Internationally recognized pathologist and physician-scientist Jennifer Hunt has been named the next dean of the Geisel School of Medicine, Provost Santiago Schnell and President Sian Leah Beilock announced today. She begins the role on Aug. 1.
Hunt is currently interim dean of the University of Florida College of Medicine, where she is the Folke H. Peterson Dean’s Distinguished Professor. She will be the first woman to lead Geisel in the medical school’s 229-year history.
“Jennifer Hunt is an exceptional physician-leader with deep experience in academic medicine and a strong commitment to interdisciplinary and translational research, as well as to mentoring the next generation of medical professionals,” Schnell says. “She is well positioned to advance Geisel’s mission and to sustain the school’s longstanding emphasis on service to our region, excellence in patient care, and research-driven innovation.”
Hunt has published more than 160 peer-reviewed papers, is a fellow of the College of American Pathologists, and has served in elected board and other leadership roles for the Association for Molecular Pathology, the Association for American Pathology (formerly the Association of Pathology Chairs), and the Florida Society of Pathologists.
“It is an honor and a privilege to be joining the vibrant Dartmouth community,” says Hunt. “I am looking forward to getting to know the Geisel School of Medicine’s faculty, staff, students, and trainees and collaborating with them to build upon the school’s rich history of innovation and excellence.”
Previously at UF, Hunt chaired the Department of Pathology, Immunology, and Laboratory Medicine and served as chief of the hospital medical staff of UF Health Shands Hospital and clinics. In that role, she oversaw more than 2,000 credentialed medical staff members and co-chaired the Medical Executive Committee.
Before joining the University of Florida in 2020, she held academic appointments and leadership roles at the University of Pittsburgh, the Cleveland Clinic, Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts General Hospital, and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
“Jennifer Hunt has the experience and skills to help Geisel shape world-class physicians and health scientists who will also be leaders in their communities,” says President Beilock. “And she will help advance Dartmouth’s impact in improving rural health care for patients across our region and around the country and world.”
Hunt studied chemistry and French at Bryn Mawr College and earned an MD and an MEd from the University of Pennsylvania, where she also completed a residency in anatomic pathology and a fellowship in molecular genetic pathology.
In addition to her work in medicine, Hunt is an executive coach trained and certified by the International Coach Federation, with extensive experience in leadership development and professionalism in health care.
“Dr. Hunt’s breadth of experience as a trailblazing researcher and leader in academic medicine makes her an ideal choice for Geisel’s next dean,” says Joanne Conroy ’77, CEO and president of Dartmouth Health, with which Geisel has a close partnership. “Under Dr. Hunt’s leadership, I’m confident that the symbiotic relationship between our institutions will not just continue but expand and thrive.”
Founded in 1797, Geisel is the fourth-oldest medical school in the United States. Among its distinctions, Geisel is known for graduating physicians who serve others, and ranks among the top 10% of all U.S. medical schools in the number of graduates who set up their first practice in underserved areas.
Geisel and Dartmouth Health jointly operate the Dartmouth Cancer Center, which is designated as a comprehensive cancer center by the National Cancer Institute, and the SYNERGY Clinical and Translational Science Institute, funded by the National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences.
Geisel is also a leader in rural health care, ranking first among all Ivy Plus institutions in receiving NIH funding to support rural health.
Tenure-track faculty at Geisel average nearly $1 million per faculty member per year in external research grants. That research has led to a disproportionate number of breakthroughs, from the development of the first blockbuster immunotherapy cancer drugs (by Dartmouth-founded company Medarex) to identifying the spike protein sequence used in the mRNA vaccines for COVID-19. Today, Geisel is leading the way in the application of smartphone technology to promote mental health and to treat substance use disorder.
In his message to the community, Schnell thanked the advisory committee as well as Steve Leach, who has served as interim dean of Geisel since September.
“This is a truly historic moment for Geisel, and I am thrilled that the leadership of our great school will continue to be in such capable hands,” Leach says. “I believe Dr. Hunt will be an outstanding dean for Geisel and will lead our institution into an era of even greater success.”
The search advisory committee was co-chaired by Geisel’s Charles Barlowe, the James C. Chilcott ’20 Professor in Pharmaceutical Sciences and chair of biochemistry and cell biology, and Barbara Jobst, the Louis and Ruth Frank Professor of Neurosciences and chair of neurology, and assisted by Global executive search firm Isaacson, Miller.
In addition to Barlowe and Jobst, the search committee included:
- Amber Barnato, the John E. Wennberg Distinguished Professor in Health Policy and Clinical Practice and director of The Dartmouth Institute at Geisel
- Vincent Busque, MED ’26
- Sonia Chimienti, dean of educational affairs, Geisel
- Paula Medina Diaz, MED ’24 (MPH)
- Nathan Goldstein, the Joseph M. Huber Professor and chair of medicine, Geisel
- Ryan Halter, associate professor, Thayer School of Engineering
- Michael Hoppa, associate professor of biological sciences, Arts and Sciences
- Dean Madden, vice provost for research
- Joyce Sackey ’85, MED ’89, Dartmouth trustee
- Sam Shields, vice president of strategy and regional operations, Dartmouth Health
- Brian Shiner, associate professor of psychiatry, Geisel
- Matthew Slaughter, dean, Tuck School of Business
- Mara Weissmann, advisory board, Geisel
Hunt and her husband, Johnnie Chung, and their youngest child, Josephine, are eager to begin putting down roots in their new home in New Hampshire. Their older children, Joel and Julienne, are looking forward to joining them on the ski slopes for family vacations.
