Dr. Charles Hilton Retires, Dr. Lee Engel Named Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
Dr. Charles Hilton, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, is retiring after more than 30 years. Dr. Hilton had a tremendous impact on the LSU Health Sciences Center – New Orleans and medical education. He contributed to the development of the Student Learning Center, supervised the GME and CME operations, and worked with UME leadership over the course of his career. During his tenure, his efforts ensured the success of the School of Medicine through Hurricane Katrina and the COVID-19 pandemic. Medical education in New Orleans and Louisiana have been greatly impacted by his work and his contributions over the course of his career. He will be hugely missed by his office staff and colleagues within the Health Sciences Center.
In February, Dr. Lee Engel was named as Dr. Hilton’s successor. He received his bachelor's from The Pennsylvania State University. He worked for two years in HIV Research at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York prior to moving to Louisiana. He received a Master’s (MS) and Doctorate in Philosophy (PhD) from the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology Department at LSU Medical Center. Dr. Engel then went on to get his medical degree at LSU and completed his residency in Internal Medicine and Infectious Disease Fellowship training at LSU and the Medical Center of Louisiana-New Orleans (Charity Hospital). Following fellowship training, he spent a year as a postdoctoral fellow in the section of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine before taking on the role of Associate Program Director for the Internal Medicine residency training program in 2007. Dr. Engel is also the immediate past governor for the Louisiana Chapter of the American College of Physicians (ACP) and served on their national Health and Public Policy Committee. He comes to the position with extensive experience within the Department of Medicine, specifically with the Internal Medicine residency program. His previous roles as Program Director for the Internal Medicine Residency Program, as faculty for the Clinical Skills Integration course and for 1st and 2nd year medical students, as a hospitalist and an infectious-disease (ID) specialist, and as a basic-science-trained researcher, provide the experience needed to affect the education of medical students, interns, residents, fellows and colleagues.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to continue to advance medical education here in Louisiana,” Dr. Engel said. “Dr. Hilton has had an amazing impact on medical education, and I am fortunate that he has been incredibly gracious with his time, insight, and guidance as I embrace this new position.”