Throughout his career, James H. Willig, M.D., M.S.P.H., has played pivotal roles at academic medical centers, using information and designing software applications to improve clinical care, research, and education.

Board certified in clinical informatics, internal medicine, and infectious diseases, the newly appointed Associate Dean for Undergraduate Medical Education will now turn his expertise to ensuring UTSW students receive the optimal education.

In his former role at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Dr. Willig promoted medical education first as Internal Medicine Clerkship Director and then as inaugural Assistant Dean of Clinical Education, where he oversaw UAB’s medical school curriculum across four campuses. During his tenure, clinical skills training was redesigned as a four-year, longitudinal, competency-based program with clinical skills and reasoning integrated into every aspect of the curriculum. Point-of-care ultrasound was added as the fifth pillar of the physical examination, and students began scanning their second month of medical school.

Early in his career, Dr. Willig said he recognized the exciting opportunities clinical informatics presented. He partnered with Medical Education Informatics Services at UAB to create a clerkship app to centralize student tracking of required patient encounters, mid-month formative feedback evaluations, and bedside assessments. The goals of easing student documentation and allowing for personalized tracking of competency development throughout the year were central to this endeavor.

While much of his career has focused on clinical informatics, Dr. Willig is also dedicated to patient care. At UAB, he was a Professor of Medicine and Infectious Diseases in addition to other roles.

“I always wanted to be a clinician as well as an educator,” said Dr. Willig, who joined UTSW Feb. 10. “I was lucky enough to have great educators on my journey and I will always be grateful for their investment in my development. I hope, in turn, to contribute to the development of many fantastic physicians!”

Dr. Willig grew up in the Dominican Republic and obtained his medical degree at the Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo. He completed internal medicine training and was chief resident at the University of Virginia Roanoke-Salem and continued his postgraduate training as a fellow in infectious diseases at UAB. Dr. Willig earned a Master of Science in public health from UAB and spent six months as a visiting scientist at Oracle Cerner (now Oracle Health) as part of a multidisciplinary innovation team.

He looks forward to making an impact and contributing at UT Southwestern. “I am incredibly impressed with the team in place,” he said. “I am honored to join UTSW and am eager to learn from colleagues and our students as we work to further enhance an already great program.”

“Dr. Willig’s innovation in developing new tools for education, along with his understanding of generational behaviors, are poised to elevate our medical education to new heights,” said Sherry Huang, M.D., Vice Provost and Senior Associate Dean for Education. “We look forward to his guidance in shaping a dynamic learning environment that will define the future of health care.”