PHILADELPHIA—Internationally recognized oncologist Lawrence N. Shulman, MD, FACP, a professor of Medicine in the Perelman School of Medicine and deputy director for clinical services of the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania, has been named the new chair of the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons.
Lawrence N. Shulman, MD, FACP
The Commission on Cancer is a multi-disciplinary organization that seeks to improve quality of life and survival rates for cancer patients in the United States by setting professional standards and strengthening prevention, research, and education, and establishing quality assessment and improvement programs and metrics. Shulman aims to expand the Commission’s role in enhancing overall cancer-care quality in the United States as well as reinforce its relationship with its accredited hospital programs.
“One of my priorities will be helping to reduce cancer health disparities. There are proven steps we can take to address these disparities, such as promoting greater use of screening tests, enhancing access to care, improving the quality of that care, providing more dietary and lifestyle education, and increasing participation in clinical trials,” Shulman said. “All Americans should have ready access to high-quality cancer care, regardless of geographic location, socio-economic factors, or ethnicity.”
Shulman leads the cancer quality program for the University of Pennsylvania Health System and its five hospitals. He is also director of Penn’s Center for Global Cancer Medicine, and works with cancer programs in Rwanda, Botswana, and Haiti. The author of more than 150 papers in peer-reviewed journals, Shulman was previously associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and chief of staff and director of the Center for Global Cancer Medicine at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
He received his bachelor’s degree in organic chemistry from Syracuse University in 1971 and his medical degree from Harvard Medical School in 1975. He completed his residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in hematology and oncology at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital, Boston.
Shulman carries out his international cancer efforts in Rwanda and elsewhere in his capacity as senior oncology advisor to the non-profit organization Partners In Health. In June 2012, the Lance Armstrong Foundation honored him with its first LiveStrong Leaders in Oncology Award.
Penn Medicine is one of the world’s leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, excellence in patient care, and community service. The organization consists of the University of Pennsylvania Health System and Penn’s Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine, founded in 1765 as the nation’s first medical school.
The Perelman School of Medicine is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $550 million awarded in the 2022 fiscal year. Home to a proud history of “firsts” in medicine, Penn Medicine teams have pioneered discoveries and innovations that have shaped modern medicine, including recent breakthroughs such as CAR T cell therapy for cancer and the mRNA technology used in COVID-19 vaccines.
The University of Pennsylvania Health System’s patient care facilities stretch from the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania to the New Jersey shore. These include the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, Chester County Hospital, Lancaster General Health, Penn Medicine Princeton Health, and Pennsylvania Hospital—the nation’s first hospital, founded in 1751. Additional facilities and enterprises include Good Shepherd Penn Partners, Penn Medicine at Home, Lancaster Behavioral Health Hospital, and Princeton House Behavioral Health, among others.
Penn Medicine is an $11.1 billion enterprise powered by more than 49,000 talented faculty and staff.