The Department of Medicine’s Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, has formed a Section of Interventional Pulmonology (IP). Dr. Michal Senitko, Assistant Professor of Medicine and Surgery will serve as the inaugural section chief.

The Interventional Pulmonology service at UMMC was created over 3 years ago by Dr. Senitko and Dr. George E. “Trey” Abraham III. The team has become a vital part of the Thoracic Oncology Group and offers advanced minimally invasive diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to various diseases of the chest. Several new diagnostic and treatment methods have been offered now at UMMC. With the lung cancer being the number one cause of the cancer related deaths in Mississippi, IP section plans to continue to introduce new technologies with a focus on shortening the ‘nodule-to-diagnosis’ time and on cancer’s endoscopic treatment. Living in the tobacco belt, one of the other top priorities is to contribute to development of a strong advanced COPD program by an endoscopic lung volume reduction treatment option for patients with advanced COPD.

Dr. Senitko joined the UMMC faculty in 2017. Born in Slovakia, he graduated from First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University Prague, Czech Republic in 2006. After completing his Internal Medicine residency and Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellowship at UMMC, he completed an Interventional Pulmonology fellowship at Yale University. Dr. Senitko’s clinical and research interests include advanced endoscopic techniques for the diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer and benign airway diseases. Dr. Senitko serves as co-director of UMMC’s Cancer Center and Research Institute’s Lung Cancer Early Detection Program. Dr. Senitko is a diplomate of American Association of Bronchology and Interventional Pulmonology, serving as its southern chapter representative and a member of American Thoracic Society’s Clinical Advisory Committee.