Tyler Barrett, MD, MSCI, Professor of Emergency Medicine and Associate Chief Medical Officer for Compliance at Vanderbilt Health, will succeed Steven Meranze, MD, as Associate Dean in the Office of Faculty and Medical Staff Engagement (OFMSE), effective Jan. 1, 2027. Meranze has served in this role for 12 years.
“We are incredibly grateful for Dr. Meranze and his many years of exceptional, dedicated service to our faculty and staff,” said Donald Brady, MD, Executive Vice Dean for Academic Affairs and Executive Vice President for Educational and Medical Staff Affairs. “Since taking on the role as an associate dean in the Office of Faculty and Medical Staff Engagement in 2014, he has proven to be a fierce advocate for his colleagues. Steven has quite ably and professionally transformed how we support our colleagues as they pursue and accomplish their professional goals.
“We are delighted to have Dr. Barrett take on this vital role. His wealth of experience in academic medicine; his long record of successful leadership in the Department of Emergency Medicine; and his exemplary work as the associate chief medical officer for compliance are key reasons he was chosen for this role. He and Dr. Meranze have already been working closely together in anticipation of this transition.”
Meranze, Professor of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, Surgery and Urology, joined the Vanderbilt University faculty in 1992 as one of two interventional radiologists in the Department of Radiology. He has served in increasingly responsible academic and clinical leadership roles throughout his career. He is currently Vice Chair of Faculty Affairs in the Department of Radiology and served as Director of Interventional Radiology from 1994 until 2015.
Reflecting on both his current clinical role and his administrative role in the dean’s office at Vanderbilt, Meranze said there were similarities in both. In interventional radiology, he works in collaboration with surgeons and medical teams to resolve patients’ problems, and as an associate dean, he works with faculty, medical staff and their leadership to reach solutions to issues that the faculty or staff member could then move forward to resolve.
“As the Medical Center has grown and become more complex, the issues requiring thoughtful collaboration and guidance have evolved as well,” Meranze said. “It has been an honor to work with Shannon Ontiveros and the entire team in the Office of Faculty and Medical Staff Engagement, along with departmental and Medical Center leadership, to address these challenges.
“When I joined the office in 2014, there were 2,500 Vanderbilt faculty who were part of a single institution affiliated with Vanderbilt University. Two years later, the nature of the Medical Center and Vanderbilt University academic affiliation was revised, and there are now more than 3,400 faculty in the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. Vanderbilt Health has continued to expand to encompass regional medical centers. Participating in and supporting that development has been both challenging and rewarding.”
Meranze said the collaboration of many individuals and teams — all of whom he noted were a pleasure to work with — made his OFMSE role a rewarding and satisfying experience.
“I have been fortunate to work with exceptional leaders throughout the Medical Center, including deans David Raiford and Donald Brady, department chairs and Medical Center leadership,” he said. “My work would not have been possible without the support of the members of the Office of Faculty and Medical Staff Engagement, the Office of Legal Affairs, and many other colleagues. They helped strengthen support for faculty and my ability to address their concerns and provided essential guidance on complex institutional matters.”
In 2023, Meranze began serving as Associate Chief of Staff for Medical Staff and Clinical Regulatory Affairs for Vanderbilt Health. In this role, he addresses workplace professionalism including the Patient Advocacy Reporting System (PARS), Coworker Observation Reporting System (CORS), compliance and workplace education.
In his new role, Barrett will review nominations for endowed chairs in the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and staffing and support of department chair searches. He will also be a consultant in senior level faculty recruitment; will manage Vanderbilt Health faculty conflict of interest issues; and will be a liaison with the Office of Compliance and Corporate Integrity.
“I am excited to join the Office of Faculty and Medical Staff Engagement as associate dean and build upon the strong foundation established by Dr. Steven Meranze,” Barrett said. “Steve’s leadership and mentorship have been invaluable as I prepare for this role. The role complements my work as Associate Chief Medical Officer for Compliance, including our shared focus on conflict of interest oversight and on creating opportunities to further strengthen support for our faculty and institution.”
Barrett previously served as Executive Medical Director, Director of Quality and Patient Safety, and Director of the Clinical Operations Division in the Department of Emergency Medicine. His clinical goals focus on patient safety and quality improvement, opioid stewardship, multidisciplinary patient care pathways, and reimbursement-related issues.
Barrett has been actively engaged in research throughout his career and has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed original research investigations and reviews. He received a Vanderbilt Physician-Scientist Development award and successfully transitioned to a National Institutes of Health K23 award. His research focuses include improving the emergency department treatment of patients with opioid use disorder, increasing the use of non-opioid analgesia, and risk stratification of ED patients with atrial fibrillation. His contributions have been recognized with selection as a fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) and a fellow of the Heart Rhythm Society.
Barrett attended Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, followed by a transitional year internship and emergency medicine residency at the Los Angeles County Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and UCLA/Olive View-UCLA Emergency Medicine Residency programs, respectively. In 2005, he was recruited back to Vanderbilt as an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine. He continued his education, earning a Master of Science in Clinical Investigation from Vanderbilt and certification in health care change management from the Tennessee Medical Association John Ingram Institute for Physician Leadership.
Barrett participates in several professional activities that support education and mentoring, faculty governance and community outreach. He has benefited from outstanding mentorship and has committed to paying it forward as a mentor to over 40 student, resident and faculty mentees. His dedication to medical student education was recognized with induction into the Vanderbilt Alpha Omega Alpha chapter. He is a senior associate editor for Annals of Emergency Medicine and a past chair of the ACEP Reimbursement Committee.
His extramural activities include serving as chair of the Vanderbilt University Faculty Senate for the 2025-2026 academic year, representative on the Vanderbilt University Faculty Senate Student Athletics Committee, and an emergency medicine team physician for the Nashville Predators and Tennessee Titans. He volunteered on the Nashville Youth Hockey League Board of Directors from 2014 to 2022 and now serves on the Nashville Academy of Medicine Board of Directors.
In August 2025, Barrett was appointed to serve on the Tennessee Opioid Abatement Council. He is actively involved in promoting education about the dangers of opioids among adolescents and young adults. He developed two opioid education continuing education programs for teachers, coaches and school leaders.
