ODU taps new dean of Eastern Virginia Medical School

Dr. Judette Louis, a maternal-fetal health physician from the University of South Florida, will be the next dean of the Eastern Virginia Medical School within Old Dominion’s newly created health sciences college, ODU announced this week.

Louis will start Sept. 2 as dean of the Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences Eastern Virginia Medical School at ODU. According to a university spokesperson, she will succeed Dr. Alfred Abuhamad as dean of the medical school, while he will retain his title as executive vice president for health sciences, a position created last year when the formerly independent EVMS integrated into ODU in July 2024.

Abuhamad, in that role, oversees all of the colleges and schools associated with the Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at ODU, and each of those programs have deans. Upon Abuhamad’s promotion to executive vice president, ODU conducted a search for his replacement as the medical school’s dean.

Louis currently serves as the James M. Ingram Professor and chair of the department of obstetrics and gynecology in the Morsani College of Medicine at the University of South Florida health system, with a joint faculty appointment in the USF Health School of Public Health. Additionally, she is director of the USF Health Regional Perinatal Intensive Care Center Obstetrical Satellite Programs.

“Dr. Louis is a widely regarded physician-scientist with extensive leadership experience in an academic health center,” Abuhamad said in a statement. “She is also a fellowship-trained maternal-fetal medicine physician and a national leader within the field.”

During her career, Louis has collaborated with the Florida Perinatal Collaborative, a consortium of professionals dedicated to the advancement of perinatal health care, and led statewide initiatives to improve outcomes during childbirth and postpartum. She has also worked on programs designed to increase access to care.

“Her experiences and knowledge will be vital as we continue our work to address similar health challenges here in southeastern Virginia,” Abuhamad said.

Louis, who has authored more than 150 scientific articles and book chapters, specializes in studying obstructive sleep apnea in pregnancy and its implications for maternal and infant health. She’s also studied hypertensive disease in pregnancy, maternal morbidity and mortality and cardiometabolic consequences of sleep disorders.

After earning a master of public health degree from Johns Hopkins University in Maryland, Louis earned her medical degree from MCP Hahnemann University, now Drexel University College of Medicine in Pennsylvania.

In July 2024, after more than two years of planning, Old Dominion merged with Eastern Virginia Medical School to form the largest suite of health care programs in the state.

The newly integrated entity, in recognition of a $20 million gift from Joan Brock, is known as Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at Old Dominion University. Dennis and Jan Ellmer also gave $20 million, announced in June 2024, to provide scholarships to students pursuing health sciences degrees at ODU.