Bio
Dr. Barbara Atkinson is an accomplished researcher, teacher and administrator in the fields of medicine and medical education.
As founding dean of the Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV Dr. Atkinson was responsible for the school's vision, academic and clinical practice plans, accreditation, community partnerships and fundraising. In 2015, UNLV raised $13.5 million in 60 days to fund 135 scholarships for future students - including the entire charter class in 2017.
Before UNLV, Dr. Atkinson was dean of medicine and later also executive vice chancellor of the University of Kansas Medical Center campus, where she revitalized the school’s vision to better serve regional needs. Examples include the opening of a new campus in Salina to address the state’s physician shortage and expansion of the Wichita campus from a two-year program to a full, four-year program. In 2012 the University of Kansas School of Medicine became just the 67th school to earn National Cancer Institute designation.
An expert in the field of pathology, Dr. Atkinson's early work focused diagnosis of cancer by cytopathology. Her research involved the identification and characterization of tumor antigens in cells and tissues and to developing techniques to recognize and type tumors.
Dr. Atkinson is a life trustee and a past president of the American Board of Pathology. She was elected to the National Academy of Medicine 1997, and 2010 -2017 was appointed by President Barack Obama to the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues.
Dr. Atkinson has held faculty appointments with the University of Kansas School of Medicine and Medical Center, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Medical College of Pennsylvania (now Drexel University College of Medicine), MCP Hahnemann University, and Allegheny University of the Health Sciences. She is currently Founding Dean Emerita at the Kerkorian School of medicine of UNLV.
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