AIM Center Leadership

August 28, 2025

The Emory Academic Internal Medicine (AIM) Center is pleased to announce that Ted Johnson, MD, MPH, currently Co-Director of the AIM Center, will assume the Director’s role on September 1, 2025. David Roberts, MD, the current AIM Center Director, will assume the Co-Director’s duties. As Director, Dr. Johnson will focus on the priorities of engaging the Grady and VA GIM teams and building division-wide research and faculty development infrastructure and support. Dr. Roberts will support Dr Johnson, with a primary focus on the Emory Clinic faculty practices and their academic growth and success. Given his 13-year experience as GIM Division Director, Dr. Johnson is uniquely qualified to lead the AIM Center given his knowledge of the entire division’s faculty and programs and skills in all aspects of the academic enterprise. He has been very engaged in all aspects of the AIM program since its formation. Dr. Roberts will continue to bring his decades of experience at the Seavey Clinic to support the expansion of the Seavey Clinic model to all practice sites across Emory from now until the time when he retires.

The Emory AIM Center was created through the generosity of the Rollins Family Foundations, as well other donors, to support General Internal Medicine (GIM) faculty development in research quality and quantity and in educational support. Equally important is the mission to reinforce and promote general internal medicine as a career choice for faculty and trainees, including recruiting and retaining top quality faculty. The AIM Center is rooted in the successes of Emory’s Paul W. Seavey Comprehensive Internal Medicine Clinic (Seavey Clinic), a premier clinic that resides within Emory’s Division of General Internal Medicine.  The Seavey Clinic was established in 2013 with the goal of supporting academic general internal medicine (GIM) and is unique within the environments of Emory GIM and Primary Care through its support of faculty development across all three mission areas of teaching, scholarship, and service. 

August 25, 2025

We are pleased to announce that Rosette Chakkalakal, MD, MHS, will assume the role of Rollins Director of Paul W. Seavey Comprehensive Internal Medicine Clinic as of September 1, 2025. Dr. Chakkalakal will continue the mission of Seavey Clinic to provide a clinic that serves as an innovation laboratory for clinical care and education. David Roberts, MD, FACP, will be in the role of Co-Director of Paul W. Seavey Comprehensive Internal Medicine Clinic for the period of September 2025 – August 2026. 

Dr. Chakkalakal is a physician-scientist and academic leader specializing in the prevention and management of type 2 diabetes, particularly among underserved and high-risk populations. She is an Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine and serves as Director of the Division of Preventive Medicine in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine at Emory University School of Medicine. She is also a member of the Emory Global Diabetes Research Center. Dr. Chakkalakal’s work integrates clinical care, research, and public health to advance equitable, evidence-based strategies for chronic disease prevention.

Prior to joining the Paul W. Seavey Internal Medicine Clinic, Dr. Chakkalakal practiced primary care medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the Grady Primary Care Center as a member of the Emory at Grady faculty group. She is also a dedicated educator, delivering lectures to students and residents on prediabetes and diabetes, coordinating lecture series and workshops for faculty, and mentoring trainees across a variety of disciplines including general internal medicine, clinical endocrinology, global health, and health policy. Her teaching emphasizes real-world application of clinical and population health principles and supports the development of future leaders in primary care and public health. Dr. Chakkalakal is an alumna of Emory's J. Willis Hurst Residency Program in General Internal Medicine, where she served as Chief Resident.

August 22, 2025

It is with great pleasure that the Emory Academic Internal Medicine Center (AIM Center) announces that Danielle Jones, MD, FACP is the new Director of Faculty Development and Promotion.  Her primary focus will be providing guidance, tools, and encouragement to all GIM faculty for a successful academic promotion journey.  In addition to the work that she will be doing with the AIM Center, Dr. Jones will continue her clinical leadership in ambulatory education and career mentorship at Grady in the J. Willis Hurst Internal Medicine Residency Program.

Dr. Jones is a recognized leader in faculty development. She has chaired the Grady GIM section’s Faculty Review and Development Committee since 2014, mentoring colleagues through the promotions process with individualized guidance on portfolio preparation and career planning. She frequently delivers seminars such as “Getting Promoted – Knowing and Showing Your Value in Academia” and “Building Service and Teaching Portfolios,” and co-leads innovative programs that have increased promotion rates among underrepresented faculty. Her mentorship has propelled many faculty into leadership roles and academic advancement, both at Emory and nationally.

On the national stage, Dr. Jones has designed and led high-impact workshops for SGIM, AAIM, and APDIM, translating best practices in faculty development and promotion into tools for institutions across the country. Her scholarship includes publications and presentations on mentorship, career advancement, and faculty diversity initiatives. Her work has been recognized with honors including the Emory School of Medicine Mentoring Award, the APDIM Distinguished University Associate Program Director Award, and national commendations for faculty advancement.

