Sheila A. Dugan, MD, has been named chairperson of the RUSH Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.
Dugan has been interim chair of PM&R since 2019 and medical director of RUSH University Medical Group’s PM&R practice since 2006, and she was division chief of PM&R from 2017 to 2019. She also is a professor in the departments of PM&R, preventive medicine and neurosurgery at RUSH University Medical Center and co-founder of the RUSH Program for Abdominal and Pelvic Health.
As chairperson, Dugan will continue to oversee a department responsible for the diagnosis and treatment of patients’ neurological and musculoskeletal diseases, conditions, disorders and injuries across the care spectrum. She is responsible for the department’s clinical, educational, research and community missions.
A co-investigator on multiple National Institutes of Health projects, Dugan has published numerous manuscripts and book chapters, has served as editor for multiple medical journals and is regularly invited to lecture locally and nationally. She has mentored RUSH medical students in community-based projects and research, including the establishment of RUSH’s annual West Side Walk for Wellness program. Her research interests include pelvic wellness, health equity, the health benefits of physical activity (in particular, for those in underserved populations), and pain, function and visceral fat in women at menopause.
Dugan is chair of the RUSH Women’s Leadership Council and serves as a member of the RUSH Diversity Leadership Council and its ADA Task Force. She has also served as co-chair of the RUSH Racial Justice Action Committee. She is a Carol Emmott Fellow, Class of 2019, and represents RUSH on the Carol Emmott Foundation’s Equity Collaborative Governing Council.
