Message From the Chair

Welcome to the Department of Medicine at the Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. The Department of Medicine has a rich history of excellence in academic medicine.

The mission of Department is to combine outstanding clinical care, high-impact research and rigorous training in medical practice and biomedical research. We are a community of over 1,300 physicians and scientists dedicated to inclusive and equitable service and we aim to achieve excellence in every aspect of our missions.

The Department of Medicine is a leader in patient care, with innovative programs across all specialties of internal medicine. We have expertise in both rare and common diseases and strive to bring the latest therapies to our patients. In addition to the canonical clinical Divisions, the Department of Medicine’s Centers of Excellence enable collaborative efforts that aim to implement cutting-edge science into clinical care. We also have a world-class CME program that covers all aspects of internal medicine. If you are new to the area, you can find out about our physicians in Find a Doctor.

Our residency and fellowship training programs are consistently top-ranked nationally. We offer a wide breath of experience for inpatient and outpatient care, enabling countless opportunities for education and research. We also offer many different training tracks from primary care to advanced fellowships to serve individual career aspirations. All our divisions hold NIH-funded training tracks to support careers in biomedical research. Our Young Faculty Mentoring Program fosters the careers of aspiring academic physician-scientists. Graduates of our programs become leaders in academic medicine.

Research in the Department of Medicine bridges basic, translational, and clinical disciplines. We are among the top-ranked departments for NIH funding in the nation and internationally recognized in areas such as diabetes, lipid metabolism, cancer biology, human genetics, developmental biology, immunology, data sciences, and outcomes research. We engage in patient-oriented research and conduct clinical trials that aim to bring novel therapies to our patients. We also benefit from Columbia University’s exceptional strengths in the basic sciences and school of public health, enabling powerful collaborative opportunities.

We are united in our efforts to transform medicine through innovation and compassionate, inclusive care. I encourage you to explore our website to discover all of the different facets of our Department.

Ali G. Gharavi, MD
Chair for the Department of Medicine
Columbia University Vagelos College of Physician and Surgeons