Cutrell Named Residency Program Director
James “Brad” Cutrell, M.D., a Professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Geographic Medicine, has been named Program Director of the Internal Medicine Residency, succeeding Salahuddin “Dino” Kazi, M.D., a Professor in the Division of Rheumatic Diseases and Vice Chair of Education, who has served in the role since 2012.
An accomplished clinician-educator and academic leader, Dr. Cutrell has held numerous educational leadership positions, including Program Director of the Adult Infectious Diseases Fellowship. He assumes leadership of one of the nation’s largest internal medicine residency programs, with more than 230 residents training across three major health systems.
Under Dr. Kazi’s leadership, the residency program grew by 48% while expanding and modernizing its clinical and educational infrastructure. The program strengthened its curriculum, enhanced ambulatory education, introduced new training pathways and combined programs, and evolved inpatient scheduling and call structures. It also navigated major changes in graduate medical education, including those brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic and an increasing clinical complexity across a large academic health system.
“A central theme of Dr. Kazi’s leadership has been the belief that rigorous clinical training and a humane learning environment are not competing goals,” said Samir M. Parikh, M.D., Professor and Chair of Internal Medicine. “He has emphasized resident autonomy, psychological safety, educational protection, and progressive responsibility while preserving the clinical thoroughness required to prepare residents for independent practice.”
During Dr. Kazi’s tenure, the program maintained strong accreditation standing and continued to attract trainees from across the nation and around the world. Many graduates pursued careers in academic medicine and clinical practice, while others remained at UT Southwestern to become faculty members and educational leaders.
Dr. Kazi’s contributions to medical education have been recognized nationally and across the UT System. In 2026, he received the ACGME Parker J. Palmer Courage to Teach Award and was inducted into the University of Texas Kenneth I. Shine, M.D., Academy of Health Science Education. He will continue to serve as Vice Chair of Education, with a broader focus on educational programs across the Department.
Dr. Kazi said the transition positions the residency program to build on its strengths while benefiting from new perspectives.
“Residency programs should never belong to one person,” Dr. Kazi said. “We are temporary stewards of something that existed before us and will continue long after us. My responsibility has been to care for the program, strengthen it where I could, and eventually place it in the hands of someone who can make it better.”
Dr. Parikh said Dr. Cutrell is exceptionally well prepared to lead the program.
“Brad is a superb educator, an experienced program leader, and someone who understands both UT Southwestern and graduate medical education extraordinarily well,” Dr. Parikh said. “Most importantly, our residents and faculty know him and trust him. I could not be more pleased that he will be the next steward of this program.”
Dr. Cutrell brings extensive experience in graduate medical education. He has served as Program Director of the Adult Infectious Diseases Fellowship since 2018 and was named UT Southwestern Graduate Medical Education Program Director of the Year in 2024. He also directed the HIV Medicine Fellowship from 2019 to 2022 and has co-directed the Department’s annual Update in Internal Medicine CME course since 2019. At the institutional level, he currently chairs the UT Southwestern Faculty Assembly and co-directs the clinician educator development program IMPACT with Indira Bhavsar-Burke, M.D., an Assistant Professor in the Division of Digestive and Liver Diseases.
A UT Southwestern graduate, Dr. Cutrell received the Ho Din Award in 2007 as the Medical School’s top graduating student, then completed his residency and fellowship training at UT Southwestern and served as Chief Medical Resident from 2010 to 2011. His contributions to education have earned numerous honors, including election to the Southwestern Academy of Teachers in 2021, the UT Southwestern Leaders in Clinical Excellence Rising Star Award in 2022, and election to the Shine Academy in 2025. ■