Janice Timchuck, associate director of Special Projects in the Wayne State University Office of Health Affairs, has been appointed chief of staff to the office of School of Medicine Dean Jack D. Sobel, M.D., effective May 6.

Timchuck will replace Julie Serdar, who is leaving the School of Medicine to pursue opportunities closer to her home in Wadsworth, Ill., at the end of June after almost eight years as chief of staff to the dean and four years as chief of staff to the vice president of Health Affairs.

Timchuck has been with the School of Medicine since 2002, working on many special projects that led to the creation of a Project Management Office. She has held her position in the Office of Health Affairs, managing high-profile projects and supporting senior leadership decision-making, since 2016. She has been instrumental in planning, developing, designing and implementing new processes and procedures for the Project Management Office.

Before joining WSU, she served as an information technology manager for Capital Investment Group LLC, creating a company-wide database that tracked more than $20 million in investments, established department policies and procedures and designed and implemented the company’s website.

From 1978 to 2000, Timchuck was employed in a number of positions with the Detroit Medical Center. She developed a database that tracked the training of 17,000 employees, served as the senior executive secretary for the president of Grace Hospital and as executive secretary for the vice president of Patient Care Services.

She graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Wayne State University.

Timchuck will work with Serdar to provide a smooth transition before Serdar departs in June.