Penn Medicine’s Chief of Hematology-Oncology Named President-Elect of American Society of Clinical Oncology

PHILADELPHIA — The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) has elected Lynn M. Schuchter, MD, FASCO, the C. Willard Robinson Professor and Chief of the Division of Hematology-Oncology in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, as its president for the 2023-24 term. She will take office as President-Elect beginning in June 2022 following the ASCO Annual Meeting in Chicago and serve in that capacity for a year before assuming the presidency.

“Dr. Schuchter is an exceptional cancer leader, and in this new chapter of her career, we are lucky to have her lead our peers across the nation in our shared pursuit of improving care and research to help the more than 1.7 million Americans who are diagnosed with cancer each year,” said Robert H. Vonderheide, MD, DPhil, director of the Abramson Cancer Center (ACC) at Penn. “Dr. Schuchter will bring her tremendous creativity, passion, and empathy to our work together at a time when we have both exciting opportunities and new challenges before us.”

An expert in care and research for patients with melanoma, Schuchter also serves as director of the Tara Miller Melanoma Center at ACC, is a former member of the ASCO Board of Directors and has chaired several committees for cancer communications and research, including roles shaping the organization’s annual meeting scientific program. She has served as chief of Penn’s division of Hematology-Oncology for 15 years, leading strategy, overseeing education, training and recruitment, and clinical operations across 12 practice locations with more than 200,000 patient visits each year, as well as development of new clinical and research programs.

ASCO is a diverse network of nearly 45,000 oncology professionals dedicated to providing the highest-quality resources in education and policy, pioneering clinical research, and improving the care for patients with cancer. Schuchter’s election coincides with the 50^th anniversary of the National Cancer Act, a milestone which follows decades of major progress in cancer care and research, including decreases in cancer death rates in the United States each year since the early 1990s. 

“It is a privilege and honor to have the opportunity to lead and partner with my colleagues as ASCO president,” Schuchter said. “We have much to celebrate due to the dedicated efforts of our colleagues who work each day in the clinic, in hospitals, and through research efforts to improve the lives of people with cancer and prevent more people from developing cancer. Together, in the coming years, we are prepared to make new strides in areas like cancer care equity, improving access to care, the rapid dissemination and application of new knowledge and treatments, and innovating to deliver the best possible care to more patients in more ways and settings than ever before.”