Biography
Dr. Susan Pitt, MD, MPHS is an Associate Professor of Surgery and Director of Endocrine Surgery Health Services Research at the University of Michigan. Dr. Pitt also serves as the Director of Engagement at the Center for Healthcare Outcomes and Policy. In this role, she leads didactic research and career development related educations programming the Center.
She founded the CHOiCE Collaborative (Comparing Health Outcomes in Cancer Experience) to improve the outcomes and experience of patients with low-risk thyroid cancer through comparative effectiveness research and better understanding patient-surgeon treatment decisions. Dr. Pitt earned her medical degree from the Medical College of Wisconsin and completed general surgery residency at Washington University in St. Louis where she also earned a Masters in Population Health Science focused on shared decision-making and health literacy. During a 2-year research fellowship at the University of Wisconsin, she was awarded an NIH Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (T32) an American College of Surgeons Resident Research Scholarship. Dr. Pitt completed a clinical research fellowship in Endocrine Surgery at Brigham & Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA.
Dr. Pitt joined the endocrine surgery faculty at the University of Michigan in 2021 after being faculty at the University of Wisconsin for six years. Clinically, she specializes in surgically treating diseases of the thyroid, parathyroid, and adrenal glands. Her research program funded by the National Cancer Institute focuses on reducing overtreatment of low-risk thyroid cancer through behavioral interventions as well as implementation of less-invasive management strategies like active surveillance. Dr. Pitt’s team also investigates the effect of emotion (fear, anxiety, worry) and uncertainty on overutilization in healthcare. She is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a member of multiple professional societies including the Association of Academic Surgeons, American Thyroid Association, American Association of Endocrine Surgeons, and the Surgical Outcomes Club.
More information on Dr. Pitt's publications, research and grants can be found here.