The Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth has named Angelo E. Volandes, MD, MPH, as the second Anna Gundlach Huber Professor in Medicine. Volandes, a professor of medicine at Geisel, clinician-investigator, and nationally recognized expert in patient-centered decision-making at Dartmouth Health, will serve a four-year term.
In addition to this appointment, Volandes serves as vice chair of research for the Department of Medicine at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC). His work focuses on improving conversations around serious illness, aging, and end-of-life care—an area he believes is critical for both patients and healthcare systems.
“What drew me here is the uniquely collaborative culture,” Volandes says. “You don’t see the silos that can dominate large medical centers. I can just walk down the hall to talk to colleagues, and that makes all the difference.”
Standardizing Serious Illness Conversations
For years, Volandes has worked to transform how physicians communicate with patients facing serious illnesses. Early in his career, he noticed stark inconsistencies in how physicians approached these discussions. “I went to different ICUs across the country and asked attendings how they handled end-of-life conversations and shared decision-making,” he recalls. “The variation wasn’t by geography—it was by individual physician. That’s when I realized we needed a standardized decision aid to ensure every patient received clear, consistent guidance.”
To solve that problem, he created short video decision-aids to help patients and families navigate complex medical choices. These tools are now used widely to support more informed, equitable decision-making. Since arriving at Dartmouth in late 2024, he has already submitted three major research grants to expand this work.
Elevating Rural Healthcare and Addressing Inequities
A major priority for Volandes is to expand his previous work from urban populations to rural communities. “Rural health is where we see some of the largest inequities,” he says. “When we talk about healthcare disparities, the focus is usually on urban challenges, but life expectancy has plummeted in rural America. We rarely talk about that.”
Dartmouth’s rural setting makes it an ideal place to address these issues. “Dartmouth Health is the most rural academic health system in America,” Volandes notes. “That’s what makes this place great. We’re serving patients in New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine, often in remote areas, so we have to think innovatively about delivering care, whether it’s through telehealth, mobile units, or bringing care directly into people’s homes. That’s the future.”
Beyond his own research, Volandes is committed to fostering interdisciplinary collaboration at DHMC. “Already, I’m working with orthopaedics, anesthesiology, and other departments,” he says. “To innovate together is something that is quite refreshing. In many large institutions, silos make it difficult, but here, collaboration happens organically.”
The Huber Legacy: Supporting Faculty Excellence
The Huber professorships, established through the generosity of long-time supporters Robert and Gertrude Mertens, and Marion Huber, have funded pioneering Geisel faculty for decades. Originally a single chair, the Anna Gundlach Huber Professorship was restructured in 2023 to create two distinct positions, in addition to the original Joseph M. Huber chair. Current holders include Nate Goldstein, MD, the Joseph M. Huber Professor of Medicine and Chair of the Department of Medicine at Dartmouth Health and the Geisel School of Medicine, and Richard Powell, MD, the Anna Gundlach Huber Professor and Director of the Dartmouth Health Heart and Vascular Center.
Volandes joins Powell as the second Anna Gundlach Huber Professor and credits his endowed professorship with allowing him to tackle urgent problems, including serious illness communication, rural health disparities and interspecialty collaboration. “It’s only because I have an endowed chair that I’m able to take these solutions to scale,” Volandes says.
A healthier future, as Volandes sees it, relies on those in medicine and healthcare listening to their patients. “What people need most isn’t just the next new technology,” he says. “They need a guide to help navigate the dark forest in which they will undoubtedly find themselves. As AI and digital tools become more integrated into healthcare, we have to focus on building trust and ensuring that these innovations truly serve patients and their families.”
Written by Jeremy Martin
Jeremy Martin is an Advancement Writer in the Office of Medical and Healthcare Advancement at the Geisel School of Medicine.
