Allegheny Health Network Creates Surgeon-in-Chief Role, Appoints Nipun Merchant to Lead Surgical Services
Allegheny Health Network has appointed Dr. Nipun B. Merchant as its first Surgeon-in-Chief and chair of the network's Department of Surgery, a move the system said is part of a strategic effort to integrate surgical care across its facilities.
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The appointment is effective in February 2027, according to an Oct. 14, 2026, press release. In the newly created role, Dr. Merchant will be the senior physician executive for AHN's surgical enterprise, providing strategic oversight for all surgical services.
AHN said in a statement that the move reflects a commitment to elevating its Department of Surgery to national prominence in patient care, education, and research. As department chair, Dr. Merchant will lead faculty recruitment, program expansion, and the growth of its research and educational missions.
"His exceptional record as a surgeon, researcher, educator and leader will help us build on the strength of our surgical programs, expand our research mission and bring highly specialized care to more patients across the region," Bethany Casagranda, chief medical officer at AHN and president of Allegheny Clinic, said in the news release.
Dr. Merchant will join the Pittsburgh-based health system from the University of Miami Health System. There, he serves as Chief Surgical Officer, Executive Director of Perioperative Services, and Chief of the Division of Surgical Oncology at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, according to the announcement. He is also the Associate Director of Translational Research and founding Director of the Sylvester Pancreatic Cancer Research Institute.
An internationally recognized surgical oncologist, Dr. Merchant's research on pancreatic cancer has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health for 18 years, and he has authored more than 250 peer-reviewed scientific publications. He earned his medical degree from SUNY Downstate Medical Center, completed a general surgery residency at Temple University Hospital, and a surgical oncology fellowship at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, according to his professional biographies.
Dr. Merchant will take over leadership of the department from Dr. David Bartlett, who has been serving as the interim chair. Dr. Bartlett is the Director of the AHN Cancer Center and President of the Allegheny-Singer Research Institute.
**Why it matters:** Allegheny Health Network is a Pittsburgh-based health system with 1,946 staffed beds. A Clinical Terminal analysis from October 2026 noted that AHN's surgical enterprise was fragmented across a network of 16 hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers and lacked an integrated model of surgical care. The appointment of a surgeon-in-chief follows a major leadership transition at AHN's parent company, Highmark Health, which named Karen Hanlon its new president and CEO, effective Jan. 1, 2027. Mark Sevco is the president of Allegheny Health Network. Clinical Terminal data shows the health system is a customer of patient financial engagement vendor Cedar.