Dr. Nita Ahuja named dean of UW School of Medicine and Public Health

Dr. Nita Ahuja, a surgeon-scientist who has held top roles at some of the nation’s leading research universities and health systems, has been named the next dean of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health (SMPH) and the university’s next vice chancellor for medical affairs.

A Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, Ahuja is a cancer-care innovator whose treatment approaches and research have garnered international recognition. With an MBA, she’s also a proven leader and administrator with a track record for bringing multidisciplinary teams together to solve health care challenges.

“We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Ahuja to the University of Wisconsin,” says Chancellor Jennifer L. Mnookin. “For decades, she has tackled difficult-to-treat cancers for her own patients while simultaneously working to improve the experience for all patients at the health systems she has helped lead. I am confident that Dr. Ahuja’s experience as a physician, world-class researcher and administrator will provide the visionary leadership necessary to build upon UW–Madison’s excellence in medicine and public health.”

“Dr. Ahuja’s track record for translating basic science into innovative new treatments while mentoring the next generation of physician-scientists is the Wisconsin Idea in action,” adds UW–Madison Provost Charles Isbell Jr. “We’re excited and honored that she will be bringing her proven talents and abilities, which include leading large, complex organizations, to the University of Wisconsin.”

“This is a remarkable opportunity to help lead the state’s flagship institution and the region’s hub for higher education,” agrees Ahuja. “My ethos in leadership is anchored in a belief that the greatest power of academic medicine in improving health care lies within its people.”

Ahuja will assume her University of Wisconsin roles on May 15, 2025. 

Trailblazing career in academic medicine and administration

Ahuja comes to UW–Madison after more than two decades conducting research and treating patients at two of the nation’s premier health care and research institutions. She also brings a deep well of experience as an academic leader and health care administrator, having steered organizations with thousands of employees and large research portfolios.

A surgical oncologist by training, Ahuja has chaired Yale University’s Department of Surgery since 2018 — the first woman to do so in its 200-year history — while also holding faculty appointments in oncology and pathology.

Over the same period, she has served as Chair of the Yale Medicine Faculty Practice Plan, Associate Cancer Center Director of Yale Cancer Center’s Surgical Services, Chief of Surgery at Yale New Haven Hospital (YNHH), and Surgeon-in-Chief for the Yale New Haven Health System, overseeing 85 operating rooms across seven hospitals. Her tenure has been marked by her leadership in navigating the COVID-19 crisis, guiding the system’s response and the recovery of surgical services, strategic expansion of its ambulatory surgical footprint and the establishment of novel destination programs in peritoneal surface malignancies, reconstructive oncology, and complex aortic care.

She has also served on the YNHH Board of Trustees and served as Interim Director of Yale Cancer Center and Interim Surgeon-in-Chief at Smilow Cancer Hospital. Prior to joining Yale, Ahuja spent 15 years as a faculty member and administrator at Johns Hopkins University, where she was a professor of surgery, oncology and urology. In 2016, Ahuja became the first woman to serve as chief of Johns Hopkins’ surgical oncology division and Vice Chair of Research. Now, she is set to become the 10th dean and first woman to lead SMPH in its century-long history.

In addition to her roles at Yale, Dr. Ahuja is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine and a member of several of the nation’s most prestigious academic societies, including the American Surgical Association, Society of Surgical Oncology, and Society of University Surgeons.

She also serves in key national leadership roles, including as a board member of the Association of American Medical Colleges, the representative body serving all accredited U.S. and Canadian medical schools and teaching hospitals; and as chair of the AAMC’s Council of Faculty and Academic Societies. Additionally, she serves on the Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center Board and remains an adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University.

Deep experience in cancer care and research

Ahuja’s medical career began at the Duke University School of Medicine, where she received her medical degree in 1993. She completed her residency in general surgery and a fellowship in surgical oncology at Johns Hopkins before joining the university’s faculty in 2003.

Her Johns Hopkins fellowship focused on cancers of the liver, gallbladder, pancreas and bile ducts, leading Ahuja to specialize in the treatment of sarcomas and complex gastrointestinal cancers, including stomach, rectal and pancreatic malignancies. Ahuja’s innovative surgical and heated chemotherapy approaches have gained an international reputation that draws patients from around the world seeking treatment for difficult metastatic cancers.

A passionate advocate for interdisciplinary approaches to medicine and marrying research with treatment, Ahuja has a long history of leading collaborative and cutting-edge research aimed at improving cancer outcomes.

Since 2003, Ahuja has directed a highly productive translational science laboratory focused on the development of biomarkers for early detection of pancreatic and colorectal cancers using genetic information from patient samples. The research, funded by the National Institutes for Health, has established Ahuja’s lab as an international leader in translational epigenetics. A pivotal member of the Stand Up to Cancer Dream Team since 2008, she has led more than 20 national and international clinical trials testing new therapies for gastrointestinal and breast cancers.

Building on a legacy of partnership, growth

When she joins SMPH this spring, Ahuja will be taking the reins from Robert N. Golden, M.D., who has served as the school’s dean and the university’s vice chancellor for medical affairs since 2006. Golden announced in 2024 that he would step down from the leadership roles once a successor is in place and will remain on the faculty upon stepping down.

One of the longest serving medical school deans in the nation, Golden has presided over a period of growth and strengthened partnerships at SMPH. These include the continual expansion of the school’s Master of Public Health degree program, with nine dual degrees now offered in collaboration with other schools across the university; the launch of the Wisconsin Academy for Rural Medicine, which trains medical students who intend to practice in rural areas, a three-quarters  of whom have remained in Wisconsin; and the establishment of an urban medicine track in the MD program focused on promoting health equity, community and public health in urban areas.

On the research front, since 2006, SMPH has grown its NIH-funded research portfolio from $135 million to about $315 million in 2023 — its highest level ever and 22^nd highest among medical schools in the nation.

With a reputation for successful interdisciplinary collaboration, SMPH researchers are at the forefront in many fields of medical and public health research, including stem cell and regenerative medicine, personalized medicine and genomics, infectious disease, asthma, Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, social determinants of health, medical imaging and more. In 2024 alone, UW–Madison received a $150 million NIH grant — the largest in university history — to lead a nationwide Alzheimer’s disease study.

Annual philanthropic support for the school has also increased more than ten-fold over Golden’s tenure. In 2022, the school and its clinical partner UW Health launched a fundraising campaign that to date has raised more than $500 million.

Ahuja brings with her significant experience in many areas where SMPH has seen success under Golden, including philanthropic fundraising, research support, program growth and optimization and collaboration with partner health systems.

“Dr. Ahuja’s commitment to academic medicine, community service and clinical excellence while prioritizing the patient experience is exactly what we’re seeking in our next partner,” says Alan Kaplan, CEO of UW Health. “I’m confident that our partnership will continue to thrive as she assumes this important leadership role.”

“I am truly excited to join the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health as its next dean and vice chancellor for medical affairs. This is an incredible opportunity to partner with the SMPH community to unlock the school’s full potential across its academic missions. At the heart of it all are its people—the foundation of everything that makes SMPH extraordinary. I look forward to building on its rich legacy in education, discovery, and clinical care to advance impact for the communities we serve,” Ahuja says.