Geisel School of Medicine Interim Dean Steven P. Leach has announced the reappointment of physician-researcher Amber E. Barnato, who holds the John E. Wennberg Distinguished Professorship in Health Policy and Clinical Practice, as director of The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice (TDI) and chair and professor of Health Policy and Clinical Practice at the Geisel School of Medicine.
Barnato leads a diverse group of scholars, researchers, clinicians, students, and administrators advancing the institute’s mission of working in partnership with individuals and organizations locally, around the country, and throughout the world, to improve population health, reduce disparities, and create high-performing, sustainable health systems.
A board-certified preventive medicine and public health physician with advanced training in decision science, her research focuses on variation in end-of-life intensive care unit (ICU) and life-sustaining treatment use.
“It has been a privilege to lead TDI for the last five years,” Barnato says. “I am grateful to Steve Leach and the rest of the Geisel leadership team for the confidence they place in me through this reappointment.
“Over the next five years, TDI will continue our research to inform healthcare organization and financing strategies, implement evidence-based practices, and design and test healthcare delivery innovations that advance our mission. We are especially excited to partner with faculty, staff, and students across Dartmouth to address vexing challenges to rural health equity as part of Dartmouth’s Rural Health and Society research pillar.”
In 2017, Barnato was named the inaugural Susan J. and Richard M. Levy 1960 Distinguished Professor in Health Care Delivery. She was then named the John E. Wennberg Professor of Health Policy and Clinical Practice in 2021. Throughout her career she has published more than 190 research articles, advised more than 60 medical students committed to clinical research careers, and mentored 10 faculty through their transition to independence.