More than 20 years after arriving at The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) as a medical student, Shawn Nishi, MD, has been appointed permanent chief of the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine.
Nishi, who has served as interim chief since September 2023, officially assumed the permanent role on July 1. As chief, she plans to build on the division’s nationally recognized clinical programs while expanding research, education, faculty development, and multidisciplinary collaboration.
“Our division has an outstanding history because of the people who built it,” Nishi said. “My vision is to preserve that culture of collaboration and excellence while creating new opportunities for our faculty, trainees, and staff to lead, discover, innovate, and improve the lives of patients throughout Texas.”
Nishi began medical school at UTMB in 2001 and has spent her entire career at the institution. Along the way, she earned the UTMB Outstanding Program Director Award, the Faculty Affairs Clinical Excellence Award, and the McGovern Academy Excellence in Clinical Teaching Award in recognition of her contributions to education, patient care, and mentorship.
Looking ahead, Nishi envisions a division recognized not only for exceptional patient care but also for advancing knowledge, training future physician leaders, and developing innovative models of care.
“Academic medicine gives us the opportunity to improve health beyond the patients we see today,” she said. “Every program we build should improve patient outcomes while also generating new knowledge, educating the next generation of physicians, and creating opportunities for faculty to become nationally recognized in their areas of expertise.”
Among her priorities is transitioning the division's specialty clinical programs into platforms that integrate exceptional patient care, research, education, and quality improvement.
Current programs include the nationally recognized COPD Center of Excellence — the first in Texas and one of only 10 in the nation — as well as the Lung Cancer Screening Program, the Incidental Pulmonary Nodule Program, the Pulmonary Embolism Response Team (PERT), and the divisions of Sleep Medicine and Interventional Pulmonology.
Nishi also plans to invest in faculty mentorship and career development as the division continues to grow. The UTMB Health System has welcomed a record number of physicians in recent years, including new faculty members providing pulmonary, critical care, ambulatory pulmonary, and sleep medicine services across campuses in Galveston and on the mainland.
“Whether someone is just beginning their career or joining us from another institution, I want them to have the mentorship and opportunities they need to grow professionally,” she said. “When we invest in our people, we strengthen every aspect of our mission, from patient care and education to research and innovation.”
Nishi also emphasizes maintaining the collaborative culture that has long defined the division.
“One of our greatest strengths is that we challenge one another to be our best while genuinely enjoying working together. That combination of excellence, trust, and camaraderie has become a defining characteristic of our division,” she said. “Supporting faculty well-being, encouraging teamwork, and creating an environment where everyone can thrive are essential to sustaining excellence over the long term.”
As she begins her tenure as permanent chief, Nishi hopes to further expand the division's impact across the UTMB Health System by improving access to specialty pulmonary care, strengthening multidisciplinary partnerships, and developing innovative programs that meet the evolving needs of patients and communities.
“UTMB has exceptional people doing exceptional work,” she said. “My goal is to help create an environment where our faculty, trainees, and staff have every opportunity to make discoveries, educate future physicians, and deliver the highest level of compassionate care. If we do that well, our division will continue to be recognized as one of the nation’s leading academic pulmonary programs in the country.”