Ali Gharavi Appointed Chair of Medicine

Ali Gharavi has been appointed chair of the Department of Medicine at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and physician-in-chief at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center following an extensive national search. Gharavi has served as the department's interim chair since April 2023; his new appointments are effective immediately.

Gharavi is the Jay Meltzer, MD, Professor of Nephrology and Hypertension in the Department of Medicine, where he has served as chief of the Division of Nephrology since 2014 and director of the Center for Precision and Genomics since 2019. During his tenure as a division chief, Gharavi oversaw a major expansion of the clinical programs and achieved a five-fold increase in extramural research support. Under his guidance, the division also established a pioneering program for precision nephrology.

Upon joining Columbia in 2003, Gharavi developed a research program focused on the molecular genetics of kidney diseases. His work has led to the discovery of genes and risk loci for IgA nephropathy and congenital kidney defects. His research on IgA nephropathy has identified new biological pathways that have now been successfully targeted for treatment of this disease. His work has also demonstrated the utility of clinical sequencing for the diagnosis and management of patients with kidney disease. His overarching goal is to bring personalized genomic medicine to all specialties of internal medicine.

Among other honors, Gharavi was elected to the American Society for Clinical Investigation and the Association of American Physicians. He received the Judson Daland Prize for Outstanding Clinical Investigation from the American Philosophical Society, the National Medical Award from the Kidney and Urology Foundation of America, and the Homer Smith Award from the American Society of Nephrology.

Since the founding of the medical faculty in 1767, the Department of Medicine at Columbia University has led the country in clinical care, education, and research. The department claims seven Nobel laureates among its trainees and faculty and has developed a well-deserved reputation for exceptional clinical care and rigorous education. The department has been in the top five for NIH funding each year since 2015, and faculty members continually attract honors for clinical excellence, education, and community service.

Gharavi succeeds Donald W. Landry, who chaired the department for 16 years, during which he led the doubling of the faculty and a 300% increase in NIH-funded research.