Anantha Shekhar is the Chief Scientific Officer of Gate Neurosciences, a nationally recognized leader in neuropsychiatry, and currently serves as the Dean of the Medical School and Senior Vice Chancellor for Health Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh. Previously, Dr. Shekhar was the Associate Vice President for University Clinical Affairs & Research and Executive Dean for Research at the Indiana University School of Medicine.  Dr. Shekhar is also the Founding Director of the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (Indiana CTSI), a statewide institute within the Indiana University School of Medicine supported by a grant from the US National Institutes of Health and established in 2008 as a joint partnership between Indiana University, Purdue University, the University of Notre Dame, life sciences businesses and community organizations.

Dr. Shekhar has conducted groundbreaking research in the innovative psychiatric therapeutics, bench to bedside neuroscience discovery and translation, and recognized for his work with biotech and entrepreneurship. Currently, he provides visionary leadership to Pitt’s large academic medical center, encompassing six health sciences schools: medicine, dentistry, nursing, public health, pharmacy and rehabilitation sciences.  His innovation highlights include first to demonstrate the following: that Muscarinic receptor 1/4 agonist is effective in schizophrenia (Karuna Therapeutics); Role of the neuropeptide orexin and orexin 1 receptor in human panic disorder; Role of NMDA-PSD95-nNOS pathway in regulating fear (co-founded Anagin); Role of Metabotropic glutamate 2 receptors and amygdala NMDA plasticity in anxiety and mood disorders. He is a member of the National Academies Forum on Drug Discovery and Development (2019-2023); Co-Chair, and co-author National Academies Workshop on Innovation in Drug Research and Development for Prevalent Chronic Diseases.

Prior to Gate Neurosciences, Dr. Shekhar was the founder, CSO and CMO of Anagin, Inc., a neuroscience company developing first-in-class nNOS agonists for PTSD and neuropathic pain. Dr. Shekhar completed his psychiatry residency, psychopharmacology fellowship, and obtained his Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Indiana University.  He received an M.D. from St. John’s Medical College.