Peipert Named UVM Chair of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences

March 27, 2024 by Angela Ferrante

Jeffrey F. Peipert, M.D., Ph.D. (photo credit: Indiana University School of Medicine)

Indiana University School of Medicine’s Peipert Named UVM Chair of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences

Following a national search, Jeffrey F. Peipert, M.D., Ph.D., Clarence E. Ehrlich Professor and chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Indiana University School of Medicine (IU) and Indiana University Health, has been appointed the next chair of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences at the Robert Larner, M.D. College of Medicine at the University of Vermont (UVM) and the University of Vermont Health Network, effective June 1, 2024. Larner dean Richard L. Page, M.D., and Jason Sanders, M.D., M.B.A., senior associate dean for clinical affairs at Larner and president and CEO of the UVM Health Network Medical Group, announced Dr. Peipert’s appointment to members of the UVM and UVM Health Network communities.

In this role, Dr. Peipert will lead a prominent department of physicians, midwives, scientists, educators, residents, fellows, and staff at the health system’s locations across Vermont and northern New York. Obstetrics and Gynecology has a long tradition of providing exemplary care in our region, with a commitment to women’s health and reproductive health, access to specialized patient care, research advances, and comprehensive education.

Since 2016, Dr. Peipert has served as the Clarence E. Ehrlich Professor and Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at IU. He was named executive director of IU’s National Center of Excellence in Women’s Health in 2021. From 2006 through 2016, Dr. Peipert was the Robert J. Terry Professor and Vice Chair of Clinical Research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri. Prior to this role, he was a member of the faculty at Brown University School of Medicine in Rhode Island from 1992 to 2006.

Dr. Peipert is an internationally renowned physician-scientist with over 300 publications. His work has garnered $23.2 million in research funding from private and public institutions. He serves as the deputy editor (Gynecology) for the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology. For 36 years, Dr. Peipert has held various roles in the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and other organizations. He is a recipient of Brown University School of Public Health’s Alumni Impact Award (2023), as well as the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals Alan F. Guttmacher Lectureship Award in 2014, an honor bestowed on a select set of health care providers/scientists who have been major contributors to the field of reproductive health.

Dr. Peipert received his medical degree from Emory University School of Medicine and completed his residency at Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia. He subsequently obtained an M.P.H. from the Yale School of Public Health during his time as a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar at Yale. He also received an M.H.A. from University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management, and in 2007, Dr. Peipert was awarded a Ph.D. in epidemiology from Brown University.

“Dr. Jeffrey Peipert comes to Vermont with outstanding experience, accomplishments and credentials in clinical care innovation, research, education, and leadership. He brings a track record of commitment to inclusive excellence, healthcare justice and women’s reproductive rights, as well as experience and proven accomplishments as a department chair,” stated Richard L. Page, M.D., dean of the Robert Larner, M.D. College of Medicine at the University of Vermont.

“We appreciate Dr. Peipert’s motivation to improve access to reproductive and women’s healthcare in our region and look forward to the experience and leadership he will bring to our clinical teams and operations across the UVM Health Network in Vermont and northern New York,” said Jason R. Sanders, M.D, M.B.A., President and CEO of the UVM Health Network Medical Group.

Ira M. Bernstein, M.D., professor, and John Van Sicklen Maeck chair of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive sciences at Larner, has headed the department since 2012. In addition to his leadership role at the college of medicine, Bernstein will step down as chair on May 30, and remain on the faculty as professor, with renewed concentration on his research program.