From the Director | Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
TTUHSC students walking through Lubbock campus courtyard.

It is my pleasure to announce the appointment of John A. Griswold, M.D., as the new Executive Director of the Clinical Research Institute effective September 1, 2019. Dr. Griswold replaces Dr. Alan Peiris who is retiring August 31, 2019.

Dr. Griswold attended the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana where he obtained a Bachelor of Science. He then attended Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska earning his M.D. degree. Following medical school, Dr.

Griswold completed a general surgery residency at Texas Tech, subsequently completing fellowships at the University of Washington in Seattle in burn, trauma, and critical care. Dr. Griswold returned to Texas Tech in 1992 and developed a busy general surgery practice.

Dr. Griswold is a Professor and the Medical Director of the Timothy J. Harnar Burn Center. He was the chair of the Department of Surgery from 1997-2016, and served as the Medical Director of the Level 1 Trauma Center at the University Medical Center from 2000-2014. Currently, Dr. Griswold holds the position of Vice Chair of Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement as well as Vice Chair of Education with the Department of Surgery. Among his many interests in patient care, teaching and research, Dr. Griswold enjoys working with patients having complex gastroenterology problems, malnutrition, and wound care.

With an extensive career in medical research, Dr. Griswold has participated in numerous clinical trials, for example sepsis and trauma, severe acute pancreatitis, autograft donor sites in burn patients, treatment of acute lung injury in the ICU, and acute respiratory distress syndrome, to name a few.

Dr. Griswold has a proven track record of leading his teams in a positive, nurturing manner consistent with TTUHSC’s values-based culture. He will do an excellent job advancing the mission of the CRI.

Please join me in congratulating and supporting Dr. Griswold in his new role as Executive Director, and thanking Dr. Peiris for his outstanding service over many years overseeing the CRI, promoting and expanding clinical research at Texas Tech among all schools, and progressing the research success of our faculty.

Steven L. Berk, M.D.

Executive Vice President and Dean, School of Medicine