By Linda Satter
Nov. 3, 2025 | LITTLE ROCK — Cardiologist Jorge Saucedo, M.D., MBA, joined the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) as a professor and chair of the Department of Internal Medicine, effective Nov. 1.
“Dr. Saucedo is a highly regarded cardiologist who brings over 25 years of leadership experience to his new role at UAMS, where he started his career as an assistant professor of internal medicine from 1998 to 2002,” said Steven Webber, M.D., dean of the College of Medicine and executive vice chancellor of UAMS. “As an accomplished physician, experienced clinician-investigator and seasoned administrator, he will provide strong vision and leadership for our Internal Medicine faculty, staff and trainees.”
Saucedo was hired after a national search that began when Edward T.H. Yeh, M.D., chair of the department since 2020, announced in April 2024 that he planned to step down this year.
Saucedo comes to UAMS from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he was chief of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin and director of heart and vascular clinical services at Froedtert Health System. The regional health partnership recruited him in 2018, and he led the transformation and growth of the cardiovascular program into one of the highest quality destinations for care in the Midwest.
Under Saucedo’s leadership, the cardiovascular program recruited more than 40 cardiologists, introduced and expanded services, and was ranked by Premier Inc. in the Top 20 nationwide for three consecutive years. The heart transplant program grew tenfold. Saucedo also directed the division’s academic and research strategy, connecting its clinical research program with the basic science team to enhance translational cardiovascular research.
A native of Mexico City, Saucedo received his medical degree with honors from the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico in 1987. He completed a residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in cardiovascular medicine at the National Institute of Medical Sciences in Mexico City, followed by fellowships in interventional cardiology at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C.
He left UAMS in 2002 upon being recruited to the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City, where he spent 11 years and held several leadership positions, including program director for interventional cardiology.
In 2013, he was recruited to NorthShore University Health System in Chicago as chief of cardiology and co-director of the Cardiovascular Institute.
Saucedo is board-certified in cardiovascular disease. He is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology (FACC); the American Heart Association, for which he has served in local, regional and national leadership roles, including on its board of directors; and the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions.
He has served as principal investigator or site principal investigator for numerous industry-sponsored and federally funded clinical trials, and has authored or co-authored more than 150 peer-reviewed articles, books, chapters and reviews.
Internal Medicine is one of 21 clinical departments in the UAMS College of Medicine. It has 13 divisions: cardiovascular medicine, community health and research, endocrinology and metabolism, gastroenterology and hepatology, general internal medicine, hematology and oncology, hospital medicine, infectious diseases, nephrology, onco-cardiology, palliative medicine, pulmonary and critical care, and rheumatology and immunology.
UAMS is the state’s only health sciences university, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a main campus in Little Rock; a Northwest Arkansas regional campus in Fayetteville; a statewide network of regional campuses; and eight institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, Psychiatric Research Institute, Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, Translational Research Institute, Institute for Digital Health & Innovation and the Institute for Community Health Innovation. UAMS includes UAMS Health, a statewide health system that encompasses all of UAMS’ clinical enterprise. UAMS is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 3,485 students, 915 medical residents and fellows, and seven dental residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 11,000 employees, including 1,200 physicians who provide care to patients at UAMS, its regional campuses, Arkansas Children’s, the VA Medical Center and Baptist Health. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com. Find us on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube or Instagram.
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