Prominent Women’s Health Researcher and Academic Leader Named Dean of BU Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
Geeta Swamy, Duke University Haywood Brown, MD Distinguished Professor of Women’s Health, associate vice president for research, and executive vice dean for clinical sciences and research administration for the school of medicine, has been appointed dean of Boston University’s Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, starting January 1, 2027. Photo courtesy of Geeta Swamy
Prominent Women’s Health Researcher and Academic Leader Named Dean of BU Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
Geeta Swamy joins Boston University from Duke University
Geeta Swamy, a renowned obstetrics and gynecology researcher and an academic leader at Duke University School of Medicine, has been appointed the new dean of Boston University’s Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine.
Swamy brings more than two decades of experience in healthcare, groundbreaking research, and university leadership. At Duke, where she has worked for 22 years, Swamy is the Haywood Brown, MD Distinguished Professor of Women’s Health, associate vice president for research, and executive vice dean for clinical sciences and research administration for the school of medicine.
Swamy’s arrival marks the end of a competitive search for a successor for the next medical school dean after Karen Antman, who stepped down in 2025 after 20 years in the role. Hee-Young Park, the Carolann S. Najarian, MD, chair of medical sciences and education, a professor of dermatology, and associate dean of faculty affairs at the medical school, has served as interim dean since 2025. Swamy assumes the position on January 1, 2027.
“What inspired me about this role was the opportunity to connect the Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine more deeply to the university through interdisciplinary discovery, to Boston Medical Center through our shared mission, and to the communities of Boston through a commitment to improving health for all,” Swamy says.
In addition to the work she oversees to streamline the various parts of Duke’s medical research efforts, Swamy is a highly accomplished clinician and scientist with a focus on perinatal infection, maternal immunization, and the complications of pregnancy. She is affiliated with several hospitals, including Duke University Hospital and Duke Regional Hospital.
I am honored and excited to join this remarkable community, and I look forward to listening, learning, and working alongside its faculty, staff, students, and partners to shape the school’s next chapter together.
“We are pleased to welcome Dr. Swamy during this critical next chapter for Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, and for the University overall, as we look to strengthen the connections between our campuses, and our partnership with the Boston Medical Center Health Systems,” says President Melissa Gilliam. “Dr. Swamy’s excellence as a leading maternal-child health researcher and her deep understanding of academic medicine make her exceptionally well suited to lead our medical school. She has extensive experience in research administration, operational excellence, and aligning hospitals with medical schools. These experiences will be essential to fostering the flourishing and mutually-beneficial partnership we envision with BMCHS.”
Swamy earned her bachelor’s degree in public health and biostatistics and a medical degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She completed her residency in obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Pittsburgh and a fellowship in maternal-fetal medicine at Duke.
Shortly after joining Duke as an assistant professor in 2004, Swamy led a study that found that children who were born prematurely had higher rates of death in childhood and were more likely to be childless as adults. For this work, she received the 2008 National Institutes of Health (NIH) Young Investigator Award for Perinatal Research. In 2009, she was also recognized by NIH for her research on the effects of the 2009 swine flu pandemic on women.
She went on to serve in many roles at Duke: associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology, member of the Duke Human Vaccine Institute, senior associate dean of the school of medicine, and vice dean and associate vice provost for scientific integrity.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Swamy played a vital role in numerous vaccine trials led by Duke. She was a co-investigator for the university’s COVID-19 trial and used her expertise to study the vaccine’s safety and efficacy for pregnant women.
She has also led several studies examining links between environmental, social, and political factors and health outcomes, specifically for women and children.
“Dr. Swamy brings an outstanding record as a physician, scientist, and academic leader to this role,” Provost and Chief Academic Officer Colin Duckett says. “Her experience and scholarship position her well to guide our medical school into the future. She will enable us to continue to expand our biomedical research portfolio and provide our medical students with state-of-the-art training so they can provide life changing care to patients throughout their careers. Our students, scientists, and medical school will benefit greatly from Dr. Swamy’s leadership.”
At the Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Swamy will play a key role in strengthening the 30-year partnership between the University and Boston Medical Center Health System. BMC is the primary teaching hospital for the medical school and also partners with the School of Public Health, School of Dental Medicine, and the medical school’s master’s in medical science program.
“After a competitive search led by members of Boston University and Boston Medical Center Health System, I am delighted to welcome Dr. Geeta Swamy to Boston,” says Alastair Bell, president and CEO of BMC Health System. “Boston Medical Center Health System’s partnership with Boston University is essential to our collective ability to conduct groundbreaking research, educate the next generation of medical providers, and deliver essential care. Dr. Swamy will be a tremendous asset to our shared mission.”
Swamy’s arrival comes at a propulsive moment for the medical school. In early 2025, the University and BMC launched an initiative to strengthen its relationship with BMC, setting up the future of a partnership that has a deep impact on Boston and the world. Additionally, in recent weeks, researchers at the school secured funding to continue the Framingham Heart Study, one of the country’s leading investigations of cognitive decline. The medical school was also recently awarded a Massachusetts Life Sciences Center grant for its research on historically underexamined women’s health conditions.
“I am honored and excited to join this remarkable community, and I look forward to listening, learning, and working alongside its faculty, staff, students, and partners to shape the school’s next chapter together,” Swamy says.