VCU Globe Speaker Series

Arturo Saavedra

Dean of the School of Medicine, Executive vice president for medical affairs, Interim provost and executive vice president for academic affairs

Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU)

Arturo Saavedra, MD, PhD, MBA has served as Dean of the School of Medicine at Virginia Commonwealth University and Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs for VCU Health System since April 2023. Dr. Saavedra came to VCU from the University of Virginia School of Medicine, where he was the Kenneth E. Greer Endowed Professor and Chair in Dermatology and the President and interim Chief Executive Officer for the University Physicians’ Group. Prior to UVA, he was Quality Chair for the Dermatology Department at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and was later asked to serve as the Vice Chair for Clinical Affairs and Medical Director in the Department of Dermatology at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School. Dr. Saavedra specializes in the diagnosis and care of complex medical dermatology and his clinical interests include HIV dermatology, severe drug reactions that manifest with dermatologic complications, and care of oncologic and post-transplant patients. He has a particular focus on advanced therapeutics and the development of algorithms for the novel treatment of poorly understood skin disorders. He is considered one of the national experts in the care, management and immunopathology of Graft-versus-host disease.

After graduating magna cum laude from Harvard College with a degree in Biological Sciences, Dr. Saavedra received a combined medical and doctoral degree from the University of Pennsylvania, with specialized training in Pharmacology. He was the recipient of the Stockholm Youth International Science Seminar, as well as the First Prize Award from the International Science and Engineering Fair, which led to his attendance at the Nobel Prize ceremony. He completed his residency training in Internal Medicine at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, where he was also Chief Resident. He graduated from the Harvard Combined Dermatology Residency Training Program and completed his fellowship in Dermatopathology.

Additionally, Dr. Saavedra is an editor of Fitzpatrick’s Color Atlas and Synopsis of Clinical Dermatology, one of the most widely read dermatology atlases for diagnosis and treatment of skin conditions nationally and abroad. He has performed funded research and he is the past president (and inaugural President) for the Virginia Dermatology Society. He is currently the President-elect of the Board of the Medical Dermatology Society and the Treasurer of the American Professors of Dermatology.