On May 15, 2025, Nita Ahuja, MD, MBA, became the 10th dean of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and vice chancellor for medical affairs at UW–Madison.
A renowned surgeon-scientist, she has held top roles at some of the nation’s leading institutions in academic medicine and was most recently the chair of the Department of Surgery at Yale School of Medicine. SMPH faculty, staff, and students participated in a Wisco Welcome event in June to introduce Ahuja to many Badger traditions. Here, she shares her first impressions of UW–Madison (“so much energy!”), her immediate priorities (listening is number one), gratitude for Dean Golden’s legacy of leadership, thoughts on leading with optimism amid evolving national and global conditions, and more.
What are you most excited about as you step into your new role?
The energy of this university is remarkable! Walking around the Health Sciences Learning Center — well, hobbling as I recover from a sprained ankle — I can feel that energy. I have been impressed by the people here, how kind and generous and grounded they are. When I watched J.J. Watts’ 2019 UW–Madison commencement speech on YouTube, I really connected with these ideas: We work hard; we are determined; we aim for excellence. We are not arrogant, but we get it done.
From breakthroughs in cancer research and therapy, to the synthesis of an anticoagulant derived from an analog of coumarin — which became marketed as warfarin — to the discovery of reverse transcriptase that led to a shared Nobel Prize for Howard Temin, PhD, UW–Madison has a storied history of exploration. And discovery is still happening every day: I just came back from a packed theranostics symposium! We are truly a vibrant campus.
You have described listening as an immediate priority. What are others?
Getting to know the school community is a big priority. I want to hear about the successes and the things we don’t do well. As dean, I consider it my job to serve all faculty members, students, and staff, so I will be asking how we can do that best. I have two roles: dean of the school and vice chancellor for medical affairs at UW–Madison, and that means thinking about how we can connect and intersect with other health sciences units and schools. Expanding a vision for the west side of campus — which is home to the UW Schools of Nursing, Pharmacy, and Veterinary Medicine, as well as UW Health — includes thinking not only about our buildings, but about how we connect to each other and to our patients.
I would like for us to be a beacon for the Wisconsin Idea. That means healthy communities and healthy longevity. As the nation’s first combined school of medicine and public health, we think about health, not just disease. That thinking goes along with biomedical innovation, it stems from humanism, and it emerges from thinking about all aspects of longevity. I would like for us to continue setting that as an example here in Madison, as well as at the state, regional and national levels. Under the skillful and storied legacy of Dean Golden we have already been engaged in this work, and I would like us to envision how we can do it bigger and better together. We anticipate bringing our partners — grateful patients and donors, elected officials and policymakers, industry partners, and others — into the conversation to get to that next stage.
How has your leadership style been shaped by your core values?
I have been described as a visionary, as someone who scans the horizon and builds with a sense of pragmatism, thinking about “How do we deliver?” I believe in empowering leaders to their full potential. I cannot do it all, and I ask that my leaders educate me. We discuss, we decide, and we unite in one vision. My core values include excellence, integrity, collaboration, respect, and — very important — performance. I always want to create a sense of belonging. That has to be there! Those values J.J. Watt mentioned as part of the Badger Way — hard work and humility — also resonate with me.
Amid the challenges facing academic medicine, do you see opportunity for optimism?
Yes. I have observed the decline of public trust in science over the last few years, and I think it says we have not talked with and listened to our communities enough. We must reflect first on what did not go well and then talk about what we can do better. When we talk about health, it is important to use language that helps people understand the research and the decisions and choices that care providers make. Call me a Pollyanna, but I believe the pendulum will swing back to belief in science. We have work to do in our communities — with teachers, community leaders, parents, and legislators. Good work is never easy, but I do see opportunities, especially with partnerships rather than academic medicine doing it alone.
What strengths do you want to build on?
Part of why I accepted this role was the amazing work happening at this university and within this school — things that only happen here, things we want to do, and areas in which we are poised to lead. We are amazing in precision medicine. We could become the national example in theranostics. We are poised to elevate our cancer research, diagnostics, and prevention, setting new standards of excellence. We have the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center helping to pioneer blood-based diagnostics. More broadly, I am excited by the university’s Research, Innovation, and Scholarly Excellence (RISE) Initiative, as well as RISE-THRIVE (Transforming Healthspan through Research, InnoVation, and Education) and RISE-AI (artificial intelligence). And best of all is the Wisconsin Idea. I want everyone to keep talking about that!
You have emphasized the importance of workplace well-being and finding joy in daily work. Why is this important?
As health care has become more complicated, we have seen a rise in burnout on every level — including medical and doctoral students, faculty, and staff — and that tells me we have forgotten how to have joy in the workplace.
Joy can be hard to describe. It is a feeling, but it comes from intention. We need to develop it like a muscle and cultivate spaces that help us do so. Joy centers around a sense of belonging, a feeling that you are in the right place, that out of all the places you could have gone, you came here, and you chose to stay. We have to be intentional about keeping joy alive in the places where we want to keep all this talent. We build a scaffolding for a culture of joy with good governance, with fairness and transparency, and with clear rules, boundaries, and resources. I want to ask all our leaders to take joy into account when thinking about the culture of their units.
How do you describe excellence in teaching and learning?
Excellence means understanding learning differences, both cultural and intergenerational; iterating on one’s teaching style to incorporate new tools; maintaining and inspiring curiosity; and avoiding dogmatism. Are we sparking a love of learning in our students, so they can go on to learn from their patients, learn in their labs? If I see learners lighting up about knowledge acquisition, like the students at the poster session I attended, then I know our educators are doing a good job. Encouraging excellence in teaching and learning among our five health professions programs means providing necessary resources and making sure we foster the right leaders and attract talented students. Our shared curiosity about how various health professionals approach health care helps us learn from one another.
As the first woman to hold the SMPH dean role, what unique opportunities do you see?
I was among an early generation of women entering the field of surgery, and that was often hard. Academic medicine is often challenging because the rules are hidden. I want to create an environment that is transparent so the path for the next generation is clearer. As leaders, we should consider how our young faculty and staff members are managing as dual-career couples or as new parents because our systems are not built around that. Other people have always helped me get where I wanted to be, and I want to do that for others.
One of my colleagues said, “Nita, you are a multiplier wherever you go.” I love being a multiplier! My job is to create an ecosystem that lets people blossom, with guardrails of the principles we can all live by.
Outside of work, what do you enjoy doing?
My two sons are 20 and 25 years old, and I like spending time with them. They give me hope for the world. My husband travels a lot for work, so weekends can be a good connection time for us. I like beautiful vistas, and Madison is a beautiful city. I like to read a fair bit, outside of medicine. I am a scientist, though, so on weekends, I often catch up with my epigenetics lab. I am somewhat of a workaholic. I do want to learn more about our community, such as what Big 10 football is all about. I hope to attend my first tailgate party this year.
