Department of Medicine

Welcome from Michael S. Parmacek, MD – Chair

Welcome to the University of Pennsylvania Department of Medicine! I hope you are able to spend a little time to learn what’s happening in this great department. Our department is housed within the nation’s first School of Medicine, with its rich 250-year legacy of achievement. We are part of Penn Medicine, an integrated organization that includes the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine and the University of Pennsylvania Health System.

The over-arching goals of our department have changed little since the appointment of Dr. John Morgan as Chair of the Department in 1765. These include:

• Continually evolve, adapt, and maintain our national leadership amongst departments of academic internal medicine
• Catalyze high-impact discovery in basic, translational and clinical, and health services research
• Develop models of comprehensive, patient-centered care that deliver superior value, quality and outcomes
• Innovate in medical education and train future leaders in Academic Medicine
• Create a collegial, intellectually exciting and supportive environment in which to work

The Department of Medicine is home to over 625 distinguished faculty members who take pride in a culture that values collaboration, diversity and inclusion. Each year, our faculty members receive major national and international awards reflecting the stature and impact of professional accomplishment. The department takes pride in supporting faculty members with a broad array of interests ranging from basic discovery to clinical care to health policy. The website provides links to our divisions and faculty members as well as a search engine to guide you.

The department is also home to 153 residents in the categorical, preliminary and primary care programs and 18 additional residents in the medicine-pediatrics and medicine-dermatology programs. We pride ourselves on our tradition of national leadership and innovation in medical education. Our medical residency includes embedded tracks for physician-scientists, global health equities, quality and leadership, and medical education. Our divisions are home to nationally recognized ACGME accredited fellowship training programs and over 140 fellows-in-training. The website contains links to our residency and fellowship training programs.

The Department is home to 12 nationally recognized primary care and specialty divisions. We are also home to several multi-disciplinary centers and institutes. The department is internationally recognized for breakthrough discoveries impacting medical care. Our faculty receive over $170,000,000 in extramural support and publish over 150 high-impact (i.e. top 22 biomedical journals) manuscripts annually. Although our faculty were traditionally recognized for expertise in basic biomedical discovery, over the last decade, we have witnessed a dramatic expansion of translational research and first-in-man clinical research. As Chair of the Department, I have prioritized the recruitment of a new cohort of outstanding physician-scientists to ensure the legacy of our department into the next century.

Over the past twenty-years, the Department has witnessed remarkable growth of our clinical programs in concert with development and growth of Penn Medicine’s regional healthcare network. This growth has been catalyzed by complementary clinical research programs and clinical trials including Penn’s internationally recognized program in Cancer Immunotherapy. Our faculty practice within state-of-the-art clinical facilities including our four core Philadelphia hospitals (Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, Pennsylvania Hospital, and the Philadelphia VA Medical Center) and newly constructed outpatient multi-specialty centers-of-excellence including the Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine (PCAM). Penn Medicine University City, Penn Medicine at Radnor, Penn Medicine at Valley Forge, and Penn Medicine at Cherry Hill. Departmental faculty host over 550,000 outpatient visits annually. At the same time, Penn has established nationally recognized programs in the areas of bone marrow transplantation, solid organ transplantation (heart, lung, kidney and liver), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and many other primary care and specialty areas.

I appreciate your interest in the University of Pennsylvania Department of Medicine. Though founded over 250 years ago, I am much more excited about the future than our remarkable past. Indeed, I believe there has never been a better time to be part of this great Department. If I can answer any questions for you personally, please don’t hesitate to contact me directly.

With best regards,
Michael S. Parmacek, MD
Chair of the Department of Medicine