UC Irvine Names Michael Stamos Interim Health Affairs Chief

UC Irvine has tapped Michael Stamos, MD, to serve as interim vice chancellor of health affairs, effective July 15, according to a June 23 letter from Chancellor Howard Gillman, PhD, reported by Becker's Hospital Review.

Stamos steps in for Steve Goldstein, MD, PhD, who is leaving UC Irvine to become president of the University of New Mexico. The vice chancellor of health affairs role oversees the academic medical enterprise, spanning the health system, medical school, and clinical operations, making it one of the most consequential leadership posts at the university.

Interim appointments like this one buy time for a national search while keeping strategy and operations steady. For academic medical centers, leadership continuity matters because these executives steer multibillion-dollar clinical and research budgets, faculty recruitment, and partnerships. Readers should expect UC Irvine to launch a formal search for a permanent successor in the coming months, with Stamos providing stability during the transition.