Richard C. Wender, MD
Wender to Lead Family Medicine and Community Health
Richard C. Wender, MD, has been named chair of Family Medicine and Community Health at the Perelman School of Medicine. As chair, his focus will be on elevating engagement within our West Philadelphia community to address health disparities and to serve as a national model.
Wender was previously chair of Family and Community Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University. His tenure included the creation of the Division of Geriatric Medicine and the development of one of the nation’s first geriatric-oncology programs.
Wender is a recognized national leader within the discipline of Family Medicine, having served as President of the Association of Departments of Family Medicine. He is also a leading voice in the area of cancer screening and prevention through his 35 year-long association with the American Cancer Society.
Charlene Bierl, MD, PhD
Bierl New Director of Laboratory Medicine
Charlene Bierl, MD, PhD, is the new director of the division Laboratory Medicine in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and the William Pepper Laboratory of Clinical Medicine. Joining Penn’s faculty in 2019 as the medical director of Central Laboratory and Phlebotomy Services at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, her extensive knowledge of clinical pathology, lab stewardship, finances, and lab information systems make her especially well-suited to lead a division as large and as complex as Laboratory Medicine at HUP.
In her new role, Bierl’s work will focus on ensuring that the testing needs (including pandemic-related testing) of the university, hospitals, and affiliates are fulfilled and to ensure smooth implementation of the new laboratory services at HUP East. She will also take a major leadership role in PennLab, our group of regional Penn-affiliated laboratories.
Her vision for these roles includes growth of communication- and consultative-type services in the form of expanded diagnostic management team type activity, as well as enhanced educational offerings to residents (both from pathology and other specialties).
John Sestito
Sestito Named Executive Director of CPUP
John Sestito has been named executive director of the Clinical Practices of the University of Pennsylvania (CPUP), effective September 2020. Sestito started his career at Penn Medicine in 1985 as a critical care respiratory therapist. He became an associate executive director of CPUP in 2005, providing strategic planning and oversight of the CPUP revenue cycle and leadership to several Health System efforts including malpractice risk reduction and patient safety and the opioid task force.
Sestito has concurrently served as chief operating officer for the Neonatology and Newborn Care for Penn Medicine and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. In this role, he provides leadership for the largest neonatology program in the nation, spanning across 13 hospitals and including 163 physicians and over 400 staff.