Saketh R. Guntupalli, MD, professor and director of the Division of Gynecologic Oncology, has been named chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine, effective Nov. 12, 2025.
After a national search, Guntupalli was selected for his exceptional accomplishments in fulfilling the School of Medicine’s mission of providing excellence in clinical care, research, and education.
“I am extremely pleased to promote Dr. Guntupalli to his new role as chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology,” says Dean John H. Sampson, MD, PhD, MBA. “He is a highly regarded leader in our school, renowned for his exceptional care; research productivity; and commitment to patients, trainees, and colleagues. He has the drive and determination to lead our department into the Top 10.”
Guntupalli, who joined the School of Medicine faculty in 2012, is a leading national and international expert in women’s cancer and has presented extensively on surgical expertise and molecular mechanisms of cancer. He is the author of more than 100 manuscripts and has led multiple collaborative research studies focused on improving post-operative surgical outcomes as well as identifying novel therapies for the treatment of ovarian and uterine cancer.
As a national leader, he previously co-led the National Cancer Institute’s Gynecologic Oncology Group/NRG cooperative research consortium at the University of Colorado for three years as principal investigator. During his tenure, CU Anschutz accrued patients to large, multi-institutional trials. In addition, Guntupalli has secured more than $3.2 million in independent research funding through investigator-initiated trials and from federal funding through agencies including the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Cancer Institute. His studies have been published in numerous journals including JAMA, the Journal of National Cancer Institute, the British Medical Journal, the Journal of Clinical Oncology, and Obstetrics & Gynecology.
Guntupalli has led robust growth in the clinical operations of the Division of Gynecologic Oncology, which is now the largest group in the Rocky Mountain west and one of the largest in the U.S. During his six years as division director, he presided over substantial growth, increasing market share and growing the division from five faculty members to 12 gynecologic oncologists. The division has opened nine additional clinical sites and grown revenue substantially. The addition of sites has provided delivery of health care in previously underserved rural communities.
Guntupalli has been successful in securing significant philanthropic support to CU Anschutz. In recent years, he has secured more than $18 million in donations to his division in the form of five endowed chairs and three endowed professorships. That support has led to substantially increased research opportunities for faculty.
He has also demonstrated commitment to his departmental colleagues by serving as chair of the Obstetrics and Gynecology promotions committee and as vice chair for Faculty Affairs and Development. He has mentored more than 45 faculty members through the department’s rigorous promotions process, resulting in the promotion of each member.
“I am incredibly honored to become chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology,” Guntupalli says. “My colleagues here are outstanding, and it is a privilege to help them advance their work on behalf our entire department, school, and campus. CU Anschutz has been a leader in women’s health nationally, and we will continue to be at the forefront of discovery across the spectrum of our patients' lives. I share Dr. Sampson’s vision of growing the department into a Top 10 enterprise across all our missions.”
Guntupalli succeeds Nanette Santoro, MD, who announced in February that she was stepping down after 15 years as chair. Under her leadership, the department has grown three-fold in faculty and 10-fold in revenue. The department also has been a leader in NIH funding among the School of Medicine’s departments and is home to divisions of maternal fetal medicine and gynecological oncology that are among the largest in the country.
