Search to Begin for Barbieri’s Successor

After serving as chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology for 27 years, Bob Barbieri, MD, has asked Brigham Health President Betsy Nabel, MD, to initiate a search for his successor.

While department chair, Barbieri has built the Brigham’s program in obstetrics and gynecology, edited the top obstetrics-gynecology publications and served in leadership roles in many professional associations. He has been recognized by the Brigham and Women’s Physicians Organization with a senior faculty mentor pillar award and, most recently, as a distinguished senior clinician.

Barbieri is the past President of the Association of Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics (APGO) and the past President of the APGO Medical Education Foundation. He has served on the board of directors of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine and as the chairperson of the National Institutes of Health, Reproductive Biology Study Section.

Barbieri has contributed to more than 300 medical publications and has served as editor for textbooks on reproductive endocrinology and gynecology. His research interests include issues related to infertility, including the treatment of polycystic ovary syndrome and the identification of predictors of successful in vitro fertilization treatment.

Barbieri plans plan to be active in his role as department chair until a successor is ready to begin his/her term. Following the transition, he plans to continue his clinical activity in the Center for Infertility and Reproductive Surgery.

Tavakkoli Named Chief of General and Gastrointestinal Surgery

Ali Tavakkoli, MD, has been named chief of General and Gastrointestinal Surgery at Brigham Health, effective December 1, 2019.

Tavakkoli is a minimally invasive and bariatric surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital where he serves as co-director of the Center for Weight Management and Metabolic Surgery and director of the minimally invasive surgery fellowship. He is an associate professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School.

He received his medical degree from the London Hospital Medical College in the UK, where he became a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. Tavakkoli later completed both a surgical residency and fellowship in advanced minimally invasive surgery at the Brigham.

Tavakkoli leads an active NIH-funded research group that studies the mechanisms of diabetes resolution after gastric bypass surgery, focusing on the role of intestinal metabolism and portal signaling. His group’s goals are to develop less invasive alternatives to surgery that can replicate the metabolic benefits of surgery without the risks.

He is an active member of many professional societies and a member of the board of governors of the American College of Surgeons, and president-elect of the Massachusetts Chapter of the American College of Surgeons. He is an associate editor for Digestive Diseases and Sciences, serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery, and has been recognized for his dedication to surgical education with several teaching and mentorship awards throughout his career.

Brigham Management Group Announces New Leaders

Several new employees were introduced at the December Brigham Management Group meeting:

• Andrea Branchaud, Senior Manager, Employee Engagement and Well Being
• Douglas Carney, MBA, Senior Vice President, Real Estate Facilities and Operations
• Jodi Freedman, ABC, Manager, Enterprise Communication
• Cynthia Howlett-Willis, MBA, MPH, BWPO Senior Finance Manager
• Maura Koutoujian, Certified Development Coach, OMCOSS
• Judy Krempin, Director, Performance Improvement
• Andrew Resnick, MD, MBA, SVP, Chief Quality Officer
• Brendan Russell, MBA, Executive Director, Emergency Medicine
• Wanda Whitson, Certified Development Coach, OMCOSS

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