arc E. Lippman, M.D., is an avid scuba diver and underwater photographer, but that’s not why he came to Miami on May 1. He’s here to help implement the vision of Dean Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., for the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

“As chairman of the Department of Medicine, I have been tasked with helping to move us into position to be one of the top 20 medical schools within five years,” says Lippman. “This, of course, will involve a significant level of recruiting to supplement the outstanding faculty already in place and a lot of listening.”

He has very specific strategies to accomplish this goal and says he will make a sincere effort to meet every member of the department. “I want to hear from everybody. I want to know their visions and hopes, and I want to know what they feel are the barriers and impediments to getting things accomplished,” says Lippman.

A pioneering breast cancer researcher, Lippman was chairman of the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan and former head of the Medical Breast Cancer section of the National Cancer Institute. He’s known for his groundbreaking work studying the role of estrogen in breast cancer and developed the first system that enabled researchers to stimulate cells with estrogen outside the body, a breakthrough that allowed extensive testing of estrogen at the molecular level. He is currently working on a biological marker that could predict which breast tumors will respond to hormone therapy, and he has long been interested in building bridges between laboratory scientists and physicians who see patients.

“It is an exciting time in medicine. Science is transforming the way patient care is provided,” says Lippman.

“We have as our goal making available meaningful, affordable, and accessible care for our patients based on that science. My job will be to help develop basic and clinical science and outcomes research that result in happier and healthier lives.”

Lippman graduated with honors from Cornell University and earned his medical degree at Yale. He rose to the rank of medical director of the U.S. Public Health Service during his time at the National Institutes of Health and reached the rank of captain in the U.S. Naval Reserve. He has lectured throughout the United States and in Israel and Canada, holds five patents, and has authored more than 600 articles, chapters, and books.

Lippman has relocated to Miami with his wife, Jill, and their golden retriever, Sophie.