July 22, 2025

It is with great pleasure that the Emory Academic Internal Medicine Center announces the naming of a new site lead and a supported faculty member at the Midtown General Internal Medicine Clinic.  As of September 1, 2025, Britt Marshall, MD will assume the role of Midtown Site Lead for the Emory Academic Internal Medicine Center and Paula Dibo, MD will assume the role of a supported faculty at the Midtown Site of the Emory Academic Internal Medicine Center.

Dr. Britt Marshall currently serves as Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine and Rollins Distinguished Clinician at Emory University School of Medicine. Dr. Marshall has been a member of the Emory Academic Internal Medicine (AIM) Center since September 1, 2025.  As a proven leader, she established the resident continuity clinic at Emory Midtown and grew it into a thriving academic and clinical training site that now supports over 30 residents and has enabled the recruitment of multiple faculty members. Her teaching spans all levels of medical education, and she has developed core curricula on value-based care, billing and coding, and diabetes management. She is an active mentor and preceptor with a collaborative, open-door approach and a passion for near-peer mentorship. Dr. Marshall is a frequent lecturer and invited speaker at national and regional meetings, including SGIM and APDIM. She is also a peer reviewer for JGIM, Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology, and UpToDate. As a collaborative leader and community builder, Dr. Marshall is committed to the mission of the AIM Center in supporting faculty success and promoting academic excellence within general internal medicine.

Paula Dibo, MD is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of General Internal Medicine at Emory University School of Medicine and a newly graduated Nephology Fellow who has been with Emory Primary Care since June 2025. Her academic and clinical focus bridges primary care and nephrology, with a mission to improve early identification and management of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in the primary care setting. Dr. Dibo brings a diverse background in both research and clinical practice. She previously served as a primary care physician for a medically underserved rural population in Connecticut, where she gained firsthand insight into the critical role of primary care in disease prevention and chronic disease management. Her experience highlighted significant gaps in early CKD detection, shaping her research agenda and leading to further nephrology training at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Her research focuses on early-stage CKD, with particular interest in identifying vulnerable populations and utilizing novel biomarkers to predict disease progression. Dr. Dibo is also a dedicated educator and mentor. She has taught and supervised medical students, international medical graduates, and advanced practice providers, and currently mentors junior researchers in the Meta-analysis Academy. She aims to promote innovation, integrated care, and interprofessional education in support of the Academic Internal Medicine (AIM) Center’s mission. (July 23, 2025)

February 20, 2025

I’m pleased to announce that Dr. Ted Johnson, MD, MPH has assumed the role of Co-Director of the Emory Academic Internal Medicine (AIM) Center as of February 15, 2025. He will focus initial efforts on Phase 2 of the AIM Center.

As most of you know by now, the AIM Center was created through the generosity of the Rollins Family Foundations, as well other donors, to support General Internal Medicine (GIM) faculty development. This was in recognition of the importance of General Internal Medicine and its impact on patients, faculty and trainees. Their 2023 gift of $16.5M established the AIM Center (AIM Phase 1), focusing on having select faculty from the Midtown GIM Clinic and the 1525 Cliton Road Clinics join with the Seavey Clinic in creating an integrated community of practicing clinical faculty, providing protected time and other support resources for 14 faculty positions including 6 “supported faculty” and one academic site lead at each site. 

With the success of AIM Center Phase 1, the Rollins Family Foundations - along with other donors - provided an additional $26M to expand the AIM model (AIM Phase 2). This gift expands AIM reach to the entire GIM Division, which includes the remaining Emory Clinic GIM sites, Grady GIM, and the Atlanta VA Primary Care and Quality section. The funding and support will allow for pilot project and seed grants, educational program support, research project and personnel support as well as 3 new endowed professorships. Of the three new professorships, two will be rotating Rollins Early Career Professorships supporting early to mid-career faculty focused on their research and professional development trajectory and success. Faculty development programs that have shown great promise in sections of the Division, particularly those in Grady GIM, will be expanded to be division wide.

Given his 13-year experience as Division Director, Dr. Johnson is uniquely qualified to co-lead the AIM Center. Importantly, his knowledge of the entire division’s faculty and programs and skills in all aspects of the academic enterprise will be particularly helpful with AIM Phase 2.  He is well suited to make as big of an impact as quickly as possible. I’m thrilled that Ted has accepted this position. He has been very engaged in all aspects of the AIM program since its formation.

Together we look forward to working to maximize the benefit that the AIM Center can provide to every one of you.  Please feel free to reach out with any questions or thoughts.

David L. Roberts, MD, FACP
Professor, Charles F. Evans Chair and Eminent Clinician
Rollins Director, Academic Internal Medicine Center
Director, Paul W. Seavey Comprehensive Internal Medicine Clinic