Medical Director, Digestive Health Institute

Overview

Carle Health and the Carle Illinois College of Medicine invite applications for an accomplished Gastroenterologist and Physician‑Scientist to serve as Medical Director of the Digestive Health Institute (DHI). Reporting jointly to the Chief Medical Officer of Carle Health and the Dean of Carle Illinois College of Medicine, this executive leader will set the strategic, clinical, and academic direction of digestive health across an integrated delivery system serving more than 1.5 million people across Illinois—and will help define the next chapter of academic gastroenterology at the nation’s first engineering-based medical school.

Opportunity Details

The successful candidate will hold a joint appointment between Carle Illinois College of Medicine and Carle Health, with substantial protected effort for academic leadership, program building, and scholarship—calibrated to the candidate’s research portfolio and career stage. The role offers a distinctive platform to evolve DHI by strengthening clinical operations, expanding regional access, recruiting and developing gastroenterology faculty and advanced practice providers, and establishing a unified culture of clinical and academic excellence. A competitive recruitment package will support these priorities, including authority to expand the GI faculty footprint, a startup commitment commensurate with academic ambition, and clear pathways to endowed professorships and named institute leadership.

A hallmark of this position is the opportunity to build a nationally recognized digestive health program that integrates clinical care, academic scholarship, education, and innovation. Research at Carle Health is closely aligned with clinical practice, enabling rapid translation of discoveries into patient care and providing strong infrastructure to support impactful programs. In close collaboration with colleagues across Carle Health and Carle Illinois College of Medicine, the Medical Director will grow the GI faculty, expand subspecialty programs, and lead translational research at the interface of medicine, engineering, and AI—leveraging the world renown resources of the Urbana-Champaign campus, including the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA), the Grainger College of Engineering, and the NCI designated Cancer Center at Illinois.

A key differentiator is Carle Health’s investment in advanced imaging, including the Carle Illinois Advanced Imaging Center and the only clinically approved 7T MRI in Illinois. This capability supports both cutting-edge research and high-resolution clinical diagnostics across multiple disease areas.

The Medical Director will also partner with Carle Health’s philanthropy team to articulate a compelling vision for program growth and to develop endowed support for digestive health, research, education, and innovation. Faculty are encouraged to pursue interdisciplinary work that advances digestive disease care, cancer-related innovation, and technology-driven discovery while helping establish the next chapter of academic gastroenterology in the region.

Key Leadership Responsibilities

• Provide executive physician leadership for gastroenterology and colon & rectal surgery services across Carle Health.
• Oversee clinical operations, quality, patient experience, and growth across Champaign-Urbana and regional sites.
• Recruit, mentor, and develop faculty and advanced practice providers, fostering a unified group practice culture.
• Lead development of subspecialty programs, regional outreach, and integrated care pathways.
• Strengthen collaboration with Carle Cancer Institute, hepato-pancreato-biliary surgical oncology, and medical oncology to advance integrated GI cancer programs, including clinical trial expansion and multidisciplinary tumor boards.
• Expand extramurally funded clinical research, translational science, and medical education in partnership with the Stephens Family Clinical Research Institute, the Cancer Center at Illinois, and Carle Illinois College of Medicine.
• Advance AI, data science, and interdisciplinary partnerships to support clinical decision-making, workflow improvement, and personalized digestive health care.
• Contribute to medical student and resident education within an engineering‑driven academic environment.
• Partner with philanthropy to articulate a compelling vision for program growth, innovation, and investment.

Qualifications

• MD/DO with completion of accredited residency/fellowship, board certification in Gastroenterology.
• 10+ years of clinical GI practice and 5+ years of progressive physician leadership, or an equivalent record of national academic and clinical leadership.
• Demonstrated experience leading a multi‑specialty digestive health group or clinical service line.
• Background in clinical quality, credentialing, program development, and academic medicine.
• Sustained record of peer-reviewed scholarship; extramural research funding (NIH, AHRQ, foundation, or industry-sponsored) and a faculty rank of Associate Professor or above are valued, though strong clinician-administrators with national recognition will also be considered.
• Experience within an integrated delivery system preferred.
• Healthcare management degree (MBA, MHA, MHCDS) or equivalent executive leadership experience welcomed; not required for candidates with a strong academic and operational track record.
• Eligibility for Illinois medical licensure.

