Faculty Profiles

Susan J. Mandel, M.D., M.P.H.
Professor of Medicine
Associate Chief of the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism
Director of Clinical Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism
Director, Endocrinology Fellowship Training Program

Business Address

Education

Residency

Biography

Susan J. Mandel, M.D., M.P.H. is the Associate Chief of the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism and the Director of the Fellowship Program for the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism. Dr. Mandel is also a Professor of Medicine and Radiology at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Mandel received her A.B. in the History of Science at Harvard University, graduating magna cum laude, her M.D. at Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons, and her M.P.H. at Harvard School of Public Health. Before coming to Penn she was a resident in Medicine at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center and did her fellowship training in Endocrinology at the Brigham and WomenÕs Hospital in Boston. She was then a faculty member at Harvard Medical School and an attending physician at the Brigham from 1992-1997. Dr. Mandel has been on the Penn faculty since 1997.

Dr. Mandel has received many professional awards and honors including the John Harvard and Elizabeth Carey Agassiz Scholars award from Harvard University; Magna Cum Laude, History of Science Department, Harvard University; Alpha Omega Alpha, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University; Don Martin Teaching Service Award, University of Pennsylvania and the Knoll Mentor Award Finalist from the Endocrine Society. In addition, Dr. Mandel is a member of the American Thyroid Association and the Endocrine Society. She has been an invited program speaker for the past 3 years at the annual meeting of the Endocrine Society and serves on the Clinical Affairs committee of the Endocrine Society. She is also the chairperson of the Standards of Care Committee of the American Thyroid Association.

Dr. Mandel's research is focused on thyroid nodules and thyroid cancer. She is a leader in the implementation of the use of ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy for thyroid nodules. She started the Thyroid Nodule Clinic at Penn upon her arrival in 1997 and currently performs over 15 thyroid biopsies per week. In conjunction with colleagues from surgery, pathology, and radiology, she formed the Thyroid Cancer Center that provides comprehensive multispecialty evaluation for patients with thyroid cancer and thyroid nodules. This program has developed a national reputation for excellence. Currently, approximately 2% of all patients diagnosed with thyroid cancer each year in the United States are diagnosed through the Thyroid Cancer Center at Penn. In addition, the research programs of the Center have resulted in improvements in patient care. The routine use of ultrasound to biopsy thyroid nodules has resulted in more definitive pathologic diagnoses. In addition, the innovative use of I-123, rather than I-131, as a scanning isotope for patients with thyroid cancer was initiated by Dr. Mandel and her colleagues at Penn.

Dr. Mandel has published articles on these topics and has been invited to present at national meetings not only of the Endocrine Society, but also of the Society for Nuclear Medicine. Dr. Mandel's other research interest is focused on Thyroid Function and Reproduction/Pregnancy. Normal thyroid function is crucial to both conception and gestation. Dr. MandelÕs work published in the New England Journal of Medicine was the first to document that women with hypothyroidism require an increase in thyroid hormone dosage, which is of paramount importance for normal brain development