Following an extensive international search, Emory University announced today that Ravi I. Thadhani, MD, MPH, has been appointed executive vice president for health affairs (EVPHA). Thadhani also will serve as executive director of Emory’s Woodruff Health Sciences Center and vice chair of the Emory Healthcare Board of Directors. He will begin his tenure at Emory on Jan. 1, 2023.  

“Dr. Thadhani is a dynamic and innovative leader for Emory’s Woodruff Health Sciences Center,” says Emory President Gregory L. Fenves. “He has deep experience in delivering the highest-quality health care, advancing biomedical research, training health professionals and serving the public to improve the health of all. He will inspire Emory’s talented doctors, nurses, frontline staff, faculty and researchers to reach new heights of excellence. In his many years of academic health system leadership, he has never stopped his research and clinical work, which is a testament to his lifelong commitment to serving patients and improving community health. I can’t wait for him to get started at Emory.”

Thadhani currently serves as chief academic officer and dean for faculty affairs for Mass General Brigham and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, both in Boston, Massachusetts. At Mass General Brigham, he is a member of the executive leadership team and oversees graduate medical education, professional development and a $2.3 billion research enterprise. Previously, he served as vice dean of research and graduate research education at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles (2017-2019), associate director of research at Mass General Brigham (2012-2017) and chief of nephrology at Massachusetts General Hospital (2013-2017).

“I am excited to be coming to Emory University and honored to be joining its outstanding leadership team,” says Thadhani. “Emory’s commitment to serving the Georgia community is impressive and is the driver for its international reputation as a leader in health care delivery and health sciences research, discovery and innovation.” 

As EVPHA, Thadhani will oversee Emory’s academic health sciences center, the Woodruff Health Sciences Center (WHSC), and in this position will shape the next era of research, training and health-care delivery innovation. Founded in 1966, WHSC includes Emory’s schools of medicine, public health and nursing; Winship Cancer Institute; Emory National Primate Research Center; Emory Global Health Institute; Goizueta Institute @ Emory Brain Health; Emory Global Diabetes Research Center; and Emory Healthcare. 

Emory Healthcare, with more than 24,000 employees, 11 hospital campuses and 425 locations, is the most comprehensive academic health system in Georgia. As EVPHA and vice chair of the Emory Healthcare Board, Thadhani will provide oversight of Emory Healthcare’s CEO and leadership team, ensuring the delivery of high-quality, patient-centered care focused on supporting the health and well-being of patients around the state. 

“As a physician leader and researcher, Dr. Thadhani understands the needs of patients and how those needs translate to the mission of the Woodruff Health Sciences Center, including Emory Healthcare,” says John Rice, chair of the WHSC Committee of Emory’s Board of Trustees and chair of the Emory Healthcare Board of Directors. “He has a vision for the future that will support our community to address complex health care needs not only in Atlanta and Georgia but around the world.”

With more than 30 years as a general and specialized internal medicine physician, Thadhani has extensive experience in patient care, research and clinical trials. He has led a successful research lab with continuous federal funding for more than 25 years, with a focus on kidney disease and developing diagnostics and therapeutics for patients with preeclampsia. Thadhani has performed several clinical trials focused on effective treatments and preventative measures for preeclampsia, which is one of the leading causes of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. 

He is the author or co-author of more than 300 scientific manuscripts and has published in top-tier journals including the New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet and Journal of the American Medical Association. Thadhani has been inducted into several honor societies, including the American Society for Clinical Investigation, Association of American Physicians, American Epidemiological Society and the American Clinical and Climatological Association. He also serves as a board member of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, a research organization that convenes a community of researchers from across many disciplines and partner institutions — MIT, Harvard and Harvard-affiliated hospitals.

A recipient of several distinguished national awards, Thadhani has an extensive track record of recruiting and mentoring women and underrepresented staff, trainees and faculty. He has been honored with the Harold Amos Faculty Diversity Award from Harvard Medical School, the Alumni Award of Merit from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the John P. Peters Award from the American Society of Nephrology.

Thadhani earned his doctor of medicine degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 1991. He received a master of public health degree from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame. He also completed the LEAD Innovation Certificate Program in 2020 at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

“This is an exciting time at Emory, and I look forward to supporting the tripartite mission of education, research and clinical care of the Woodruff Health Sciences Center and advancing its commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and justice,” says Thadhani. “There is no limit to what we can accomplish with the remarkable faculty, staff and students at Emory.”