Linehan will also serve as dean of the School of Medicine and Dentistry and senior vice president for health sciences.
The University of Rochester Board of Trustees has announced David C. Linehan as CEO of the University Rochester Medical Center (URMC), dean of the School of Medicine and Dentistry (SMD), and senior vice president (SVP) for health sciences. He will begin in these roles on February 1, 2024.
Linehan joined the University of Rochester in 2014 as chair of the Department of Surgery at URMC, recruited from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. He is also currently associate director for clinical research at the Wilmot Cancer Institute and the Seymour I. Schwartz Professor in Surgery—a faculty position he will retain. He succeeds Mark Taubman, who, in 2015, became the first person to serve as both CEO of the Medical Center and dean of SMD. In September 2022, Taubman announced his decision to conclude his terms effective December 2023, or when a successor was appointed following a national search.
The CEO, dean, and SVP is appointed by the University’s Board of Trustees, reports to the University president, and serves as the senior-most executive of URMC, encompassing UR Medicine, the University’s vast clinical enterprise; the School of Medicine and Dentistry; School of Nursing; and Eastman Institute for Oral Health.
“Dr. Linehan has distinguished himself as one of the true stars of our clinical enterprise,” says University President Sarah Mangelsdorf. “He brings to the role of CEO and dean a vision for advancing the Medical Center, including the School of Medicine and Dentistry and School of Nursing, that draws on his outstanding track record of leadership and expertise as a physician, surgeon, researcher, and academic administrator. He is well-poised to lead our world-class clinical operations and our nationally recognized medical school into the next chapters of success.”
A surgical oncologist internationally renowned for his clinical innovation and research into new treatments for pancreatic cancer, Linehan has guided URMC’s Department of Surgery through a period of tremendous growth. Under his leadership, the surgical faculty has flourished: he has recruited more than 50 surgeons, bringing new talent and specialty services to Rochester; he has attracted scientists and promoted the growth of surgeon-scientists, securing millions in research funding; he has attracted the best and brightest trainees, continuing the Department of Surgery’s legacy as a top-tier surgical training program; and he has achieved significant fiscal improvements through revenue growth and prudent fiscal management. Linehan’s achievements have been bolstered by his unwavering commitment to the patient, and by his focus on developing a prosperous culture where all are welcome and encouraged to succeed.
An accomplished surgeon-scientist, Linehan specializes in treating malignancies of the liver, pancreas, and biliary tract. He is recognized for studying and introducing novel and innovative therapies for patients with hard-to-treat cancers and has spent more than 20 years conducting immunotherapy research. One of his primary areas of focus is finding new ways to attack the biology of pancreatic tumors through activating anti-tumor immunity. Linehan also treats benign surgical conditions of the liver, pancreas, gallbladder, and bile ducts.
“Moving to Rochester almost 10 years ago to be the Seymour Schwartz Professor of Surgery has proven to be the best professional decision I ever made,” says Linehan. “I am so grateful and honored for the opportunity to lead the Medical Center as CEO and the School of Medicine and Dentistry as dean. At the end of the day, it is the people that matter, and my wife, Janice, and I have felt so supported by both our URMC colleagues and so many members of the Rochester community. While the challenges in health care delivery are many, the demand for our services is ever-growing and we are well-positioned for the future. I will work tirelessly with all of you as we focus on improving our clinical, educational, and research efforts to better serve our patients, faculty, allied health professionals, trainees, staff, and our greater community.”
Linehan served as the Neidorff Family and Robert C. Packman Professor of Surgery at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and was chief of hepatobiliary-pancreatic and gastrointestinal surgery before coming to Rochester in 2014 as chair of surgery and surgeon-in-chief at URMC. In 2018, he was named associate director of clinical research at the Wilmot Cancer Institute, where his contributions have bridged the clinic and the laboratory while building upon the institute’s strengths in solid tumor treatment and research. His laboratory has been continuously funded by the National Cancer Institute for nearly two decades and, in addition to maintaining a busy surgical practice, he has established himself as a prolific bench-to-bedside researcher at Wilmot. He and his team are conducting studies on new, targeted treatments with the goal to use newly discovered drugs in combination with immunotherapy, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy to improve outcomes for pancreatic cancer patients.
In addition to being an accomplished clinician and surgeon, Linehan is noted to be a highly successful educator with a passion for training the next generation of physician-scientists. He fosters a culture of collaboration that brings physicians, allied health professionals, and basic and health services research scientists together to focus on impactful projects that solve unmet clinical needs.
