The George Washington University has named Andrew W. Artenstein, MD, interim dean of the School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) and vice president for health affairs, effective March 1.
Artenstein currently serves as the regional executive dean and professor of medicine for UMass Chan Medical School-Baystate, president of Baystate Medical Practices and chief physician executive/chief academic officer for Baystate Health. In those roles, he provides leadership and accountability for the physician enterprise and presides over undergraduate and graduate medical education and the research enterprises at Baystate.
“Dr. Artenstein is uniquely qualified to lead the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences and university health affairs more broadly during this period of leadership transition,” said President Ellen M. Granberg, PhD. “As an experienced administrator as well as a physician-scientist, Dr. Artenstein brings a keen awareness of what it takes to lead a mission-driven academic medical enterprise during a period of transition, including changes to GW’s relationships with both the GW MFA and UHS. I look forward to working with him.”
A board-certified infectious disease physician and physician-scientist, Artenstein has been nationally recognized for expertise in biodefense and emerging infectious diseases. He completed residency training in internal medicine and a fellowship in infectious diseases and tropical medicine at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. He also served 10 years on active duty as a physician in the U.S. Army Medical Corps, including research leadership roles at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research.
"Dr. Artenstein's breadth of experience — demonstrating years of strong and steady administration of a complex medical enterprise and trusted leadership of innovative education and research programs — makes him a great fit for the interim dean and vice president for health affairs role at this moment," Interim Provost John Lach, PhD, said. “I look forward to welcoming him to GW and am eager to begin our work together.”
Before joining Baystate in 2012, Artenstein served as physician-in-chief at Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island and as the founding director of the Center for Biodefense and Emerging Pathogens. He also held faculty appointments at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University as professor of medicine and professor of health services.
Artenstein has published more than 110 scholarly works and is the author of “In the Blink of an Eye: The Deadly Story of Epidemic Meningitis.” He has also served in editorial leadership roles in the field, including on the editorial advisory board of the “Journal of Infectious Diseases” and as an associate editor of “Vaccine.”
“I am honored to be joining this outstanding community of clinicians, faculty, staff and students at the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences, and to have the opportunity to help lead this renowned institution in its third century,” Artenstein said. “It is a gratifying privilege to return to the Washington, D.C., area to serve the greater community.”
Artenstein earned his MD from Tufts University School of Medicine and an MBA from the University of Massachusetts Isenberg School of Management. He earned his BA from the University of Rochester and also holds an MA from Brown University.
Current SMHS Dean Barbara Lee Bass, MD, RESD ’86, will retire Feb. 28. Bass returned to GW, where she trained as a general surgeon from 1979 to 1986, in January 2020 and has served as vice president for health affairs and dean of SMHS for six years.
