Renée Shellhaas

As Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Promotions & Career Development at Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, I lead with one overarching goal: helping every faculty member achieve their full professional potential while advancing our shared mission of excellence and impact. Since joining WashU in 2022, I've worked to build systems that truly serve faculty at every career stage. This includes comprehensively modernizing our promotion criteria to reflect the full spectrum of faculty contributions, launching our Office of Faculty Promotions & Career Development with tailored leadership programs, and co-leading Executive Faculty Task Forces on Climate & Culture that produced actionable recommendations—from our Leading for Trust & Psychological Safety workshops to the Pivotal Leaders Program. My approach is informed by my work as a clinician-investigator. As the David T. Blasingame Professor of Neurology, my NIH-funded research in neonatal neurology and early-life epilepsy has earned recognition including the Sleep Science Award from the American Academy of Neurology and the Hower Award from the Child Neurology Society. This dual perspective—as both researcher and leader—shapes how I think about supporting diverse career paths and creating environments where faculty can do their best work. I'm passionate about mentorship and organizational culture change. At the University of Michigan, where I served as Associate Chair for Career Development, I received the Chair's Award for Outstanding Mentorship. I also serve as President of the Pediatric Epilepsy Research Foundation. My philosophy is straightforward: exceptional science and medicine flourish when we invest intentionally in people and build foundational structures that support excellence. Elevating faculty. Amplifying impact. Transforming medicine.