We are very pleased to announce that earlier this year, Luis Zabala Blanco Jr., MD, accepted our offer to join IU School of Medicine as Vice Chair of Strategic Engagement for Diagnostic Medicine for the Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences and the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, effective August 1, 2025. His appointment underscores the increasing interconnectedness of diagnostic services that is at the core of high-quality patient care in our state-wide institution. He is tasked with providing strategic guidance for navigating the very complex and sometimes competing needs and demands placed on two forward-thinking clinical departments that are part of the largest medical school in the nation, with more than 25,000 alumni and 3,000 learners on nine campuses across the state.
Dr. Blanco will work with faculty, staff, and learners to set the vision for the department’s initiatives related to retention and engagement. He will serve as a driving force to support and further the core values of IU School of Medicine, providing leadership for initiatives across the tripartite mission and will guide the development, implementation, and oversight of programs and initiatives that integrate these principles into the fabric of the departments.
The Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences is home to more than 450 faculty, staff, and trainees. The Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine has over 100 faculty members with a primary appointment in pathology, 80 of whom are dually employed pathologists and PhD clinical scientists, working alongside more than 1,000 staff members in IU Health.
Dr. Blanco joins us from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, where he is currently an Associate Professor in Pathology, Breast and Gynecologic Pathologist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, and the Director of the Pathology Residency Program. Dr. Blanco completed his residency in Anatomic Pathology and Clinical Pathology at Rush University in Chicago, followed by a fellowship in Breast Pathology at Northwestern University in Chicago, and a fellowship in Gynecologic Pathology at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, prior to joining Northwestern as faculty in 2014. From 2017 to 2021, he served as the Pathology Residency Associate Program Director and took on the role of Pathology Residency Program Director in January 2022. He has also served as the Program Director for the Breast Pathology Fellowship since July 2022. In addition, Dr. Blanco was the Director of the Medical Student Pathology Clerkship, a role he held from 2014 to 2024.
We are very gratified to have found in Dr. Blanco a visionary colleague who is singularly capable of developing opportunities for contribution and advancement in the learning and working environments for all members of our multi-faceted community, comprised of students, staff, faculty, and trainees, and who is a proven leader of finding opportunities of engagement in our mission to transform health and wellbeing for all throughout the state of Indiana. Please join us in welcoming Dr. Blanco to IU School of Medicine!
Mike Feldman, MD, PhD
Chair, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
Jason W. Allen, MD, PhD, FACR
Chair, Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences
