"I believe in a better tomorrow for our children and their families."

With this mantra, Max Coppes, M.D., Ph.D., MBA accepts the joint leadership role as the Nell J. Redfield Chair of Pediatrics at the University of Nevada School of Medicine and pediatrician-in-chief at Renown Children's Hospital, effective April 1, 2016. The new position was made possible through generous philanthropic support from the Nell J. Redfield Foundation along with investments by Renown Health and the School of Medicine.

This represents another step in fulfilling a 2014 partnership agreement between the School of Medicine and Renown Health born from the need to significantly increase the number of physicians who train and practice in Nevada. The collaborative goal to transform medical care and education in northern Nevada includes expanding the medical school to a full four-year academic campus while enlisting the critical support of physicians to participate as faculty at the medical school.

Coppes will report to both the dean of the School of Medicine and the executive vice president and chief operating officer of Renown. He will serve as the clinical half of a dyad leadership model alongside Larry Duncan, MS, Renown Health vice president and administrator of Renown Children's Hospital.

Coppes will help to put the health of the region's children at the forefront through the work of the Child Health Institute and the numerous community partners that improve children's lives in our area. He will initially focus on implementing a pediatric residency at Renown to bring additional pediatricians to our region. Coppes' leadership in pediatrics will also better position our region to attract needed children's subspecialists and expand clinical research opportunities to elevate the standard of pediatric care available.

"We are pleased to see Dr. Coppes selected to serve in this role that is crucial to achieving better health for children in northern Nevada," said Jerry Smith, Director of the Nell J. Redfield Foundation. "The vision was to attract an outstanding candidate to take the lead of this important work. Dr. Coppes' experience and expertise in pediatrics and academic medicine has the potential to transform the health and welfare of our community's youngest and most vulnerable."

Coppes came to Reno in 2014 from the British Columbia Cancer Agency in Vancouver, where he served as president with responsibility for six regional cancer centers and two cancer research centers.

He was an attending physician at BC Children's Hospital, an adjunct professor of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University, and a professor of Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of British Columbia.

During his career, Coppes served as senior vice president at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. and held positions at several prestigious facilities in the U.S. and Canada including The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto, Georgetown University, The National Cancer Institute, and the Cleveland Clinic. He speaks five languages.

Most recently, he held the position of executive vice president, chief academic and medical officer at Renown