Megan Dupuis, MD, PhD, assistant professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology and Oncology, has been named program director of the Internal Medicine Residency Program, the largest residency program at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She will begin her new role in July 2026.
“Dr. Dupuis has demonstrated exceptional leadership and dedication during her tenure as an associate program director of our Internal Medicine Residency Program,” said Bryan Harris, MD, MPH, MMHC, interim chair of the Department of Medicine. “Her vision, passion for medical education, and commitment to nurturing the next generation of physicians make her the ideal leader to guide our program into an exciting new chapter.
“I look forward to seeing how she will continue to elevate our residency training with her combination of drive, compassion and expertise,” added Harris, who also holds the Allen Kaiser, MD Directorship for Clinical Excellence.
Dupuis is currently serving as associate program director and will assume the new role from John McPherson, MD, the Drs. Sol and Marvin Rosenblum Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine and vice chair for Education for the Department of Medicine. McPherson, who has served as the Internal Medicine Residency Program director since 2013, will remain in his vice chair role.
“Serving as program director for one of the best internal medicine residencies in the country has been an extraordinary privilege,” said McPherson. “After 13 years, I believe our program deserves and will benefit from a new perspective and fresh energy. Dr. Dupuis clearly has all of the skills and qualities needed to take the program to new heights, exemplified by her recognition with the 2025 Hugh J. Morgan Teaching Award. She is exactly the right person to lead going forward, and I am certain that we all will thrive under her leadership.”
In the role, Dupuis will coordinate all aspects of the internal medicine residency, including the interview and selection process, mentoring the residents going through the program and assuring that all accreditation requirements for the residency are met. She will play an integral part in residency recruitment beginning this fall. She will step down from her role as associate program director of the Hematology and Oncology Fellowship Program.
“My professional passion has always been medical education and working with adult learners,” said Dupuis. “I’m excited to continue to build on the remarkable legacy of Dr. McPherson who has been a wonderful mentor to me. I’m committed to our trainees and look forward to taking on this incredible role — it is truly my dream job.”
Dupuis completed her dual MD-PhD at University at Buffalo, The State University of New York and her PhD in tumor immunology from Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York. She began focusing on her passion for medical education and patient care throughout her residency training at Duke University Hospital, where she served as assistant chief resident, and her fellowship training at MD Anderson Cancer Center, where she was chief fellow for education.
During her time at MD Anderson, she worked on innovative curriculum design, including chalk talks, educational podcasts and app development. Her fellowship research focused on work-based assessment and feedback.
Dupuis joined the Department of Medicine faculty in 2021. She has provided oncology care to patients at Vanderbilt University Hospital, Vanderbilt Wilson County Hospital, and Williamson Medical Center.
Dupuis is also passionate about narrative medicine, an interdisciplinary practice that involves actively listening to patient stories to better address all contributors to health and strengthen the patient-provider relationship. Medical humanities programs incorporate arts and humanities into health care to bring better understanding of the complex human experience.
She is a founder of narrative medicine programs at both Duke and MD Anderson. She also leads narrative medicine and medical humanities training for specialty services across VUMC and has presented on the topics at national conferences. Dupuis, along with Chase Webber, DO, associate professor of Clinical Medicine, is co-founder and co-director of a Medical Humanities GME certificate program at VUMC that began in 2022.
Among her honors, Dupuis received the Hugh J. Morgan Teaching Award for Best Faculty Teacher at VUMC in 2025, the MD Anderson Outstanding Fellow of the Year Award in 2020, and the Amit Bhaskar Award for Compassion in Medicine at Duke University in 2018.
Currently, there are 155 internal medicine residents and 24 internal medicine/pediatrics residents at VUMC. Residency training is provided in four tracks, with additional specialty pathways available. The tracks are:
- Categorical/Primary Care Internal Medicine: training in internal medicine and the subspecialties in inpatient and outpatient settings
- Physician-Scientist Training Program: training for residents pursuing a research career in academic medicine
- Preliminary Medicine: a year of general medicine training in preparation for a career in another specialty
- Combined Internal Medicine/Pediatrics: training in both disciplines over four years
