Dr. Rachel Greenup Appointed Chief of Breast Surgical Oncology at Yale

Rachel Adams Greenup, MD, MPH, FACS, has been appointed as Associate Professor of Surgery (Oncology) and Section Chief of Breast Surgery for the Department of Surgery at Yale School of Medicine. In her new role, Dr. Greenup will provide breast surgical oncology leadership across the Smilow Cancer Hospital Network and Care Centers.

“Dr. Greenup is the rare triple threat in surgery bringing compassionate, patient-centered breast cancer care, outcomes research, and her extensive leadership capabilities. This will be an asset to our hospital and for our patients. I am excited to welcome her to Smilow Cancer Hospital and to Yale Cancer Center and look forward to working together,” said Mehra Golshan, MD, MBA, FACS, Deputy Chief Medical Officer for Surgical Services at Smilow Cancer Hospital, Clinical Director of the Smilow Cancer Hospital Breast Cancer Program, and Professor of Surgery (Oncology) at Yale School of Medicine.

“Yale has a longstanding reputation as a renowned school of medicine, bringing together outstanding clinicians and scientists dedicated to reducing the burden of cancer,” Greenup said. “I am honored to lead the breast surgical oncology program and committed to further developing the extraordinary clinical care, collaborative research, and mentorship for which Yale is known- with our patients at the center of this mission.”

Dr. Greenup joins Yale from Duke University where she is an Associate Professor of Surgery and Population Health Sciences at the Duke University School of Medicine and Duke Cancer Institute. She currently serves as the Deputy Director of the Duke Surgical Center for Outcomes Research and is a core faculty member for the Duke Margolis Center for Health Policy. She founded and co-directs the Duke Breast Cancer Outcomes Research Group. In 2016, she received the National Institutes of Health Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health Award to evaluate how financial costs and burden relate to preference-sensitive decisions for breast cancer surgery. In 2017, she was named the American College of Surgeons and the American Society of Breast Surgeons Health Policy Scholar. Dr. Greenup previously served as the Duke Breast Surgical Oncology Fellowship Director.

“Dr. Greenup is a people-person and a team builder in the truest sense — someone who is known for building bridges and delivering excellent patient-as-partner care. The scope and gravitas of her research speaks directly to our mission as an academic health system serving our community. She is bound to lead the section to new heights. I am particularly grateful for Dr. Golshan and Dr. Salem for their servant leadership during this transition, and for establishing the foundational success of our destination breast program,” said Nita Ahuja, MD, MBA, FACS, William H. Carmalt Professor of Surgery and Chair of the Department of Surgery at Yale School of Medicine; Surgeon-in-Chief, Yale New Haven Hospital; and Assistant Cancer Center Director for Surgery at Yale Cancer Center.

Nationally, Dr. Greenup serves on the American College of Surgeons Cancer Care Delivery Task Force Value in Cancer Care Committee, the American Society of Breast Surgeons Legislative Committee, the Editorial Board for the Annals of Surgical Oncology, and the Alliance in Clinical Oncology Ethics Committee. In the last decade she has published over 70 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters.

Dr. Greenup earned her undergraduate degrees in Zoology and Psychology at the University of Wisconsin, where she also completed a Master of Public Health. She received her medical degree from the Medical College of Wisconsin where she also completed her General Surgery residency and went on to complete a fellowship as part of The Massachusetts General Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women's Hospital Breast Surgery Fellowship.

About Yale Cancer Center and Smilow Cancer Hospital

Yale Cancer Center (YCC) is one of only 51 National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer centers in the nation and the only such center in Connecticut. Cancer treatment for patients is available at Smilow Cancer Hospital through 13 multidisciplinary teams and at 15 Smilow Cancer Hospital Care Centers in Connecticut and Rhode Island. Comprehensive cancer centers play a vital role in the advancement of the NCI’s goal of reducing morbidity and mortality from cancer through scientific research, cancer prevention, and innovative cancer treatment.