Sofka to take on new leadership role, search begins for assistant DIO
Sarah Sofka, M.D., has been named the associate dean and ACGME designated institution official for the West Virginia University School of Medicine Graduate Medical Education program. Dr. Sofka fills the role being vacated by Manuel Vallejo, M.D., DMD.
Dr. Vallejo is stepping down to focus on his clinical work and commitment as the chair of the Anesthesiology Review Committee with the ACGME. He is the 2024 Recipient of the ACGME Parker Palmer Courage to Lead Award and was honored as the 2023 Master Clinician award by the WVU Health Sciences Chancellor’s Awards. He is nationally recognized for his leadership and innovation for the School of Medicine’s residency and fellowship programs.
WVU is home to the largest quantity of specialty residency programs in the state, offering 85 specialty programs to its more than 640 resident and fellow trainees within the WVU Medicine hospital system.
“We are extremely fortunate to have great leaders like Drs. Vallejo and Sofka who not only lead by example but embody the Mountaineer spirit,” Clay Marsh, M.D., chancellor and executive dean for Health Sciences, said. “As we continue to grow and expand on training opportunities, we can rest assured that we are building on a solid foundation of excellence.”
Sofka currently serves as the assistant vice president of faculty and student academic initiatives for WVU Health Sciences, a role she will maintain in tandem with her new duties. She will also maintain a clinical appointment in the Department of Medicine, where she previously served as the director of the Internal Medicine Residency program for seven years.
She is West Virginia native and an alumnus of the WVU School of Medicine.
While Sofka won’t officially assume the role until April, she will immediately begin the search for an assistant DIO, a role vacated by Erica Shaver, M.D., MBA, who has been named vice president for medical affairs and associate chief medical officer for WVU Hospitals.
“The leadership shown by Drs. Vallejo and Shaver have set the stage for Dr. Sofka to hit the ground running,” Norman Ferrari, M.D., chief academic officer and chair of the Department of Medical Education, said. “Our graduate medical education programs continue to evolve to meet the ever-growing specialty care needs of West Virginians, and we’re poised to continue that trajectory with the incoming leadership.”
Learn more or apply for the assistant DIO role.
For more information on Graduate Medical Education at WVU, visit medicine.wvu.edu/graduate-medical-education.
-WVU-
ct/1/27/25
MEDIA CONTACT: Cassie Thomas
Director of Communications and Marketing
WVU School of Medicine
304-293-3412; cassie.thomas@hsc.wvu.edu
