A pair of announcements recently were made concerning key research positions at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis and the IU School of Medicine.

Effective Aug. 16, Simon Atkinson will serve as interim vice chancellor for research at IUPUI while a nationwide search takes place for the position. The current vice chancellor, Kody Varahramyan, is moving a role as senior aide to IUPUI Chancellor Nasser H. Paydar.

An internationally known expert in kidney biology research, Atkinson joined IUSM in 1994 as an assistant professor and in 2010 was appointed professor and chair of the Department of Biology in IU’s School of Science.

Effective Aug. 1, Dr. Anantha Shekhar became executive associate dean for research affairs at IUSM, effectively overseeing all of the school’s research-related activities.

Shekhar holds several leadership posts, including his role as founding director of the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute, as associate vice president for university clinical affairs for IU and executive vice president of academic affairs for clinical research at Indiana University Health. He is also co-founder of Anagin LLC, an IU startup company that develops drugs to block the target mechanism of PTSD without debilitating side effects.

Read more about Atkinson’s appointment here. For more information about Shekhar’s new role, read here.