A GW professor of pediatrics and emergency medicine will take charge of the medical school’s pediatrics department this summer, the School of Medecine and Health Sciences announced Tuesday.

Stephen Teach, a leading asthma researcher who also teaches in the Milken Institute School of Public Health, will steer the department’s academic policies and partnership with Children’s National Hospital beginning this July.

Teach has served as chief of the division of allergy and immunology since 2010. He has also led the IMPACT D.C. asthma program, which helps asthma patients manage their symptoms and studies the causes of the disorder.

Mark Batshaw, the medical school’s associate dean of academic affairs, said Teach’s wide range of talents will make him a strong leader.

“Dr. Teach combines excellence in clinical care, clinical research, mentorship and advocacy that make him the ideal choice for chairman of pediatrics,” he said.

Teach will be responsible for evaluating faculty performances and managing several programs. He will also assume leadership roles within the medical school and at Children’s National Hospital.