The dean of the Medical Center resigned from his post this week citing personal and professional interests as the Medical Center seeks to curb recurring deficit problems.

The resignation of Daniel Sedmak, executive vice president for health sciences and executive dean at Georgetown University Medical Center , was announced Monday by University President John J. DeGioia in a broadcast e-mail.

“He has made the decision, with warm feelings toward Georgetown , that his personal and professional interests would be better served by returning home to Columbus , where he will pursue other opportunities,” DeGioia said.

Sedmak was the third executive vice president at the Medical Center in the past two years.

According to Medical Center spokeswoman Amy DeMaria, the Medical Center underwent an intensive growth process under Sedmak’s leadership that resulted in the establishment of cancer research, the neurosciences and child health and development as research priorities.

“During this process, Dr. Sedmak worked hard to encourage the development of ideas that would leverage the complementary strengths of GUMC and our clinical partner MedStar Health,” she said.

Sedmak also headed a conference at Georgetown that examined the role that faith-based groups can play in responding to the HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa . With his help, GUMC established a new Integrated Learning Center to facilitate small-group learning and to provide students with new opportunities for hands-on clinical experience.

In response to the financial problems of the Medical Center , Sedmak developed a plan to reduce $2 million in expenses from the fiscal year 2004 budget. He also headed an effort that resulted in $7.9 million in projected annual savings.

Sedmak took over his position at the Medical Center in July 2003 after more than two decades of work at Ohio State University . He served as interim dean of OSU’s College of Medicine and Public Health and as senior interim vice president of the OSU Medical Center .

DeMaria says the search for a permanent replacement will not begin until the Medical Center has made progress in addressing its financial challenges. Stuart Bondurant will serve as interim executive vice president effective immediately.

“[He] is well-known at Georgetown and in the larger world of academic medicine as a strong and seasoned leader with a great deal of experience managing and leading medical centers,” she said.

Bondurant has served as chair of the Association of American edical Colleges and as interim president of the Institute of edicine of the National Academy of Science. In his new post as interim EVP, he will oversee all GUMC operations and units.

“The greatest challenge that Dr. Bondurant and the Medical Center will face in the coming months is the second phase of our efforts to meet our budget challenges,” DeMaria said. “Dr. Bondurant will be working closely with University and edical Center leaders in the coming months to ensure that the edical Center reaches its budget goals while maintaining excellence in research and education.”

The second phase of budget work aims to balance the Medical Center ‘s budget by 2007. Heavy losses at the Medical Center and Georgetown University Hospital led to the university’s sale of the hospital to MedStar Health in 2000. While profits from the hospital financed research costs at the Medical Center until the mid 1990s, the hospital sale has forced the Medical Center to increase fundraising to support expensive research.