From 2017 to 2021, Linehan served as the University of Rochester Medical Faculty Group Finance Committee chair, and currently continues as a member the Medical Faculty Group Executive Committee. Since 2014, he has served on the executive committee of the Wilmot Cancer Institute and as chair of the Wilmot Cancer Institute Clinical Research Leadership Committee.
A graduate of Dartmouth College and the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Linehan completed his internship and residency at Deaconess-Harvard Surgical Service in Boston. He was chief resident in surgery at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and completed a research fellowship at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. He was then the Kristin Ann Carr Fellow in Surgical Oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.
The University of Rochester Medical Center encompasses the University’s biomedical research, teaching, patient care (UR Medicine), and community outreach missions. UR Medicine’s health care delivery network is anchored by Strong Memorial Hospital, home to the region’s only Level I Trauma Center; neonatal, pediatric, and adult intensive care units; a burn trauma unit; surgical transplant services; and other specialized around-the-clock care unavailable elsewhere in the community. A full spectrum of health care services is delivered through the Wilmot Cancer Institute, Golisano Children’s Hospital, Strong West, as well as a broad network of physician practices, outpatient facilities, urgent care centers, lab stations, pharmacy locations, and imaging facilities. UR Medicine also includes seven community hospitals: Highland Hospital in Rochester, FF Thompson Hospital in Canandaigua, Noyes Community Hospital in Dansville, Jones Memorial Hospital in Wellsville, St. James Hospital in Hornell, and, most recently, Geneva General Hospital and Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hospital in Penn Yan.
This past September, Strong Memorial Hospital broke ground on the Strong Expansion Project, the University’s largest capital project to date. The project will add more than 200 examination/treatment and patient observation stations in phases to the Strong Emergency Department (ED) and Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program (CPEP). Construction is currently underway on a new nine-story inpatient bed tower scheduled for completion in 2027, which will add more ED space and floors for future diagnostic and treatment services, along with more than 100 private inpatient rooms.
The University of Rochester’s School of Medicine and Dentistry produces skilled physicians and biomedical scientists ready to lead the delivery of high-quality health care and the discovery of game-changing medical cures and therapies. SMD is organized into basic science and clinical departments, as well as interdisciplinary research centers.
“The search committee followed a rigorous process to deliver an exceptional pool of candidates with the acumen to enhance our position as a leading national academic medical center and work collaboratively to secure a strong financial future,” says Search Committee Chair Elizabeth Milavec, the executive vice president for administration and finance, chief financial officer, and treasurer at Rochester. “I look forward to partnering with Dr. Linehan and thank the committee for their work.”
The committee partnered with search firm SpencerStuart to recruit and recommend candidates for this leadership role. The committee members are:
- Elizabeth Milavec: Search Committee Chair, Executive Vice President for Administration and Finance, Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer
- Marjorie Arca: Chief, Pediatric Surgery, Department of Surgery, SMD
- Diane Dalecki: Director, Rochester Center for Biomedical Ultrasound
- Stephen Dewhurst: University Vice President for Research; Vice Dean for Research, School of Medicine and Dentistry
- Eli Eliav: URMC Vice President and Director of Eastman Institute for Oral Health
- Jonathan Friedberg: URMC Vice President and Director, Wilmot Cancer Institute
- Emerson Fullwood: Member, University of Rochester Board of Trustees
- Steven Grinspoon: Member, University of Rochester Board of Trustees
- Curtis Haas: Chief Pharmacy Officer, URMC
- Karen Keady: URMC Associate Vice President and Chief Nursing Executive
- Diana Kurty: University of Rochester Medical Center Board Chair
- David Lambert: Senior Associate Dean for Undergraduate Medical School Education, SMD
- Paige Lawrence: Chair, Department of Environmental Medicine, SMD
- Adrienne Morgan: University Vice President and the Richard Feldman Chief Diversity Officer; Senior Associate Dean for Equity and Inclusion, School of Medicine and Dentistry
- Sally Norton: Associate Dean for Research, School of Nursing
- Annie Medina-Walpole: Chief, Division of Geriatrics/Aging, Department of Medicine, SMD; Director, University of Rochester Aging Institute
- Carrie Fuller Spencer: Chief Financial Officer, Strong Memorial and Highland hospitals, UR Medicine Long Term Care, UR Medicine Home Care
- Bradley Turner: Associate Professor, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, SMD
- Victoria Zhang: Vice Chair, Clinical Enterprise Strategy and Professor, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, SMD
