ECU Professor of Medicine Named Administrator for Federal Agency HRSA | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's note: The author of this post, Amy Ellis, is a contributor to ECU News Services.

    A professor of medicine in the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University has been appointed by President Donald Trump as the new administrator for the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

    On May 1, Dr. George Sigounas assumed oversight of HRSA, the primary federal agency for improving health care to people who are geographically isolated, or economically or medically vulnerable. HRSA's $10.5 billion annual budget expands access to quality health care through an array of grants to state and local governments, health care providers and health professions training programs.

    Sigounas has served for 23 years as a professor of medicine at Brody, where he helped establish the Bone Marrow Transplantation Program. His work with this program gave him extensive experience in designing and conducting clinical trials, preparing patient treatment protocols and performing fiscal management. He also directed the Cellular Therapies Clinical Unit which provided the Bone Marrow Transplantation Program with the cells used to transplant cancer patients.

    "One of my primary reasons for coming to the Brody School of Medicine was to have the opportunity to participate in developing and operating a cellular therapies program that would provide service to the patients of eastern North Carolina," Sigounas said. "The purpose of the program was for patients to remain close to home and not have to travel more than 100 miles to receive necessary treatment.

    "Through the bone marrow program and by serving as faculty at a school focused on primary care for 23 years," Sigounas added, "I developed a unique perspective on treating the undeserved and rural medicine as a whole, as well as on the providers who make this their professional objective... it was an eye-opening experience regarding the commitment and sacrifice which must be made to improve health care for those who need it most."

    In her recent announcement about Sigounas' appointment, Diana Espinosa, deputy administrator for HRSA, said, "His involvement in the establishment and operation of a bone marrow transplantation program, clinical trials, and patient committees have provided Dr. Sigounas with extensive understanding of the various aspects involved in patient treatment, including treatment processes, and financial issues."

    From 1987 to 1994, Sigounas was a researcher at the National Institutes of Health and the Naval Medical Center. Through the years, his research efforts have resulted in several U.S. and international patents.

    Sigounas earned a bachelor's degree in biology and chemistry from the University of Patras in Greece, a master's in physiology and biology from Northeastern University, and a Ph.D. in cell biology and physiology from Boston University.

    Sigounas is on an approved leave of absence from Brody and expected to return in January 2020.