Vikas R. Dharnidharka, MD, MPH

2024 Dean’s Impact Award Recipient

Vikas R. Dharnidharka, MD, MPH, has mentored and sponsored many junior colleagues in their careers through his current and previous roles as clinical/translational researcher, clinician, fellowship program director, longtime division chief and vice chair for clinical investigation. He has adopted a “can-do” attitude, which has been highlighted by department leadership. He has also convinced his group to consistently recognize great work by colleagues and nominate them for awards, and as a result, his staff and faculty are regular winners of departmental laurels each year. Under his leadership, the division has added new programs in aquapheresis and pulse wave analysis, increased the footprint of its services to collaborators and even competitor institutions, and reduced its new patient wait times through efficient backfill clinics. Additionally, Dharnidharka has protected the time of junior faculty toward K awards. In his new vice chair role, he leads a series of initiatives for the department’s clinical researchers including a new Pediatric Clinical and Translational Seminar Series and a project to develop a new centralized clinical research coordinator pool in the department, and acts as a resource for current and under-recruited faculty members. He is described by colleagues as “a wonderful advocate, collaborator and mentor for faculty.”