Brief Bio

Justin E. Bekelman, MD is the founding Director of the Penn Center for Cancer Care Innovation at the Abramson Cancer Center, Professor of Radiation Oncology, Medicine, and Medical Ethics and Health Policy at the Perelman School of Medicine, Faculty in the Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics, and Senior Fellow at the Penn Center for Precision Medicine, all at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Bekelman leads research programs to improve the length and quality of life for patients with cancer. His research focuses on health care delivery, payment reform and cancer care transformation, integrating methods from the fields of innovation, epidemiology, clinical trials, behavioral and health economics and public policy.

Dr. Bekelman’s research has appeared in high-impact scientific journals and has been featured by media outlets nationally and internationally. His work has been funded by the National Cancer Institute, American Cancer Society, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and philanthropic sources. He has served as an advisor to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on cancer care payment reform and innovation. Dr. Bekelman is an elected member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation and a member of the National Cancer Policy Forum of the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine.

Previously, he was a management consultant at the Kalchas Group, advising senior executives of health care and insurance clients on corporate strategy. Dr. Bekelman also served as Special Assistant to the Under Secretary of Defense in the U.S. Department of Defense. He is a board-certified radiation oncologist and practicing physician at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. He completed his medical training at Yale University, Johns Hopkins, and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center