Lisa Landrum never thought she would leave Oklahoma.
Hailing from a rural community with a population of just 1,500, she attended a small high school with a graduating class of 44 students. Both her parents were teachers, and she played on her dad’s basketball team.
“I’ve always seen a role for myself as a mentor and educator,” said Landrum, MD, PhD, who was recently named chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Indiana University School of Medicine — the first woman to hold this key leadership position.
It took something special to get the lifelong Oklahoman to become a Hoosier transplant three years ago, when she was recruited to resurrect IU’s gynecologic oncology division.
The division was down to two physicians when Dr. Landrum joined the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in 2021. Both were fresh out of fellowship and not yet board certified.
“Through successful recruitment and a vision that inspired her team, Dr. Landrum quickly rebuilt the division to five physicians and three advanced providers with a rapidly growing clinical practice and very successful research mission,” said Angie Rinehart, the longtime vice chair of clinical and academic administration for the OB-GYN department.
Landrum is now on the verge of reopening a fellowship program to train specialists in gynecologic oncology.
She was a scientist before becoming a doctor. After studying biology at Oklahoma Christian College, where she was a scholarship athlete, Landrum earned a master’s degree and PhD from the University of Oklahoma, where she researched neurologic pathways in spinal cord injuries. After realizing she enjoyed patient interactions, Landrum decided to pursue a medical degree. She was drawn to OB-GYN and, ultimately, cancer treatment within the specialty.
“I wanted to not only do surgery but also give patients their chemotherapy after surgery, which is what forms sustained relationships with people,” she said.
After completing her residency and fellowship programs at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, Landrum joined the faculty and became director of the college’s OB-GYN residency.
“At the forefront of it all has been my desire to teach — training residents and fellows, but also educating patients,” she said.
Now Landrum is leading the OB-GYN department at IU after serving as its interim chair since May 2024.
“I would really like to see us grow our comprehensive health care for women through collaborative efforts with our colleagues across the health system in areas like musculoskeletal and cardiovascular health, and neurology and cognition,” Landrum said. “We want to offer care for women, not just in their reproductive years, but help aging women address the challenges that menopause brings, and, on the other end of the spectrum, grow pediatric and adolescent gynecology care for the pre-reproductive years.”
Resurrecting IU’s gynecologic cancer program
Landrum’s proven record in advancing the Division of Gynecologic Oncology is what led to her recruitment for the chair position, following Jeffrey Peipert, MD, PhD, who led the OB-GYN department through significant growth over the previous eight years.
Departmental leadership is something Landrum never envisioned when she made the difficult decision to leave her beloved Oklahoma. She was enticed by the challenge of reviving IU’s gynecologic oncology program to its former prominence.
“What I found at IU was people and a program that had a lot of promise,” she said. “IU previously had a strong gynecology oncology program with ‘stars’ at the national level, but it had fallen on hard times. The scaffolding was there to build a really great program.”
Fresh out of fellowship training, Jessica Parker, MD, joined the reemerging gynecologic oncology team in September 2021, about a month after Landrum came to lead it.
Three years later, the progress is evident. “No one has left the division since she started,” Parker said.
Landrum and Parker are both members of the IU Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center. “Dr. Landrum has significantly grown our clinical trials, and we are now the No. 11 cancer center for NRG gynecologic oncology clinical trials in the nation,” noted Parker.
As Peipert passed the leadership baton to Landrum, he called the division’s transformation the most remarkable achievement during his time as department chair. Clinical volume has grown, and IU serves as a referral site for complex surgeries requiring collaboration with colleagues in urologic oncology and plastic surgery. Landrum expects the gynecologic oncology fellowship to receive accreditation and begin taking trainees later this year.
Landrum’s departmental goals include recruiting more general OB-GYNs, continuing to support a strong maternal fetal medicine and obstetrical care team, and growing research and scholarly publication among faculty.
“It’s a challenge to give people that opportunity to become researchers when they are working so hard to meet clinical goals,” Landrum said. “We need to find creative ways to provide protected time so people can be successful both as researchers and clinicians.”
Becoming OB-GYN’s first woman leader
Surprisingly, Landrum is the first woman to serve as chair of the one department that focuses exclusively on women’s health.
More than half of the nation’s specialists in obstetrics and gynecology are women — but there is a lag in leadership. National statistics show that just 25% of chairs in academic medicine are women.
At IU, two-thirds of OB-GYN faculty and 95% of residents are female, so women leaders are rising in the ranks. Landrum has served as a key mentor for her junior colleagues.
“The biggest things I appreciate about Dr. Landrum are her vulnerability, honesty and her willingness to offer to others opportunities that she could have taken herself,” Parker said. “Dr. Landrum is very good at recognizing the strengths and weaknesses of others and figuring out where people can thrive.”
In a recent professional development course, Landrum’s leadership style was identified as inclusive and data-driven in decision making.
“Something I find unique and valuable about Dr. Landrum’s leadership style is her genuine interest in each individual, regardless of their role, and appreciating their contributions,” Rinehart said. “Building that trust has laid the groundwork for engagement and success as a department.”
Under Peipert’s leadership, the OB-GYN department increased its commitment to diversity and inclusion, and Landrum is committed to furthering that vision.
“The thing that makes group dynamics successful is having different perspectives in the room,” Landrum said. “We all look at the world differently. Even coming from rural Oklahoma and being a college athlete, I bring a unique perspective. Everyone has different life experiences to bring to the table.”
Natasha Thompson, MD, a second-year resident in OB-GYN, considers Landrum a valued mentor and role model. Thompson is a graduate of Little Rock Central High School, site of the 1957 integration of public schools conflict that resulted in President Dwight Eisenhower ordering U.S. Army protection of the first nine Black students to be admitted. Today, Thompson’s interests in OB-GYN include addressing health disparities, reducing the maternal mortality rate among minority populations, and increasing access to quality health care and mentorship.
“Dr. Landrum’s warmth and encouragement make learning and growing as a physician an even more beautiful journey,” Thompson said. “Her commitment to inspiring excellence is like no other.”
As a former athlete and collegiate basketball coach, Landrum’s team mindset makes her a natural leader, said Nicole Minalt, MD, a recent graduate of IU’s OB-GYN residency.
“She has integrity, exhibits poise in emergencies and critical decisions, makes thoughtful solutions to complex problems, and is an active listener to the people she leads,” Minalt added.
Landrum was a major influence in Minalt’s decision to pursue a fellowship in gynecologic oncology at Landrum’s alma mater, Oklahoma, while Landrum continues her effort to relaunch IU’s program. Minalt still texts Landrum with “high-highs” and “low-lows” as she advances through her specialty training.
She sees her mentor as someone who has “done it all” professionally yet remains committed to helping others.
“From various national and local awards to an extensive publication and teaching portfolio, to service to the field of obstetrics and gynecology and gynecologic oncology, Dr. Landrum has been extraordinarily successful,” Minalt said. “But at the end of the day, she is genuine and humble and continues to give 110% to her patients, colleagues and trainees. IU won the lottery when she came to Indianapolis from Oklahoma City.”
Women in Leadership at IU School of Medicine
Women are leading the way in helping the Indiana University School of Medicine fulfill its mission, promoting innovation and excellence in education, research and patient care. The Women in Leadership series celebrates the contributions of women who have emerged as strong leaders within the medical school and in their respective fields of expertise.
