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By: Audrey Post

News — Xian Jin Xie, a distinguished educator and researcher whose work has advanced fields across the health care spectrum including biomedicine, nursing, dentistry, public health and data science, has joined the College of Medicine faculty as senior associate dean for research and graduate programs. His first day was Oct. 28.

Xie brings extensive experience as an academic administrator, as well as an accomplished researcher and an interdisciplinary collaborator. For the past 17 years, he has held multiple leadership positions at two flagship universities, the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas and, most recently, the University of Iowa, where he was associate dean for research at its College of Dentistry & Dental Clinics. He also was a professor of cancer epidemiology and population science at Iowa’s Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center at the Carver College of Medicine and a professor of Biostatistics at the College of Public Health.

“We are thrilled to have attracted a research leader of Dr. Xie’s caliber to lead the Florida State University College of Medicine’s research efforts,” said Dean Dr. Alma Littles. “His experience in strategic planning, professional and graduate curriculum development, community engagement and securing external funding sources has given him the exact skill set we need.”

Building on the college’s successful research and educational programs and faculty, Xie’s hiring highlights the university’s focus on retaining and recruiting high-quality faculty, increasing research support, and creating opportunities for researchers to work together to develop impactful solutions, all of which are part of ASPIRE, the FSU strategic research plan.

His addition boosts the ongoing FSU Health initiative, a project to build a research, education and clinical ecosystem that will transform health care delivery in North Florida.

“In addition to his strong qualities as a scientist, he is also skilled in the art of medical and research education that is so integral to our medical school model, with an emphasis on mentoring, nurturing and empowering students and colleagues alike,” Littles said. “He is simply a good fit for us, the right person at the right time.”

Xie succeeds Jeffrey Joyce, who oversaw tremendous growth in the College of Medicine’s research portfolio. Joyce returned to the private sector in summer 2023.

Under Xie’s leadership, the University of Iowa’s College of Dentistry experienced similar research growth, with annual external funding doubling since 2020, and its national ranking for National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIH/NIDCR) funding improved from 31st in 2018 to 12th in 2023.

Throughout his career, he has directed quantitative biomedical research on 60 peer-reviewed grants and 40 clinical trials, which were supported by agencies as varied as NIH, NASA, the American Cancer Society and the Department of Defense. He has published more than 175 peer-reviewed articles, led and contributed to securing more than $100 million in external research funding, and collaborated with and mentored more than 100 clinical, translational and basic science investigators.

Xie said he is thrilled to join the College of Medicine community, where he was impressed by “the palpable sense of community and shared purpose among faculty, staff and students.”

“Through serving, collaborating and empowering, my vision is to create a vibrant, collaborative research ecosystem that harnesses our collective strengths across various disciplines,” he said. “I believe that by emphasizing interdisciplinary partnerships, focusing on areas of strength and strategically developing new research programs, we can drive groundbreaking discoveries that directly benefit our communities. Together, we’ll not only enhance our graduate programs but also position the FSU College of Medicine as a national leader in impactful research that transforms health care for all.”