ANANTHA SHEKHAR, MD, PHD, is senior vice chancellor for the health sciences and John and Gertrude Petersen Dean of the School of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh. He is a nationally recognized educator, researcher, and entrepreneur with major contributions in medicine and life sciences.
Innovation, transformation, and sweeping and successful collaborations across the private, public, and philanthropic sectors have defined Dr. Shekhar’s distinguished career, which spanned more than three decades at Indiana University School of Medicine (IUSM) and Indiana University Health before he began his leadership roles at the University of Pittsburgh in June 2020.
Dr. Shekhar’s areas of expertise include basic and clinical research on the effects of stress, stress-induced psychiatric and medical conditions, and clinical psychopharmacology. His laboratory has developed some of the best translational models for panic and related anxiety disorders. His work focuses on the role of brain abnormalities that could lead to stress and psychiatric disorders and to the discovery of new treatments.
Dr. Shekhar is a tenured member of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Forum on Drug Discovery, Development, and Translation. The forum provides a unique platform for dialogue and collaboration among thought leaders in government, academia, industry, foundations, and disease and patient advocacy groups, serving as a catalyst for nurturing new ideas and partnerships to advance critical policy discussions on biopharmaceutical innovation at the global level.
Dr. Shekhar earned his medical degree at St. John’s Medical College, India, and PhD in neuroscience at Indiana University. He has published more than 200 original scientific papers in leading basic science and clinical journals.