by Doug Campbell
David Aronoff, MD, Addison B. Scoville Jr. Professor of Medicine and director of the Division of Infectious Diseases, is departing Vanderbilt University Medical Center to become chair of the Department of Medicine at Indiana University School of Medicine.
Aronoff came to VUMC in 2013 and has guided the strategic growth of the Division of Infectious Diseases’ clinical, education and research programs. This has included recruiting, retaining and developing new faculty — growing from 42 full-time faculty in 2013 to 60 full-time faculty in 2021 — and more than doubling the annual grant portfolio over this period, from $19 million to more than $50 million.
Under his leadership the division created new telehealth programs and greatly expanded both inpatient and outpatient clinical operations, and also launched a new fellowship training program in Transplant Infectious Diseases.
Aronoff has been highly involved in the diagnosis and clinical care of COVID-19. He has been a key communicator of public health measures during the pandemic, through frequent media appearances, educational activities across the region and direct relationships with employers.
He serves as a member of the VUMC Medical Center Medical Board and is the founding director of the Vanderbilt Pre3 (Preventing Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes & Prematurity) Initiative, a transdisciplinary program in reproductive health that spans both the VU and VUMC campuses.
“Dr. Aronoff has remarkable range to direct clinical growth, quality in care, excellence in research and trainee-focused programs as a division leader, and this range is what will carry him on to be a great department chair. His shoes will be immensely hard to fill here, and Indiana is very lucky to have him as a leader,” said Kimryn Rathmell, MD, PhD, Hugh J. Morgan Professor and chair of the Department of Medicine.
Aronoff’s laboratory studies reproductive immunology and host-microbial interactions in the context of pregnancy. His global health work has included collaborative projects in Brazil, Jordan and South Africa. He has received numerous governmental and non-governmental research grants, including support from the National Institutes of Health, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, the March of Dimes and the Global Alliance to Prevent Prematurity & Stillbirth. Aronoff has published more than 225 peer-reviewed manuscripts.
“Vanderbilt University Medical Center is a special place. I have relished my time here and will miss this community tremendously. My experience here has positioned me for this next chapter, and that is a strong testament to the outstanding environment at VUMC for developing careers,” Aronoff said.
Aronoff, a summa cum laude graduate of Indiana University, received his degree in microbiology, an education that included one year overseas at the University of Kent in England. This was followed by his medical degree from Tufts University School of Medicine.
He completed an internal medicine residency, which included a year as chief resident, as well as his Infectious Diseases clinical fellowship and a research fellowship in Clinical Pharmacology at Vanderbilt.
This will be a return to Indiana University for Aronoff, a place that holds deep roots for him and his family. He is a third-generation family member to attend Indiana University and was born at the Indiana University Medical Center in Indianapolis. He and his wife, Kelly Hill, met as undergraduates there and both were born and raised in Indiana.
When he assumes his new role at Indiana University in January 2022, Aronoff will be the John B. Hickam Professor and chair of the Department of Medicine at IUSM.
