Arkansas native and pediatric allergy expert Tamara T. Perry, MD, FAAP, FAAAAI, will serve as the new president of Arkansas Children’s Research Institute (ACRI). She will also serve as senior vice president and chief research officer for the Arkansas Children’s system.
She assumes leadership July 1, as ACRI experiences pivotal growth and accelerates innovative research to improve health outcomes for children in rural and underserved communities.
“Dr. Perry has been an integral part of Arkansas Children’s and ACRI for nearly two decades and is a highly respected leader in pediatric research and academic medicine,” said Arkansas Children’s President and Chief Executive Officer Marcy Doderer, FACHE. “Throughout her career, she has remained deeply committed to advancing innovative research that improves outcomes for children, particularly those in rural and underserved communities. Her leadership, collaborative approach and passion for discovery make her exceptionally well-suited to lead ACRI into the future.”
Arkansas Children’s opened a new Pediatric Clinical Research Unit, more than doubling the number of beds dedicated to caring for children in trials for innovative treatments including gene therapy. The institute is also building the National Center for Opioid and Addiction Research (NCOAR), a center with majority funding from opioid and vaping settlement dollars.
Perry serves as a professor of pediatrics and recently held the title of Chief of the Allergy and Immunology Division at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) and Arkansas Children’s.
In 2020, Perry was recognized with the Dr. Robert H. Fiser, Jr., Research Achievement Award for her contributions to pediatric research. She was also recognized as the Arkansas Biosciences Institute’s Established Investigator of the year in 2022.
Perry earned medical degree at UAMS and completed an undergraduate degree at University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.