Why Choose Carle Health and the Carle Illinois College of Medicine?

Carle Illinois College of Medicine at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is advancing a new model of physician leadership grounded in clinical excellence and innovation.

As the world’s first engineering-based medical school, Carle Illinois College of Medicine was built at the intersection of engineering and medicine to strengthen how care is delivered. In partnership with Carle Health, we support physicians who provide exceptional patient care while helping improve systems, access, and outcomes.

This joint clinical-academic role offers the opportunity to practice in a physician-led environment while helping shape the next generation of physicians.

Beyond the work itself, Champaign-Urbana offers is a vibrant Big Ten university community \with top-ranked public schools, a low cost of living, abundant arts and athletics through the University of Illinois South of Chicago. Faculty families benefit from short commutes, walkable neighborhoods, and an unusually deep cultural and intellectual community for a city of its size.

Physicians in this role will contribute to the education of Carle Illinois College of Medicine students and Carle’s General Surgery residents, supporting a culture that values patient-centered care, teamwork, and continuous improvement. Faculty appointments at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign will be aligned with experience and accomplishments.

Protected academic time is calibrated to support a meaningful academic portfolio—structured to accommodate active extramural funding and a competitive physician-scientist career trajectory. Opportunities include investigator-initiated studies through the Stephens Family Clinical Research Institute at Carle Cancer Institute and collaboration with the Cancer Center at Illinois, home to more than 75 investigators and over $50 million in annual research funding.

This partnership enables physicians to collaborate across disciplines to solve real clinical challenges with global leaders in engineering and data science.

Together, Carle Health and CI MED are building a future where outstanding care and meaningful innovation go hand in hand.

About Our Community

Globally connected, innovative and culturally rich, Champaign-Urbana is centrally located to Chicago, Indianapolis and St. Louis and is home to one of the world's great public research universities - the Big Ten University of Illinois. With ease of transportation, excellent schools and affordable housing options, our community features the friendliness and advantages of a smaller town while offering the dining, arts, sports, and entertainment options found in a much larger city.

About Us

Find it here. Discover the job, the career, the purpose you were meant for. At Carle Health, we're committed to fostering a workplace where every team member feels valued, respected and empowered, where passion and purpose come together to positively impact the lives of our patients and our communities. Find it all at Carle Health. Our nearly 17,000 team members and providers work together to support patient care across central and southeastern Illinois. We’ve grown to include eight, award-winning hospitals and a multispecialty provider group with more than 1,500 doctors and advanced practice providers. We’re developing the next generation of providers and healthcare professionals through Carle Illinois College of Medicine, the world’s first engineering-based medical school, and Methodist College. Carle BroMenn Medical Center, Carle Foundation Hospital, Carle Health Methodist Hospital, Carle Health Proctor Hospital, Carle Health Pekin Hospital, and Carle Hoopeston Regional Health Center hold Magnet® designations, the nation’s highest honor for nursing care. We offer opportunities in several communities throughout central Illinois with potential for growth and life-long careers at Carle Health. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and do not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, sex, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, status as a veteran, and basis of disability or any other federal, state or local protected class. Carle Health participates in E-Verify and may provide the Social Security Administration and, if necessary, the Department of Homeland Security with information from each new employee's Form I-9 to confirm work authorization. |
Compensation and Benefits

The compensation range for this position is $700,000 - $750,000. This represents a good faith minimum and maximum range for the role at the time of posting by Carle Health. The actual compensation offered a candidate will be dependent on a variety of factors including, but not limited to, the candidate’s experience, qualifications, location, training, licenses, shifts worked and compensation model. Carle Health offers a comprehensive benefits package for team members and providers. To learn more visit careers.carlehealth.org/benefits