Lynda Chin Selected as UT System Chancellor’s Health Fellow

MD Anderson News Release June 26, 2014

MD Anderson News Release 06/26/14

The University of Texas System named MD Anderson scientist Lynda Chin, M.D., as a recipient of the System’s prestigious Chancellor’s Health Fellowship. 

Chin, chair of the Department of Genomic Medicine, was recognized for development of a patient-centric  oncology care delivery system initiated in late 2012. As a Fellow, she will coordinate the planning and development of a similar effort in the use of technologies and big data to improve healthcare delivery, focusing on management of diabetes in South Texas.

The UT System Office of Health Affairs created the Chancellor’s Health Fellowship in 2004 to recognize high impact innovative work at individual health institutions that are aligned with the overarching mission of the UT System and have potential for broad societal impact on health care, education and research.

“Dr. Chin’s medical and scientific leadership and expertise can augment the clinical strengths being assembled by the new medical school at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and its affiliated hospitals and partners,” said University of Texas System Chancellor Francisco G. Cigarroa, M.D. “We are honored that she has accepted the fellowship, and we appreciate her willingness to lend her time and effort to help develop this innovative program in South Texas.”

Chin, a member of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies since 2012, believes that this patient-centric model has the potential to dramatically reduce disparity in access to expert care, enhance the effectiveness of care, and improve overall patient outcomes while reducing the cost. She will  collaborate with the founding dean of the medical school at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Francisco Fernandez, M.D., as well as the university’s faculty and administrative leadership.   

“MD Anderson is honored that Dr. Chin’s contributions have been recognized with this highly coveted award,” said Ethan Dmitrovsky, M.D., provost and executive vice president at MD Anderson. “Her work in the area of oncology healthcare delivery is making a significant impact. Certainly, there is a tremendous unmet need in the Rio Grande Valley and Dr. Chin’s spearheading of this effort will help lead to improved access to care.”

Chin has won numerous distinguished honors for her research in cancer genomics and personalized cancer medicine, and she has made multiple scientific discoveries in the fields of transcription, telomere biology, mouse models of human cancer and oncogenomics.  

During her one-year appointment as a Chancellor’s Health Fellow for the UT System, Chin will continue her roles as professor and chair of the Department of Genomic Medicine and scientific director of the Institute for Applied Cancer Science at MD Anderson. She will also continue to lead the project to develop a new cancer care delivery prototype at the Cancer Center.

“Being selected as a Chancellor’s Health Fellow is a great honor,” Chin said. “At UT MD Anderson, we are making progress in collaboration with our colleagues in academia and in industry to build a different model of cancer care delivery. I firmly believe that our experiences, lessons learned and foundational capabilities in the cancer program can be leveraged to leapfrog an innovative program for diabetes management in South Texas and beyond.”

Other current Chancellor’s Health Fellows are Jan E. Patterson, M.D., director of the Center for Patient Safety and Health Policy at UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, who is focusing on clinical effectiveness programs; and Stephen H. Linder, Ph.D., School of Public Health, UT Health Science Center at Houston, who is focusing on public health.