Ernst Lengyel, MD, PhD, appointed University of Chicago Health System leader for OB/GYN

Ernst Lengyel, MD, PhD, has been appointed the University of Chicago Health System leader for Obstetrics and Gynecology.

In this new role, which took effect in September 2024, Lengyel is leading University of Chicago Medicine's efforts to define a system-wide strategy for women’s health. His appointment supports the strides UChicago Medicine has made in being a national leader in women’s health and expanding access throughout the region.

The announcement comes as UChicago Medicine continues to expand access to a growing number of communities beyond its flagship University of Chicago Medical Center on the city's South Side. The health system now includes a new multispecialty care facility in Northwest Indiana, a joint venture with AdventHealth's Great Lakes Region in the western suburbs, Ingalls Memorial Hospital in Chicago's Southland, as well as dozens of outpatient locations and clinics throughout the region. It is also building a 575,000-square-foot cancer care and research facility, scheduled to open in 2027 on its main medical campus adjacent to the University of Chicago.

"Dr. Lengyel and his team will reinforce our commitment to high-quality clinical care and bring academic medicine to even more communities," said Mark Anderson, MD, PhD, Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs at the University of Chicago. "As we continue to grow, it’s essential that we effectively align our academic and clinical missions across all sites. This ensures that patients have access to coordinated, high-quality OB/GYN services and the latest innovative treatments, regardless of where they live."

In the new broadened role, Lengyel will have system-level oversight of OB/GYN care and help improve quality, access and efficiency across the organization. He will work to align clinical, quality, and operational processes, ensuring a seamless and consistent patient experience across all practice sites in the health system, which is known publicly as UChicago Medicine. One area of focus will be the integration of women’s health services at Ingalls Memorial.

Lengyel will continue his role as Chair of the Department of OB/GYN. During his tenure, the Department has seen significant growth across its missions, driven by faculty colleagues committed to the highest-quality clinical care. This includes:

• The near-tripling of the number of OB/GYN faculty members since 2015. It now ranks as the most diverse academic department in the University of Chicago's Biological Sciences Division.
• Expanding of outpatient services. B/GYN faculty completed more than 109,000 outpatient and ultrasound visits in fiscal 2024.
• Building the largest gynecologic oncology section in the Midwest, with 11 attending physicians.
• Collaborating with federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) on Chicago’s South Side. FQHC physicians see outpatients at the FQHC, attend on labor and delivery, and operate at the University of Chicago Medical Center.
• Providing strategic leadership to open a specialty women’s clinic in Northbrook, establishing a new OB/GYN practice site in Chicago’s northern suburbs.

An expert in the diagnosis and surgical treatment of ovarian cancer, Lengyel joined the University of Chicago in 2004 and has been named one of the city’s “Top Doctors” by Chicago magazine every year since 2010. He directs an active translational research laboratory in the Center for Integrative Science focused on understanding ovarian cancer biology. He has published over 150 peer-reviewed papers and received a prestigious NIH R35 Outstanding Investigator Award and a Burroughs Wellcome Fund Clinical Scientist Award in Translational Research. He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and the Association of American Physicians.