As one of the region's largest academic medical centers, Penn Medicine is fortunate in engaging outstanding leaders attracted by its renowned and transformative research and an institutional commitment to clinical and global medicine and patient outreach.
Moreover, with firm ties to the Perelman School of Medicine, our clinical leaders remain devoted to the vitality, education and furtherance of the physician community, not only within the medical school, but within the local and regional setting.
In Fall 2022, an outstanding roster of physician leaders joined Penn Medicine to head Divisions and Departments across the spectrum of care.
Each is a highly regarded leader in his or her chosen field, and each shares an awareness of the invaluable contributions of our thriving physician community.
Hematology and Oncology
Alison Loren, MD, is Chief of Penn Hematology/Oncology Division
Alison W. Loren, MD, MSCE, has been appointed Chief of the Division of Hematology and Oncology at the Perelman School of Medicine.
A graduate of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Dr. Loren completed her internship and residency in Internal Medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where she was a Chief Fellow in hematology and oncology. She subsequently completed an MSc in Clinical Epidemiology at the University of Pennsylvania.
Shortly after completing her education, Dr. Loren began at the Perelman School of Medicine as an Instructor in Medicine and was successively appointed Assistant Professor of Medicine in 2005, Associate Professor in 2015, and Professor of Medicine in 2020. During her tenure at Penn, she served as Program Director of the Hematology/Oncology Fellowship Program, Vice Chair for Faculty Development in the Department of Medicine, and Director of Blood and Marrow Transplant in the Transplant and Cellular Therapy Program of the Abramson Cancer Center.
A highly regarded clinician in hematologic malignancies both regionally and nationally, Dr. Loren is as well a nationally prominent clinical researcher, focusing on clinical trials in hematologic malignancies and allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation. Dr. Loren is active in the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR) and currently holds an elected position on the American Society of Hematology (ASH) Executive Committee as Councilor.
Gastrointestinal Surgery
Maria Spassova Altieri, MD, MS, has joined as Section Head of GI Surgery at Pennsylvania Hospital.
A graduate of The George Washington University School of Medicine in Washington, DC, Dr. Altieri completed her surgical training at SUNY-Stony Brook School of Medicine in Long Island. Subsequently, Dr. Altieri completed fellowship training in the MIS program at Washington University in St. Louis.
Dr. Altieri's clinical interests include bariatric, minimally invasive and robotic surgery. Her additional interests include graduate medical education, clinical outcomes research, and disparities in surgical care. She has published numerous journal articles and book chapters in these areas of interest.
Board certified in surgery, Dr. Altieri currently sees patients at Penn Gastrointestinal Surgery and the Penn Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Program, both located at Penn Medicine Washington Square.
Obstetrics and Gynecology
Abigail Wolf, MD, is now Chair, Obstetrics and Gynecology at Pennsylvania Hospital, where she completed her Obstetrics and Gynecology residency following her graduation from Temple University School of Medicine.
As Chair, Dr. Wolf assumes responsibility for Pennsylvania Hospital's Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, which performs more than 2,300 gynecological procedures and delivers 5,500 babies annually. Dr. Wolf will also oversee the development and maintenance of clinical programs, quality and safety, risk management, education, and research.
Working alongside Penn leadership and clinical teams, she will also promote integration and alignment of specialty and sub-specialty services across the system, develop innovative, multi-disciplinary programs that meet the needs of the patient population, and optimize patient-centric care and satisfaction.
Dr. Wolf maintains a busy generalist clinical practice with an emphasis on menopause health and cancer survivorship.
Board certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology, Dr. Wolf sees patients at Penn Ob/Gyn Washington Square.
Ophthalmology
Bennie H. Jeng, MD, has returned to Philadelphia to lead the Penn Scheie Eye Institute, and as Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology at the Perelman School of Medicine.
A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Dr. Jeng is a nationally recognized clinician-scientist specializing in cornea and external eye diseases. Most recently, he was Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, where he served as founding medical director of the Multispecialty Ambulatory Surgical Center, and was actively involved in medical education.
Under his leadership, the UMSOM Department of Ophthalmology expanded its clinical service from three to 12 sites, grew its research faculty, increased the number of endowments, and recreated its residency program.
Dr. Jeng's research involves corneal transplantation, ocular surface diseases, corneal transplantation, artificial corneas, ocular surface disease, ocular microbiology, and eye banking. He is the author of numerous peer-reviewed articles and book chapters.
Radiation Oncology
John Nicholas Lukens, MD, was recently appointed as Chief, Head & Neck Service, Radiation Oncology.
A graduate of the Perelman School of Medicine, Dr. Lukens, a board certified radiation oncologist, completed his residency in radiation oncology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. His fellowship in brachytherapy was at Mount Sinai Beth Israel Hospital in New York City.
Dr. Lukens' clinical interests include the treatment of head and neck cancers and gastrointestinal cancers, with a particular concentration on the integration of the highly targeted techniques proton therapy and brachytherapy for the re-treatment of patients who have undergone a prior course of radiation. His expertise includes intraoperative radiotherapy and prostate and gastrointestinal brachytherapy.
As a researcher, Dr. Lukens focuses on the multidisciplinary management of head and neck cancers. Specifically, novel strategies to understand and mitigate the toxicities associated with head and neck radiotherapy, and the identification and distinction of subsets of patients with HPV+ cancer who may benefit from treatment de-intensification and those with high-risk disease, conversely, who may benefit from novel targeted therapy and/or immunotherapy.
Dr. Lukens currently sees patients at Penn Radiation Oncology Perelman.
Neurosurgery
Effective January 1, 2023, Zarina S. Ali, MD, MS, FAANS, will assume her new role as Chief of Neurosurgery at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center.
An Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at the Perelman School of Medicine, where she serves as the Vice Chair for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and as Co-Director of the multidisciplinary Penn Nerve Center, Dr. Ali is also a Senior Fellow of the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics.
A graduate of the University of Rochester Medical School's combined degree program, Dr. Ali completed residency training in neurosurgery and subspecialty fellowship training in peripheral nerve surgery at the Perelman School of Medicine. She then joined the faculty of Penn Neurosurgery as the first female neurosurgeon at Pennsylvania Hospital. There, she developed a robust surgical practice specializing in nerve entrapment syndromes, peripheral nerve tumors, and complex reconstructive procedures of the peripheral nerves, as well as the surgical treatment of degenerative spine disease.
Her research focus includes federally-funded studies of opioid stewardship following surgery, as well as work in collaboration with Penn's Center for Neurotrauma, Neurodegeneration & Restoration on tissue-engineering strategies to promote peripheral nerve regeneration. Among Dr. Ali's many accomplishments, she established one of the nation's first neurosurgical Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) programs, a value-based care approach to spine and peripheral nerve surgery designed to optimize perioperative care and promote expeditious recovery.