Daniel Lenihan, M.D. joined the Department of Medicine on September 1, 2017 as a Professor in the Cardiovascular Division.
Dr. Lenihan has been active in cardio-oncology and heart failure for nearly 20 years. The main focus of these efforts have included hemodynamic assessments, angiogenic growth factor response, novel cardiac biomarkers as well as optimal methods to prevent or detect heart failure at the earliest stage possible in patients undergoing treatment for cancer.
Dr. Lenihan’s undergraduate degrees in Chemistry and Zoology were from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and his medical degree is from the University of Tennessee Center for Health Science in Memphis. He received an Air Force scholarship for medical training and then entered the United States Air Force Medical Corps at Wright Patterson Air Force Base. He completed his Internal Medicine Residency at the base and then after 1 year as a general internist, he went on to complete his cardiology fellowship at the University of Cincinnati. He served for 3 more years as active duty and after separation from the military, he moved to the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. After a brief time in private practice in Texas, he then joined the cardiology department at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston for 7 years, where his initial interest in cardio-oncology was germinated. His interest in clinical research and early phase clinical trials was solidified when he subsequently moved to Vanderbilt University where he directed the Clinical Research Enterprise in Cardiology for 8 years.
His current research projects include early phase clinical trials in cardio-oncology, heart failure and amyloidosis. He is the PI of the PROTECT study, investigating cardiac safety in patients undergoing proteasome inhibitor treatment for relapsed multiple myeloma. He recently completed the PREDICT study, a large multicenter prospective study examining the role of cardiac biomarkers for the detection of cardiotoxicity during anthracycline based therapy. He is intimately involved in the latest treatment trials for cardiac amyloidosis. He recently moved to Washington University in St. Louis to enhance and expand the Cardio-Oncology Center of Excellence. Dr. Lenihan is at the forefront of concerted efforts to develop a viable Cardio-Oncology fellowship training program and continues to foster collaboration among a host of colleagues regionally, nationally, and throughout the world. He is the current president of the International Cardio-Oncology Society (ICOS), a professional association whose primary goal is to eliminate cardiac disease as a barrier to effective cancer therapy.