Ryan D. Mire, MD, FACP, an alumnus of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center’s College of Medicine, was named president-elect of the American College of Physicians (ACP) during the organization’s Annual Business Meeting May 2.
The ACP represents internal medicine physicians, related subspecialists, and medical students. It is the largest medical specialty organization and second-largest physician group in the United States. Dr. Mire, a private practice internist, will be installed as the ACP president in April 2022. He will be the fourth African American physician to serve in this role.
“I am humbly honored and grateful for the opportunity to serve in this leadership role,” Dr. Mire said. “My first encounter with the ACP was during my internship when I submitted and presented a case abstract. The organization has contributed immensely to my personal and professional growth over the years. I find it a privilege to now serve and give back to ACP in this capacity.”
Dr. Mire, who is an assistant clinical professor on the UTHSC College of Medicine in Nashville, is an active member of the College of Medicine Alumni Council. “When I transitioned to my residency training program, I was certainly prepared with the medical acumen and procedural skills I needed, due to the clinical exposure that a UTHSC medical education provides its students,” he said. “For these reasons, I continue to stay engaged as a proud alumnus.”
“We are delighted to recognize Dr. Mire’s achievements and are incredibly proud of his ongoing work and his association with the college,” Scott Strome, MD, Robert Kaplan Executive Dean for the UTHSC College of Medicine, said.
In April 2019, Dr. Mire co-chaired and helped organize the college’s highly successful, inaugural African-American Alumni Reunion, which highlighted the many achievements of the college’s African American alumni. Dr. Mire is expected to rejoin the planning committee for the 2022 reunion should his schedule permit.
Love Collins III, vice chancellor for Development and Alumni Affairs at UTHSC, spoke proudly of Dr. Mire’s accomplishments. “We need more African American physicians today, especially males,” he said. “Ryan’s appointment sends a strong national message and North Star of hope for our community — especially young, African American male college graduates contemplating careers in medicine. The timing of his appointment is particularly opportune, given the inordinately expressed footprint of health disparities in America’s African American communities.”
A New Orleans native, Dr. Mire has served in numerous roles within the ACP, including the Board of Regents, of which he has been a part since 2017. For two consecutive years, he chaired the ACP’s Medical Practice and Quality Committee, and served as national chair of the ACP Council of Young Physicians. He has been a Fellow of the organization since 2006. The honorary designation recognizes professional accomplishments, demonstrated scholarship, ongoing individual service, and contributions to the practice of internal medicine. His professional areas of interest include independent practice, preventive medicine, health equity, and mentorship within the medical profession.
Dr. Mire earned a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from Rhodes College in Memphis and received his medical degree from the UTHSC College of Medicine in 1998. He completed an internship and internal medicine residency at the Medical College of Virginia/Virginia Commonwealth University, where he served as chief resident. Prior to his current roles, Dr. Mire served as past-president of Heritage Medical Associates, as well as the vice chief of Medicine and chair of the Medical Advisory Committee at Ascension St. Thomas West Hospital.
Other professional affiliations include the Tennessee Governor’s Council, Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society, the National Medical Association, and the Rhodes College Board of Trustees.