Biography
Dr. Kolars has served as co-director for the University of Michigan Medical School – Peking University Health Science Center Joint Institute for Clinical and Translational Research since it was established in 2010. He obtained his MD degree in 1982 from the University of Minnesota Medical School, pursued internal medicine training in Minneapolis, and completed his post-graduate training gastroenterology at the University of Michigan in 1989. After serving as Associate Chair for Medicine and Residency Program Director, Dr. Kolars left the University of Michigan to establish a western based health care system in China in conjunction with Shanghai Second Medical University. He lived with his family in Shanghai for three years. In 1999, he joined the faculty at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota where he served in numerous leadership roles related to education and global initiatives. In June of 2009, he moved to the University of Michigan where he oversees the Associate Deans responsible for the education programs as well as global health initiatives for the medical school. Between 2007-2011, he worked closely with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to partner medical schools in the U.S. with those in sub-Saharan Africa. He currently serves on the Advisory Council for NIH’s Fogarty International Center. In 2016, he was voted on to the Board of the Consortium of Universities for Global Health. Dr. Kolars has funding from the Fogarty Center for Global Health Research Fellow training. His current interests in medical education focus on innovations and the transformation of learning systems to more explicitly align with better health.