Sharmila Makhija, MD, MBA (ELAM ‘13)

November 11, 2025

Earlier this year, Time magazine highlighted the brand-new Alice L. Walton School of Medicine (AWSOM), its founder Alice Walton, its innovative educational approach and its founding dean and chief executive officer, Sharmila Makhija, MD, MBA (ELAM ‘13). We spoke with Dr. Makhija about her journey to this role and what makes AWSOM truly unique.

At the time she was approached, Dr. Makhija was in her eighth year as department chair of obstetrics and gynecology and women’s health at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Health System. She recalls receiving a call from Korn Ferry, the firm leading the search for AWSOM’s founding dean. “Toni Lam, PhD, from Korn Ferry called and said, ‘You might want to look at this opportunity.’ I listened and initially suggested some other people who might be interested,” Makhija remembers. Lam, however, encouraged her to consider the role herself: “She told me, ‘I know you can do it.’ She watched me through the entire process, sat in on all the interviews and I felt it was a no-lose situation to at least experience it.”

Reflecting on her interview, Dr. Makhija says, “It just clicked when I talked to Alice and the board members. I understood that the premise was to create a better experience for patients, physicians and staff.”

AWSOM maintains traditional foundations in sciences, research and clinical training, and its curriculum is delivered using active learning modalities. Small-group, flipped-classroom instruction, combined with a spiral curriculum, ensures deep learning. Full-time medical educators, unburdened by research obligations, can focus solely on teaching, creating a rich learning environment for students.

Central to AWSOM’s ARCHES (Art of Healing, Research, Clinical, Health Systems Science, Embracing Whole Health, Science of Medicine) curriculum is an inclusive, collaborative approach to patient care designed to promote resilience, prevent disease and restore health. The school has received preliminary accreditation from the LCME.

To help shape this model, Dr. Makhija has drawn on the ELAM community, underscoring the value of supportive networks like ELAM. Yogi Hernandez Suarez, MD, MBA (ELAM ‘13) serves as executive vice dean at AWSOM, and Beth Nelson, MD (ELAM ‘13) recently joined as senior associate dean for undergraduate medical education.

Asked about key leadership lessons, Dr. Makhija emphasized, “When building a team, you have to create trust for direct and clear discussions.”

She also reflected on the influence of ELAM: “I'm a big fan of ELAM. I believe it helped me and many of the faculty at Montefiore understand the landscape and develop key executive skills. Technically, it was very helpful. But even more importantly, it’s the community and knowing that you can have disagreements but still return to that core support, which allows for deeper discussions about challenges. ELAM is rigorous, meaningful and sometimes tough, and you may not see the impact until later because you’re in the middle of it, but it’s tremendous. I really believe it helped me get to another level.”