University of Colorado School of Medicine Dean John Sampson, MD, PhD, MBA, announced today key leadership changes to ensure the school maintains programs of excellence in clinical care, research, and education.
“We are fortunate to have exceptionally talented leaders on our faculty who are stepping up as the next generation of leaders on our campus,” Sampson says. “I am confident that these leaders will help us align priorities, identify opportunities for growth, and maximize the ability of our programs to improve lives.”
Five senior leaders have been appointed, effective May 1, 2025, to enhanced leadership roles within the CU School of Medicine:
- Vineet Chopra, MBBS, MD, MSc, chair of the Department of Medicine, will become the interim executive vice dean overseeing clinical affairs, quality, and research operations. He will continue serving as chair of medicine.
- Shanta Zimmer, MD, senior associate dean for education, has been promoted to executive vice dean with responsibility over education and recognizing the extensive scope of her work leading the CU School of Medicine educational enterprise.
- Naresh Mandava, MD, chair of the Department of Ophthalmology, has been named interim senior associate dean for strategic advancement to build on his successful fundraising efforts for the CU School of Medicine. He will continue serving as chair of ophthalmology.
- Leslie Berg, PhD, chair of the Department of Immunology and Microbiology, will serve as interim senior associate dean for biomedical research. The focus of this role will be to enhance the CU School of Medicine’s overall ability to conduct outstanding basic and translational research. She will continue as chair of the Department of Immunology and Microbiology.
- Adit Ginde, MD, professor and vice chair for research for the Department of Emergency Medicine, will serve as interim senior associate dean for clinical research for the CU School of Medicine and as interim assistant vice chancellor for clinical trials in the campus Office of Vice Chancellor for Research. His role will focus on improving clinical trials processes within the CU School of Medicine and UCHealth.
“I have asked these outstanding leaders to think big about where we are and where we can go,” Sampson says. “While there are many uncertainties related to federal funding, we know that we have an opportunity here at the CU School of Medicine. We are well-positioned to continue to grow due to the strength of our clinical practice and hospital partners.”
Executive vice deans
As interim executive vice dean, Chopra will take over responsibilities that had been the purview of Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs Anne Fuhlbrigge, MD, who announced earlier this year that she plans to retire. Chopra’s responsibilities will include:
- Coordinating and overseeing clinical activities between CU School of Medicine clinical departments, UCHealth, Children’s Hospital Colorado, the Veterans Health Administration, Denver Health, other related partners, and CU Medicine.
- Providing oversight and leadership for all CU School of Medicine quality and safety efforts.
Additionally, as interim executive vice dean, Chopra will also supervise, oversee, and guide the CU School of Medicine research enterprise and the administrative leaders in the Dean’s Office. He will also support chairs of basic science and clinical departments and help recruit and onboard new chairs as requested by the Dean.
Chopra joined the CU School of Medicine in October 2021 and has led a transformation of the Department of Medicine. He has recruited new division and executive leadership, invested in mentorship programs, expanded clinical operations, supported research operations, recruited exceptional faculty and trainees, and raised awareness of department accomplishments.
Zimmer’s responsibilities include providing visionary leadership and strategic direction for all educational programs at the CU School of Medicine in collaboration with our clinical and educational partners across the state, including innovative changes to curriculum, new programs, and implementation of new educational technologies and pedagogies. Her team also recently led the school through the process of reaccreditation review by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education.
A professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases, Zimmer joined the CU School of Medicine in 2016, first as associate dean for diversity, then as senior associate dean for education.
Senior associate deans
In his role as interim senior associate dean for strategic advancement, Mandava will be a champion for benefactor support on the Dean’s leadership team. The role expands on his success leading the UCHealth Sue Anschutz-Rodgers Eye Center to collaborate with the Office of Advancement and UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital on strategic gift visioning and creating grateful patients.
Berg and Ginde will lead efforts to refresh the CU School of Medicine Research Office. Their aim is to ensure that operations run smoothly and that the school has the resources needed to support its clinical, translational, and discovery research programs, while keeping up with the evolving needs of the research community. They will define a strategic plan for the school’s research enterprise and pursue priorities with UCHealth, our other hospital partners, and across the campus to promote research growth and expand investments in research infrastructure.
To ensure research space and laboratory infrastructure are used effectively, Berg plans to introduce new methods for evaluating space utilization. She will develop a plan to reconfigure lab spaces to better match current research practices, while respecting and building upon the valuable work already accomplished. Additionally, she will oversee the CU School of Medicine research cores, biobanking, and other research-intensive activities.
Berg joined the CU School of Medicine in 2019 as chair of immunology and microbiology. In May, she will receive the American Association of Immunologists (AAI) Lifetime Achievement Award.
Ginde will work to improve the clinical trials processes within the CU School of Medicine, UCHealth, and across the campus with other hospital partners and schools and colleges. These activities will focus on improving all aspects of clinical trial operations including efficiency of trial opening, effectiveness of trial implementation and participant recruitment, and building infrastructure to lead large multicenter trials. The overall goal is to elevate the CU School of Medicine and UCHealth and all of us to become a world-class, preferred destination for patients, scientists, government, and industry, based on excellence in clinical trials performance.
As vice chair for research in emergency medicine since 2016, Ginde has led significant growth in the department’s research portfolio. He also has accelerated the anesthesiology research program as medical director of clinical research since 2017. He is an internationally renowned expert in infection/sepsis, trauma, and respiratory failure and has extensive experience leading multicenter acute and critical care trials in the U.S. and around the world through funding from federal, foundation, and industry sponsors.
As interim senior associate deans of the School of Medicine Research Office, they will will report to Chopra and take over the responsibilities that had been overseen by Senior Associate Dean Peter Buttrick, MD, who announced earlier this year that he plans to step down from the role, and Thomas Campbell, MD, who had been associate dean for clinical research.
