Pitt’s John J. Reilly named Jack D. Myers Professor and Chair of Medicine

PITTSBURGH, Sept. 2, 2011 – John J. Reilly Jr., M.D., executive vice chair, Department of Medicine, has been named the Jack D. Myers Professor and Chair, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh. Reilly replaces Steven Shapiro, M.D., who was named chief medical and scientific officer of UPMC last year.

Dr. Reilly came to Pitt in 2008 as a professor of medicine. He is a prolific researcher who has authored or co-authored more than 100 peer-reviewed research reports and co-authored chapters in two of the most well-known textbooks of internal medicine. His areas of interest include the genetic and environmental factors associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and the role of alveolar macrophage enzymes in emphysema, COPD and lung cancer.  

“John Reilly is truly an exceptional academic physician-scientist.  He also has proven himself to be an outstanding leader and administrator,” said Arthur S. Levine, M.D., senior vice chancellor for the health sciences and dean, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh. “The Department of Medicine, the School of Medicine, and the University are in very good hands indeed with John’s appointment.”

Dr. Reilly currently is the principal investigator on a National Institutes of Health grant entitled “The Emphysematous Microenvironment Promotes Lung Tumorigenesis and Progression” and is a co- investigator on several other grants including the recently funded Specialized Program of Research Excellence in Lung Cancer, which aims to improve detection and treatment of lung cancer and to understand the mechanisms of increased susceptibility of women to lung cancer.   

“I’m excited about this new opportunity and look forward to continuing my work here at the university as a researcher, faculty member and mentor,” Dr. Reilly said.

Dr. Reilly graduated from Harvard Medical School after earning an undergraduate degree in chemistry from Dartmouth College. He completed his residency in internal medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and later completed a fellowship there in pulmonary and critical care medicine. In 2010, he completed Intermountain Healthcare’s Advanced Training Program in Healthcare Delivery Improvement. 

Dr. Reilly’s academic career started at Harvard, where he rose from instructor of medicine to associate professor of medicine. He also was an attending physician at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, where he served in several roles: medical director of the Lung Transplant Program, the Center for Chest Diseases, and the Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program; director of the Bronchoscopy Service and the Pulmonary Function Laboratory; interim chief of the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine; and vice chairman of Brigham’s Integrated Clinical Services.

Dr. Reilly is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and by that Board’s Pulmonary Subspecialty Board.  He also holds a Board Certificate of Competence in Critical Care, is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, and is a past chair of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Clinical Trials Study Section.