Nopoulos named chair and DEO of Department of Psychiatry

Peggy Nopoulos, MD, has been named chair and departmental executive officer (DEO) of the Department of Psychiatry in the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, following a national search in which she was recommended as the top finalist for the position.

Nopoulos’s appointment became effective July 1, 2018. She has served as interim chair and DEO of the department since July 1, 2017.

“Dr. Nopoulos has done an outstanding job in this role, and I am extremely confident she will continue to provide the same exceptionally high level of experience, commitment, and leadership to the department and our entire organization,” says Brooks Jackson, MD, MBA, UI vice president for medical affairs and dean of the UI Carver College of Medicine. “On behalf of the entire UI Health Care leadership team, we look forward to continuing to work with her.”

A member of the Department of Psychiatry since 1994, Nopoulos also holds faculty appointments in the Department of Neurology and the Stead Family Department of Pediatrics. She earned bachelor’s and medical degrees at Iowa and completed residency training in psychiatry and a postdoctoral fellowship in neuropsychiatry at UI Hospitals and Clinics.

Nopoulos is both highly productive and highly respected as a scientist, clinician, teacher/mentor, and administrator. Her research focuses on brain development and behavior over the lifespan as well as gender differences and social cognition. She has treated patients with conditions such as schizophrenia and Huntington’s disease, and she has worked with children with cleft lip and palate. 

She also has been instrumental in the mentorship of students, trainees, and early-career faculty members. Nopoulos developed and directed the Iowa Medical Student Research Program from 2001-2013, and she led the Iowa Doris Duke Clinical Research Fellowship during this same time period. In addition to her administrative duties, she remains active in sharing her experience and expertise with students, residents, fellows, and colleagues.

Jackson expressed thanks to the search committee—led by co-chairs Ted Abel, PhD, and Patricia Winokur, MD—for its work in conducting a national search for the position.

“I truly appreciate the time and consideration given by the search committee,” Jackson says. “Peggy’s experience, expertise, and vision for the future of the department distinguished her among all the candidates and made her the best choice to lead the Department of Psychiatry.”