Lynn Tanoue, MD ’82, MBA ’19, Awarded Yale Medicine Distinguished Clinical Career Award

The Yale Medicine Distinguished Clinical Career Award honors physicians who have contributed to Yale Medicine for at least 20 years since completing their fellowship training and whose careers are marked by significant accomplishments, exemplary dedication, and important contributions to advancing the practice, the overall medical profession, and the community. The award is intended to honor faculty members who are widely recognized as distinguished clinicians and who have devoted the main part of their careers to Yale.

Dr. Tanoue is professor of Medicine (Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine) and vice-chair for Clinical Affairs in the Department of Internal Medicine. After earning her bachelor’s degree magna cum laude from Harvard-Radcliffe and graduating cum laude from Yale School of Medicine (YSM), she completed her Internal Medicine Residency at Yale New Haven Hospital (YNHH) where she also served as chief resident. After completing pulmonary and critical care fellowship at YNHH, she joined YSM as an assistant professor in 1992. Since then, she has held multiple leadership positions, while continuing to practice as a pulmonary and critical care specialist. Dr. Tanoue also earned an MBA degree from Yale in 2019.

In 2004, Dr. Tanoue founded the Yale Cancer Center Thoracic Oncology Program (TOP), designing the program’s patient-centered multidisciplinary framework, securing institutional support, and serving as its first director. That effort established a new Section of Thoracic Surgery and built strong collaborations between Pulmonary Medicine, Thoracic Surgery, Medical Oncology, Radiation Oncology, and Diagnostic Imaging. TOP’s success was realized in remarkable clinical growth and scientific expansion, leading to national and international recognition and evolution to the current Center for Thoracic Cancers at Yale Cancer Center. In 2014, Dr. Tanoue launched the Yale Lung Cancer Screening Program and continues as its director. Today, these programs are central to Yale’s recognition as a leader in thoracic oncology.

Dr. Tanoue has played an essential role in the governance and clinical administration of her department and the medical center. She has served as past-president of the medical staff of YNHH, as interim chief of the section of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, and in many other leadership roles. Notably, Dr. Tanoue organized the clinical response of the Department of Medicine during the initial COVID-19 surge in 2020, collaborating with departments across YSM and YNHH to meet the early severe challenges of the pandemic. As vice chair for Clinical Affairs in the Department of Medicine, she directed major change and innovation in practice operations and faculty development. She led the design and implementation of specialty-specific education and training for clinicians in the Department of Medicine related to use of the electronic health record, compliance, and professional development, with the goals of improving the interaction and experience of clinicians with systems necessary for efficient practice while also prioritizing physician well-being.

Dr. Tanoue has received many national awards, including the Lifetime Achievement award from the Thoracic Oncology Assembly and Outstanding Educator award from the Clinical Problems Assembly of the American Thoracic Society (ATS), and is a past member of the ATS Board of Directors. She is the current chair of the Pulmonary Board of the American Board of Internal Medicine and serves on the American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST) Board of Regents. At YSM, Dr. Tanoue has received the David J. Leffell, MD, Prize for Clinical Excellence, the Dean’s Mentors Award, and the Leah M. Lowenstein Award, and has been inducted into the Society of Distinguished Teachers.

Dr. Tanoue’s contributions also extend into our broader community. In 1996, she established the YNHH Winchester Clinic Community Tuberculosis Outreach Program, which has performed TB screenings for more than 12,000 students enrolled in English as a Second Language classes at the New Haven Center for Adult Education. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra (NHSO) and served on the NHSO search committee that selected its recently appointed music director. In 2008, Dr. Tanoue founded the Yale Medical Symphony Orchestra (YMSO), now in its 17th year of bringing music into the heart of the medical center. She also chairs the YMSO Board of Directors and is a proud member of its violin section.