Dr. John Stewart to lead LSU Health/LCMC Health Cancer Center

Steve Nelson, MD, Dean of LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine, and Greg Feirn, Chief Executive Officer of LCMC Health, have appointed John H. Stewart, IV, MD, MBA, FACS, as Center Director of the LSU Health New Orleans/LCMC Health Cancer Center. He will also join the LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine faculty as a professor of surgery.

Dr. Stewart will set the overall mission, vision, and direction for multidisciplinary cancer care and cancer clinical research programs for LSU Health New Orleans and LCMC Health in his new leadership role. He and his team will develop a robust cancer clinical trials program, leverage resources to build an innovative targeted cancer research enterprise, and create a comprehensive community outreach and engagement program to reduce cancer risk behaviors and cancer incidence. Initiatives will integrate disease-specific research and care delivery into a comprehensive patient-oriented approach to benefit patients of Louisiana and surrounding regions, including those currently underserved in accessing leading-edge cancer care.

“Developing such a comprehensive cancer center to better care for our community has been one of our long-standing goals, and to see it coming to fruition is an accomplishment for both the LCMC Health system and our academic partner at LSU,” said Greg Feirn, CEO, LCMC Health. “The appointment of Dr. Stewart as the center's leader is the vital step needed to achieve our mission of health, care, and education beyond extraordinary.”

A board-certified surgical oncologist originally from Shreveport, Dr. Stewart was recruited from the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Chicago, one of the country's largest and most diverse medical schools. There, he served as a University of Illinois Presidential Scholar, professor of surgery in the College of Medicine, deputy director of the University of Illinois Cancer Center, and physician executive for oncology sciences at the University of Illinois Health.

“As a native of Louisiana, Dr. Stewart has a personal interest in improving quality, expanding access, and reducing inequities in cancer care for the people we serve throughout the state,” notes LSU Health New Orleans Medical School Dean Dr. Steve Nelson. “We are thrilled that he has agreed to join our faculty in this leadership capacity. We welcome him back to Louisiana and look forward to working with him on this important partnership with LCMC Health.”

Dr. Stewart’s undergraduate degree is from Louisiana Tech. He graduated from Howard University College of Medicine and began his residency training in surgery at Temple. He completed two National Institutes of Health Fellowships in tumor immunology and surgical oncology before finishing his surgery residency at Vanderbilt. He then joined the faculty at Wake Forest, where he was a surgeon, researcher, and Director of Health Equity for the Wake Forest Comprehensive Cancer Center. He also served as Program Director for the surgery residency, Vice-Chair of the Department of Surgery, and Associate Dean for Clinical Research. Dr. Stewart was recruited to Duke to join the faculty in surgical oncology and serve as Chief of Surgery at the Durham VA Hospital. In 2018, he was recruited to the University of Illinois to serve in his current role.

In addition to his work in patient care and research, Dr. Stewart also earned an MBA from Wake Forest and completed leadership and public policy training at the Harvard School of Public Health. He remains active in immunotherapy research, cancer clinical trials and research, and policy in cancer care for underserved populations. He has funding for these research interests from the National Cancer Institute, the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation, industry partners, and the University of Illinois Presidential Scholars Fund.

Dr. Stewart plans to assume his new duties on July 1, 2021.

LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans educates Louisiana's health care professionals. The state's flagship health sciences university, LSU Health New Orleans includes a School of Medicine with branch campuses in Baton Rouge and Lafayette, the state's only School of Dentistry, Louisiana's only public School of Public Health, and Schools of Allied Health Professions, Nursing, and Graduate Studies. LSU Health New Orleans faculty take care of patients in public and private hospitals and clinics throughout the region. In the vanguard of biosciences research in a number of areas in a worldwide arena, the LSU Health New Orleans research enterprise generates jobs and enormous economic impact. LSU Health New Orleans faculty have made lifesaving discoveries and continue to work to prevent, advance treatment, or cure disease. To learn more, visit https://www.lsuhsc.edu, https://www.twitter.com/LSUHealthNO, or https://www.facebook.com/LSUHSC.

About LCMC Health

Established in 2009, LCMC Health is a Louisiana-based, not-for-profit hospital system serving the healthcare needs of the Gulf Coast region. LCMC Health currently manages Children’s Hospital New Orleans, East Jefferson General Hospital, New Orleans East Hospital, Touro, University Medical Center New Orleans, and West Jefferson Medical Center.