A burn surgeon has been hired at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, filling one of many vacancies at the school.

Doctors on the move Recent faculty departures at Carver College of Medicine: • Anatomy and cell biology: Mary Hendrix, chairwoman, stepped down Jan. 1. • Anesthesia: David Brown, chairman, stepped down July 1. • Dermatology: Richard Sontheimer, chairman, stepped down Nov. 1, 2003. He remains on faculty. • Family medicine: Cynda Johnson, chairwoman, stepped down Sept. 26, 2003. • Ophthalmology and visual sciences: Thomas Weingeist, chairman, will step down when a new chairman is in place. • Pediatrics: Frank Morriss, chairman, stepped June 25. He remains on faculty. • Physiology and biophysics: Robert Fellows, chairman, stepped down Feb. 1, 2002. He remains on faculty. • Surgery: Carol Scott-Conner, chairwoman, steps down Sept. 1. You Min Wu, director of liver transplant services, resigned July 1. Albert Cram, director of plastic and reconstructive services, resigned July 1.

Dr. Barbara Latenser, 51, former director of burn services at Cook County's Stroger Hospital in Chicago, will become the new director of UI's burn unit. She will begin work at UI in September.

She replaces Dr. Lee Faucher, who announced in June he would leave UI for a similar position at the University of Wisconsin. He cited family reasons for his departure.

"I am extremely, extremely happy to come to the University of Iowa," Latenser said. "It's such a prestigious university, hospital and burn unit."

Latenser said she was asked by UI officials to take the burn unit to "the next level."

"When you're at the pinnacle already, what is the next level?" she said. "We plan on expanding our services into the community and state."

She resigned from her previous employer, Stroger Hospital, when it recently lost its verification by the American Burn Association, an important ranking that she helped establish.

University Hospitals Director and CEO Donna Katen-Bahensky also announced other recruitment efforts Monday to fill vacancies. At least 10 job openings for specialized physicians and department heads are available in nine of the 24 programs, including the director of plastic surgery, the liver transplant services director, and chairmen for the departments of physiology, family medicine, dermatology, anatomy and cell biology, pediatrics, anesthesia, surgery and ophthalmology.

Medical college and hospital officials are in the final interview stages to hire a new director of the pediatrics department.

"We expect to make an offer in the next two to three weeks," Katen-Bahensky said.

Dr. Frank Morriss stepped down June 25 as chairman of the department but will remain on faculty.

The medical college also is in the process of interviewing candidates for the director of family medicine. Nationwide searches have begun to replace directors of the anesthesia and surgery departments, Katen-Bahensky added.