Dawood Darbar, MD, named chair of Department of Medicine

Penn State College of Medicine and Penn State Health have appointed Dawood Darbar, MD, an internationally recognized physician-scientist and cardiovascular leader, as chair of the Department of Medicine, effective March 23.

In addition to his role as department chair, Dr. Darbar will serve as co-director of the Heart and Vascular Institute and vice president of the Penn State Health Cardiovascular Service Line, partnering with Behzad Soleimani, MD, chair of the Department of Surgery.

Dr. Darbar joins the College of Medicine from the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC), where he is a professor of medicine and pharmacology, chief of cardiology and director of the Center for Cardiovascular Research.

Dr. Darbar is widely known for his ability to build high-performing clinical programs within integrated academic health systems. At UIC, he established the Cardiovascular Service Line, aligning operations, improving quality outcomes and expanding access through partnerships with the Veterans Affairs (VA) health system and regional hospitals. He also developed and expanded several multidisciplinary programs, including structural heart, cardio-oncology, advanced heart failure and women’s heart health.

A distinguished cardiac electrophysiologist, Dr. Darbar has led multiple National Institutes of Health- and VA-funded research programs, including R01-funded studies focused on genotype-guided atrial fibrillation therapy, cardiometabolic arrythmia mechanisms and iPSC-based disease modeling.

He is the founding director of UIC’s NIH-funded T32 Training Program in Personalized Cardiovascular Medicine and has served as contact principal investigator for the Medical Scientist Training Program T32 grant. Throughout his career, he has mentored more than 35 trainees who have advanced to independent research careers supported by competitive federal funding.

Dr. Darbar brings a vision grounded in scientific rigor, collaborative leadership and a strong commitment to patient-centered care. His approach aligns with the College of Medicine’s priorities of strengthening clinical excellence, accelerating discovery, expanding educational opportunities and improving access to care – particularly for rural and underserved communities.

In a joint statement, Karen Kim, MD, MS, College dean, and Don McKenna, Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center president, extended their sincere appreciation to Nasr Ghahramani, MD, MS, who has served as interim chair of the Department of Medicine since July 2023. His steady leadership ensured continuity across the department’s clinical, research and educational missions during this important period of transition. Dr. Ghahramani will return to his role as division director of nephrology.

“Please join us in welcoming Dr. Darbar to the College of Medicine and our academic health system,” Dr. Kim and McKenna said in their statement. “We look forward to the leadership, innovation and collaborative spirit he will bring to our community.”

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