University of Pittsburgh Names Dr. Anne Marie Lennon the new Chair of the Department of Medicine
Anne Marie Lennon, an internationally recognized leader in precancerous pancreatic lesions and early cancer detection, is the new chair of the University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Medicine and chair of medicine at UPMC, effective March 1. She will also be recommended for appointment as the Jack D. Myers, MD, Professor of Internal Medicine.
Lennon comes to Pitt from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where she serves as the Moses and Helen Golden Paulson Professor of Gastroenterology and Director of the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology. A highly accomplished physician-scientist, Lennon’s research focuses on the development of tests for early cancer identification and their translation into clinical practice. Along with colleagues, Lennon has developed a novel panel combining molecular evaluation of pancreatic cyst fluid with clinical and imaging features that could decrease unnecessary pancreatic operations by 60%. She is the senior author of a study that described the concept of combining circulating tumor DNA with cancer protein markers for cancer detection, which her team later expanded to a screen for eight common cancers (esophageal, gastric, colorectal, liver, pancreatic, lung, ovarian, and breast) from a simple blood test.
Additionally, Lennon is first author on the first-ever interventional study of a multicancer early detection, which demonstrated the feasibility of using a blood test to detect early cancers in individuals with no history of the disease. An advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion, Lennon co-chaired the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy’s Women’s Task Force, which highlighted inequities in pay and career advancement. She is a fellow of the American College of Gastroenterology, the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, and the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE). In 2023, she was designated Master of ASGE, a distinction bestowed on a select group of ASGE members who have demonstrated outstanding contributions to teaching and patient care in gastrointestinal endoscopy.
About the University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh is a top-ranked public institution in Pennsylvania and a member of the Association of American Universities of leading research universities. Recognized as one of the most innovative universities in the world, Pitt is committed to forging new paths and making an impact for good. With a history dating back to 1787, the university combines the advantages of a liberal arts college with the resources and prestige of a major research university. Pitt’s administration, led by Chancellor Joan Gabel and overseen by a Board of Trustees, is dedicated to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and to improving the lives of Pennsylvanians across the state.
About Dr. Anne-Marie Lennon
Anne Marie Lennon, MBBCh, PhD, a physician-scientist and leading innovator in the early detection of pancreatic cancer, will become the next chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and chair of medicine at UPMC, effective March 1, 2024. She will be the first woman to lead the department. As chair of the largest department in the Pitt School of Medicine, Lennon will oversee more than 1,000 faculty members with combined clinical and research revenues of nearly $600 million. She also will have clinical responsibilities, caring for patients as a gastroenterologist dedicated to early cancer detection and prevention. Lennon is an internationally recognized expert in the management of precancerous pancreatic lesions, with her research focusing on the development of tests for early cancer detection and their translation into clinical practice. She earned her medical degree from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and her PhD from University College Dublin. Lennon completed her internal medicine residency at Cleveland Clinic and at Mater Misericordiae Hospital and Wexford General Hospital in Ireland, followed by a fellowship in gastroenterology in Edinburgh, Scotland, and an advanced endoscopy fellowship at Johns Hopkins. She joined the faculty at Johns Hopkins in 2010 and has directed its Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology since 2020.
Sources:
- School Source: https://www.pitt.edu/about
- Doctor Source: https://dom.pitt.edu/anne-marie-lennon-mbbch-phd-named-chair-of-medicine/