In her executive capacity, she supports the Divisions of Hospital Services, Behavioral Health (BH), and Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) and serves on the governing bodies of all five state hospitals. In this role, she supports quality improvement and change management initiatives and champions enhancements to electronic medical records across the hospital system. Additionally, she provides clinical insight to address challenges in community psychiatric care for the BH and IDD teams.

Dr. Gundlapalli has been instrumental in leading a new model of jail-based competency restoration treatment at DBHDD's Jail Restoration Center in Eastman. Previously, she spearheaded DBHDD's COVID-19 response, successfully protecting patients and staff and earning the Spotlight on Excellence Award from DBHDD leadership.

A transformational and collaborative leader, Dr. Gundlapalli brings a forward-looking vision centered on patient safety and continuous quality improvement. She is committed to bringing multidisciplinary teams together to strengthen psychiatric care across the state.

Prior to joining DBHDD, Dr. Gundlapalli dedicated 20 years to caring for individuals with serious mental illness and complex medical needs at Utah State Hospital in Provo, Utah. After serving as Unit Chief of Geriatric Psychiatry and Associate Clinical Director, she was named Clinical Director and Chief Medical Officer, serving in those roles from 2013 to 2019. She oversaw clinical and administrative operations across pediatric, adult, geriatric, and forensic units. Her leadership earned her the 2018 Utah Department of Human Services Pillar Award for operational and professional excellence.

Dr. Gundlapalli earned her medical degree from Madras Medical College in Chennai, India. She completed her psychiatry residency at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, where she served as Chief Resident and received the Best Outgoing Resident Award. She went on to complete a geriatric psychiatry fellowship at Yale New Haven Hospital. She is board-certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.