Sharmila Makhija, MD, MBA is the Founding Dean and Chief Executive Officer of Alice L. Walton School of Medicine. Dr. Makhija works with health systems and institutional partners to enhance medical education and prepare students for their future health care roles in the community and country. An international expert on gynecologic cancer, Sharmila Makhija MD, MBA most recently served as the Department Chair of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Women’s Health, professor of gynecologic oncology and the Chella and Moise Safra Endowed Chair at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Health System in New York. She has held faculty positions at the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Emory University, and the University of Louisville. Dr. Makhija has received numerous awards for her dedication to women’s health, including the Albert Einstein College of Medicine’s Spirit of Achievement. She’s also been named a Good Housekeeping Humanitarian Hero, a Crain’s NY Business Notable Health Care Leader, and an AAPI Health Care Hero Honoree.