Oct. 2, 2025
Dear colleagues:
After a comprehensive national search, I am pleased to share that April O. Buchanan, MD, FAAP, has accepted the role of Senior Associate Dean for Medical Education. Working closely with Executive Associate Dean J. William (Bill) Eley, Dr. Buchanan will play a pivotal role in shaping and advancing the School of Medicine’s education mission. Dr. Buchanan joins Emory from the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville and Prisma Health, where she is a professor of pediatrics, associate dean for medical education, and interim senior associate dean for academic affairs. Dr. Buchanan will officially begin her new role on January 1, 2026.
Dr. Buchanan is a highly accomplished leader with more than 20 years of experience in medical education, including serving as a founding faculty member of the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville. She has been involved in curriculum development and assessment as well as LCME accreditation since the school opened in 2012, and she recently led a comprehensive curricular refresh which launched in 2023.
Dr. Buchanan is highly respected nationally in medical education. She currently serves on the Steering Committee for the AAMC Medical Education Senior Leaders, and past roles include President of the Council on Medical Student Education in Pediatrics, as well as UME chair for the AAMC Southern Group on Educational Affairs (SGEA) and service on the UME committee for the AAMC Group on Educational Affairs. Dr. Buchanan has led national workshops on topics including professionalism, quality and safety, assessment in integrated curricula, survey design, instrument validity, clinical reasoning, and curriculum redesign. Her research and publications focus on the learning environment, narrative evaluations, curricula, and resources for first-generation students in medical school.
Dr. Buchanan’s excellence in teaching and service has been recognized with several awards, including the Exemplary Character Award from graduating residents, Most Outstanding Clinical Professor Award, the Clinical Mentorship, Education, and Service Excellence Award, and the Dean’s Award. She has been inducted as faculty into Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society and the National Academy of Distinguished Educators in Pediatrics. She has completed a fellowship in Drexel’s Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine.
Dr. Buchanan completed her undergraduate degree at College of Charleston, her MD degree at the Medical University of South Carolina, and a residency in pediatrics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. In addition to serving as senior associate dean, Dr. Buchanan will be a professor in the Department of Pediatrics and a hospitalist at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.
Join me in welcoming Dr. Buchanan to Emory. Her deep expertise, leadership experience, and unwavering commitment to medical education will be invaluable as we continue working together to innovate and transform the School of Medicine’s education programs.
My best,
Sandra
Sandra L. Wong, MD, MS
Dean, Emory University School of Medicine
Chief Academic Officer, Emory Healthcare
