Dean of Emory University School of Medicine, Vikas Sukhatme is a leading physician-scientist and medical educator with broad experience in research, teaching, clinical care, administration, and entrepreneurship. He also serves as Woodruff Professor of Medicine and Emory Healthcare’s chief academic officer.

Born in India, raised in Rome, Sukhatme earned a doctorate in physics from MIT and an MD from Harvard.

“Education lifted my family out of poverty. The power of education to make a more just and equitable world is immeasurable, and it has driven my life and career.”

After residency and clinical fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital and research fellowship at Stanford, Sukhatme joined the faculty at the University of Chicago. Returning to Harvard, he served as Victor J. Aresty Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, chief academic officer and faculty dean for academic programs at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, renal division chief, and founding chief of the Division of Interdisciplinary Medicine and Technology. Besides medical teaching, he has taught at Harvard Business School and MIT Sloan.

A distinguished basic science and clinical researcher, Sukhatme is also an entrepreneur, having launched several biotechnology companies arising from his discoveries.

He cofounded the nonprofit GlobalCures to test promising cancer therapies that companies might not perceive as profitable and extended this vision as founding director of Emory’s Morningside Center for Innovative and Affordable Medicine.

“There is not a problem that Harvard, with its amazing resources, people, and brand, cannot solve. Let’s not be shy about tackling society’s most pressing challenges.”