve brought to every project that crosses your path. It is an honor to have been a part of your team during your tenure as head of our department.

Sincerely,
Claire

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Name: Mohamad Mokadem

I want to take a moment to express my deepest gratitude for your unwavering support and dedication. Your leadership has not only fostered a strong sense of community within the department but has also been a source of inspiration for so many of us.

Your commitment to supporting researchers, encouraging innovation, and nurturing talent has been truly remarkable. Whether through providing resources, offering guidance, or simply lending a listening ear, you have consistently gone above and beyond to ensure that we can all succeed in our work.

Thank you for your hard work, your dedication, and your support of both the staff and the broader research community. You leave behind a legacy of excellence, and we are all profoundly grateful for everything you have done.

Wishing you all the best in your future endeavors.
Mohamad Mokadem, MD

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Name: Reed Johnson

I was so lucky to have such a great Department Chair while I was a chief resident here at Iowa.  You provided amazing leadership to the department while I was here. I will always appreciate how you made time for the residency with master clinician rounds and by kicking off our recruitment days with your welcome.

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Name: Nicole Fleege

Thank you for your service to the Department over the last 3 years, Dr. Grumbach! I truly appreciate the interest you took in young investigators. Your support in helping me meet my research goals meant the world to me as a new Assistant Professor. Wishing you the best in all future endeavors!

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Name: Denise Floerchinger

Thank you for your outstanding leadership. Your guidance and support have been invaluable. Your ability to navigate challenges and foster a collaborative environment has kept our department running smoothly. We are truly fortunate to have had you at the helm.

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Name: Prajwal Gurung

Dear Dr. Grumbach,
Thank you so much for all your leadership and dedication. I am grateful for all the support that you provided to me over the years.
Best wishes,
Prajwal.

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Name: Samantha Solimeo

Dr. Grumbach- I appreciate this opportunity to share with you that your leadership has made a difference to me. This was not an easy role you stepped into. I valued your attention to all elements of our work together–worklife, service, teaching, research and our clinical mission. You created many opportunities for us to reach out to you and to feel engaged with the department. Thank you for your service to us!

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Name: Elizabeth Bowen

Dr. Grumbach,
Thank you for your leadership in the first few years of my faculty career.  You were always supportive, even while leading a large group.
Elizabeth Bowen

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Name: George Weiner

Dear Isabella – Thank you for all your efforts and dedication on behalf of the Department during the past few very challenging years.  Your steady hand was vital at a time when change and uncertainty was all around.  Much appreciated!
Best regards, George

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Name: Alejandro Comellas

I would like to thank you for having led the Department during a difficult transition, especially coming out of a once in a lifetime event (pandemic).  You always showed a willingness to listen and try to address the different needs of our community.   Thank you again for your leadership during these last 3 years.

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Name: Mark Yorek

Hello Isabella,
Thank you for all your support these past few years.  You have been a tremendous leader of the Department and had my full support to continue in that position.  But, things need to change again and I hope that our new leadership provides a fraction of the support you did for the VA and PhDs in the Department.

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Name: Lakshmi Durairaj

Isabella, I am grateful that you took on this role with your other clinical and research responsibilities, I am sure it was more than 100% time commitment, on its own. Thank you for leading us with empathy!

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Name: Trevor Jackson

Dr. Grumbach, I learned so much about what it means to be a good leader from every one of our interactions. You set high standards, but not unreasonable ones, all the while offering encouragement and support for growth. For someone with such a full schedule, I never felt like I was keeping you from any of the other things that were almost certainly demanding your attention. The Department and UI Health Care were lucky to have you in the role for as long as you were.

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Name: Kimberly Dukes

Dear Isabella,
Thank you for all your efforts as Chair of our large department, for so adeptly managing competing priorities and needs, for supporting our clinicians and faculty, for listening to requests and suggestions (and following through on them!), for communicating clearly, for thinking deeply about the present and future of Internal Medicine, and for doing all of this with grace and kindness. What a wonderful gift you have given to our Department! Thank you so very much.
Warmly,
Kimberly

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Name: Krista Johnson

Isabella, thank you so much for all the time and energy you devoted to running the Department of Medicine these past few years! So appreciate your unwavering leadership and support of all faculty during uncertain times. And especially appreciate your dedication to medical education and ongoing support of our IM residents and fellows. Appreciate you.
Krista

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Name: Denice Hodgson-Zingman

Dear Isabella,
Congratulations on successfully shepherding us through this period of transition! I particularly appreciated your “Views from the Chair” discussion of the progress and challenges of the department and your efforts toward improvements. It was refreshing to have this window into the vision and happenings from leadership. I wish you the best of success on all your future endeavors.
Denice

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Name: Joseph

Isabella
Please accept my sincere thanks for the outstanding job you have done as Interim Department Head. I’ve heard that the difference between an Interim Department Head and a permanent Department Head is that, on average, the interim holds the position longer and accomplishes more. You have excelled in your role, benefiting not only the institution and the students but also the patients of Iowa. I have learned from the inner circle of the Department Administration that you have been very modest in taking credit for your many accomplishments. I hope you will share some of your stories once you pass the torch.
Joseph

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Name: Amy O’Shea

Thank you for your efforts in keeping this organization running and constantly improving.  ~Amy

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Name: Brian Gehlbach

Thank you, Isabella, for your steady hand and hard work on behalf of the department these past few years. We were lucky to have your leadership during a very vulnerable time. Thank you for everything you have done for us!

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Name: Kevin Glenn

I don’t know if she chose to accept out of a sense of duty or the chance for professional growth, but I am happy she was our interim chairman.

Through a tsunami of events, including covid, dramatic losses of faculty, closing/restructuring of inpatient services, three separate interim division directors, one interim clinical department administrator, restructuring of HR, and acquisition of Mercy clinics and hospital, she kept the department on a straight and ascending pathway through rigorous, thoughtful, and humble leadership.

The Scandinavians have over 100 words for snow, we have only dyad, thank you.
Thank you, Isabella.

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Name: Santosh Kumar

I sincerely appreciate Dr. Grumbach for her support as a Chair and a mentor though my initial phase of career. I hope to see her in another leadership position at UIOWA :).

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Name: Chad Grueter

Dear Dr. Grumbach,
Thank you for your leadership. The opportunities you have provided are truly appreciated. I look forward to continuing to learn from and work with you.
Chad

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Name: Shunguang Wei

Dear Dr. Grumbach,
I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude for your leadership as Interim Chair over the past three years, especially during the unprecedented challenges posed by the pandemic. Your guidance has been invaluable to our department, and I truly appreciate the support you have provided for my academic endeavors and promotion. Thank you for your dedication and commitment to fostering a positive and productive environment for all of us.
Best Regards,
Shunguang

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Name: Ferhaan Ahmad

Thank you for the enormous contributions that you have made to the education, research, and service missions of the Department during challenging times over the past three years. The Department has prospered and will continue to build on your work.