John Campo, M.D., and Rhonda Campo, M.B.A., join WVU Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – WVU Medicine announced today that John V. Campo, M.D., a nationally recognized child and adolescent psychiatrist, and Rhonda S. Campo, M.B.A., a seasoned healthcare and biotech professional, will join the WVU Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute (RNI) this spring.

“Our goal for the Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute is to bring together world-class specialists to advance brain health and wellness for West Virginians and those across country,” Ali Rezai, M.D., executive chair of the WVU Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute and vice president of neurosciences for WVU Medicine, said. “John and Ronnie Campo are both exceptional and very dedicated professionals. We are thrilled to have them join the RNI and the WVU family.”    

Dr. Campo will serve as assistant dean of behavioral health and wellness, chief behavioral wellness officer, and professor in the WVU School of Medicine at the Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute. He will also hold an endowed chair within the RNI, where he will establish a program in mental health services and policy research. In addition to responsibilities within the School of Medicine and the RNI, Campo will devote himself to advancing best practices for mental disorders and addictions, with a special focus on suicide prevention, on the WVU campus and across the state of West Virginia. 

Dr. Campo comes to WVU from the Ohio State University College of Medicine and Wexner Medical Center, where he served as the Sinsabaugh Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health. During his tenure at Ohio State, he also served as chief of child and adolescent psychiatry and medical director of behavioral health at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. 

Board certified in pediatrics, psychiatry, and child and adolescent psychiatry, Dr. Campo completed medical training at the University of Pennsylvania, followed by residencies in pediatrics at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and psychiatry and child and adolescent psychiatry at the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, where he served as a faculty member before moving to Ohio State in 2006.

Dr. Campo has been consistently recognized among America’s Top Doctors and Best Doctors in America and was honored as a NAMI Exemplary Psychiatrist and recipient of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry’s Simon Wile Leadership in Consultation Award. His scholarly work focuses on mental health services, including the delivery of mental health services in general medical settings, the study and prevention of suicide, and the relationship between physical and emotional health. 

“With the addition of Dr. Rhonda Campo and Dr. John Campo to the Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, we’re strengthening the connection of this group to the health of West Virginians and the revitalization of our state’s economy,” Clay Marsh, M.D., WVU’s vice president and executive dean for health sciences, said. “John brings a lifetime of experience in mental health services to his new role and will help guide how we provide care on our campus and across the state. He will also be a strong voice for policies at the state and federal level that put patients first. Rhonda, whose background is in the private sector biotech business and in university innovation, will focus on the vast economic development potential of the intellectual output of Rockefeller Institute faculty.”

Rhonda Campo will serve as associate vice president of strategic development, commercialization, and innovation at the Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute. Her focus will be on creating new economic opportunities in West Virginia by advancing the RNI mission. 

She also comes to WVU from the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, where she served as associate executive director of the James Cancer Hospital, overseeing strategic planning and business development and managing the James Cancer Network of affiliated hospitals. During her five years there, she developed a successful Destination Medicine Global Health program that included partners in Asia and the Middle East.

Rhonda Campo completed her Master of Business Administration degree in Healthcare Finance and Organizational Theory at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, where she was honored as a Wharton Government and Business Fellow. As a Kellogg Health Policy Fellow in the Healthcare Financing Administration of the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C., she co-authored an influential article on the financing of the HIV epidemic that appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine.

After serving as director of finance at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary early in her career, Rhonda Campo managed a healthcare and biotech portfolio at General Electric Capital Corporation. She subsequently became a corporate officer of the former AMSCO International – now Steris Corp – then served as a private consultant to selected healthcare, medical device, and biotechnology clients. She is also the co-founder of Scoliois Rehab, Inc., the first U.S. clinic dedicated to the conservative treatment of spinal deformities. 

“I am always optimistic about West Virginia University and West Virginia,” University President Gordon Gee said. “That optimism reaches its peak when we attract top talent from around the country and around the world. With the addition of John and Rhonda Campo to the Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, this is surely one of those great days. We are committed to building one of the best academic medical centers in the country and having them join us puts us another step closer.”  

“We have assembled a very strong leadership team for the Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute,” Albert Wright, CEO of the WVU Health System, said. “John and Rhonda Campo’s years of experience and expertise will enhance the clinical, research, and outreach programs we provide to serve the needs of the people of West Virginia and beyond.”

The WVU Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute incorporates both the building and programmatic elements of the former Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute (BRNI) and is expanding to include the clinical, research, and academic missions of Neurosurgery, Neurology, and Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry, among others. The Institute will spearhead efforts to develop innovative solutions for West Virginians and those across the world with neurological and psychiatric conditions ranging from Alzheimer’s to Parkinson’s; autism to stroke; and paralysis to chronic pain, addictions, and traumatic brain injury.