Frank C. Detterbeck, MD Named An Associate Director for Clinical Affairs

[March 2005] Yale Cancer Center, Yale-New Haven Hospital, and the Yale Medical Group have jointly appointed Dr. Frank C. Detterbeck, Professor of Surgery, to the position of Associate Director for Clinical Affairs. In this position, Dr. Detterbeck will be responsible for the coordination of the day-to-day clinical activities of all of the oncology-related departments and services at Yale Cancer Center and will serve as the liaison between the administration of Yale-New Haven Hospital, the Yale University School of Medicine, and the medical staff.

“Dr. Detterbeck brings the essential combination of experience as a leader in multidisciplinary cancer care and a nationally recognized thoracic surgeon to the critical new position of Associate Director for Clinical Affairs. As we enter an intensive phase of planning for the future of cancer care at Yale Cancer Center, Dr. Detterbeck’s leadership and knowledge of multidisciplinary care will be integral to our success,” Dr. Richard L. Edelson, Director of Yale Cancer Center, said.

"By overseeing the multidsciplinary approach to care, Dr. Detterbeck will help advance our goal of excellence in the care of cancer patients," noted Dr. David J. Leffell, Deputy Dean for Clinical Affairs of the Yale School of Medicine and Director of the Yale Medical Group.

In addition to his position of Associate Director for Clinical Affairs, Dr. Detterbeck was named Chief of the Section of Thoracic Surgery, and Surgical Director of Thoracic Oncology in the Department of Surgery and at Yale-New Haven Hospital. “Dr. Detterbeck is nationally and internationally recognized as one of the premiere thoracic surgical oncologists who delivers state-of-the-art care with compassion and skill,” said Robert Udelsman, MD, MBA, Lampman Professor of Surgery and Chairman of the Department of Surgery.

Before coming to Yale, Dr. Detterbeck practiced at the University of North Carolina (UNC) since 1992; he was named Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery in 2004. His major clinical interest is in thoracic oncology and he has focused his research on evidence-based medicine, improvements in outcomes for patients with lung cancer, and multidisciplinary care programs. While at UNC, he founded the Multidisciplinary Thoracic Oncology Program (MTOP), which has received national recognition as a model for cancer care because of the efficient and streamlined care of patients and excellent clinical results.

He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan and his Doctor of Medicine degree from Northwestern University in 1983.  Detterbeck completed his Residency in General Surgery at the Virginia Mason Clinic in Seattle before joining the University of North Carolina in 1988 to complete a Residency in Cardiothoracic Surgery and a Fellowship in Thoracic Transplantation.

Dr. Detterbeck is the editor of a major textbook on Lung Cancer, The Diagnosis and Treatment of Lung Cancer: An Evidence-Based Guide for the Practicing Clinician.  Dr. Detterbeck has also published over 100 original articles, chapters, and reviews, averaging over one new publication per month since 2000.  He is listed in Who’s Who in America, 2005, in the America’s Top Doctors for Cancer guide by Castle Connelly, 2005, and in the Guide to America’s Top Physicians Consumers’ Research Council of America, 2003.  He is chair of the Thoracic Oncology Network and serves on the steering committee for the Guidelines in Lung Cancer of the American College of Chest Physicians.

Yale Cancer Center is one of a select network of 39 comprehensive cancer centers in the country designated by the National Cancer Institute and the only one in Southern New England.  Bringing together the resources of Yale-New Haven Hospital and the Yale University School of Medicine, its mission encompasses patient care, research, cancer prevention and control, community outreach, and education.  

For more information on the Center, please go to www.yalecancercenter.org