Chairs and Directors (UTRGV School of Medicine)

Daniel Albo, MD
Chair, Department of Surgery
Surgery
Email: Daniel.Albo@utrgv.edu
Phone: (956) 296-1449

Daniel Albo, MD, joined the UTRGV School of Medicine team in March 2021 and currently serves as the Department Chair and Professor in the Department of Surgery. In this capacity, he will help lead and develop all clinical, educational, and research programs for UTRGV.

Dr. Albo earned his medical degree at the University of the Republic, Uruguay, in 1991. He completed his General Surgery residency and obtained a PhD degree in Molecular Pathobiology at Drexel University in Philadelphia in 2000. He later completed a Surgical Oncology fellowship at the UTMD Anderson Cancer Center in 2002 before joining the Medical College of Georgia, where he helped develop a Surgical Oncology program and a multidisciplinary MD/PhD program in Oncology. He then moved to the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX, in 2004.

Dr. Albo has held leadership roles in several academic surgical societies, including being the President for the Association for Academic Surgery. His leadership has been influential in the transformation of the AAS into one of the leading academic surgical societies in the world.

Dr. Albo is a dedicated surgical educator. He has been awarded several prestigious teaching awards, including the Golden Stethoscope, Golden Apple, and the Gene A. Guinn Outstanding Faculty Teaching Award.

Dr. Albo has proudly served in the medical field for more than 21 years. He is a nationally and internationally renowned Surgical Oncologist (Cancer Surgeon) at UT Health RGV and is dedicated to providing the highest quality care and medical education to the RGV community.

Key Roles and Responsibilities

• Shall be directly accountable to the Dean.

• Shall be responsible for the administration of his/her Department/Center/Institute.

• Shall hold regular meetings of the Department/Center/Institute faculty to present pertinent information and to discuss issues that may include, among others, Department/Center/Institute or SOM policies, educational, research and service programs, long-range objectives, and current problems. Chairpersons of larger Departments and Directors of larger Centers/Institutes that have been divided into Sections/Programs may elect to have regular meetings with the SectionsChiefs/Program Directors rather than with the entire faculty, with the expectation that the Chiefs will meet with their section/program faculty to present and discuss matters from the Section Chiefs'/Program Directors' meetings at regular intervals.

• Shall recruit and recommend to the Dean the appointment of faculty and other personnel.

• Shall be responsible for his/her Department's/Center's/Institute’s role in carrying out the programs that are the responsibility of SOM faculty.

• Shall be responsible for the implementation of all UTRGV and SOM policies and regulations applicable to the Department/Center/Institute.

• Shall prepare the Department/Center/Institute budget to be submitted to the Dean annually including recommendations for compensation of both faculty and non-faculty personnel.

• Shall be responsible for the budgetary control of his/her Department/Center/Institute and for the allocation of space within his/her Department/Center/Institute.

• Shall recommend faculty appointments, promotions, and tenure to the Dean and pertinent UTRGV SOM committee for review and processing.

• Shall organize the Department/Center/Institute in a way that best serves the needs of the Department/Center/Institute and SOM and provide for appropriate interaction with Department/Center/Institute faculty and between its faculty and leadership.

• Shall be responsible for the career development and mentoring of faculty members in his/her department.

Chelsea Chang, MD
Interim Chair, Department of Internal Medicine
Internal Medicine
Email: Chelsea.Chang@utrgv.edu

Dr. Chelsea Hook Chang is the interim Chair for the Department of Internal Medicine at the UTRGV School of Medicine.

Dr. Chang is a proud Rio Grande Valley native who has returned to serve her community. In 2012, she completed medical school at the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine. She later completed her Internal Medicine Residency in 2015 and was awarded Intern of the Year at Baylor Scott & White in Temple, Texas, where she trained. In 2015, Dr. Chang achieved board certification and began working as a primary care physician and a clinical assistant professor in Temple, Texas.

Dr. Chang has been employed by the UTRGV School of Medicine as Assistant Professor and Associate Program Director for the Internal Medicine Residency. Her special interests include population health, preventive care, and training the next generation of physicians.