Loscalzo to Step Down

Joseph Loscalzo, MD, chair of the Department of Medicine, will begin the process of stepping down from his role as chair. Loscalzo, who has served as chair for 16 years, honors a longstanding tradition among clinical department chairs that they consider transitioning from their leadership role after the age of 67.

During his time as chair of the Department of Medicine — the largest academic department at the Brigham and one of the largest in the country — Loscalzo built a globally renowned program. With more than 1,300 faculty across 22 divisions, members of the department provide routine and specialty care to a significant portion of the Brigham’s patient population. The department is among the largest recipients of sponsored funding in the country; has an extensive patent, licensing and startup company portfolio derived from the new knowledge its investigators have created; and is responsible for the education of hundreds of students, residents and fellows each year.

Loscalzo’s connection to the Brigham traces back to his training days. He completed his clinical training at the Brigham and served as resident and chief resident in Medicine and fellow in Cardiovascular Medicine. Loscalzo joined the Harvard faculty and staff at the Brigham in 1984. He rose to the rank of associate professor of Medicine, chief of Cardiology at the West Roxbury Veterans Administration Medical Center, and director of the Center for Research in Thrombolysis at the Brigham. He joined the faculty of Boston University in 1994, first as chief of Cardiology and, in 1997, Wade professor and chair of Medicine, professor of Biochemistry, and director of the Whitaker Cardiovascular Institute. He returned to Harvard and Brigham in 2005.

Loscalzo will remain in his role as chair during a period of transition as the search begins for his successor. The search process will conclude after the next president of the Brigham is in place. Following the transition, Loscalzo plans to continue full-time as a member of the department, working on his research programs, clinical service and teaching for the foreseeable future.

Bueno Named Chief of the Division of Thoracic and Cardiac Surgery

Raphael Bueno, MD, has been named chief of the newly formed Division of Thoracic and Cardiac Surgery at the Brigham.

At the Brigham, Bueno has built the largest division of thoracic surgery in the U.S., with 25 faculty members and five affiliated network sites in New England. He also co-founded the Brigham Lung Center and the Lung Research Center. Over the past 21 years, he has developed robust clinical and research portfolios at the Brigham and has mentored fellows and staff. He previously served as the cardiothoracic residency director at the Brigham.

Bueno’s clinical focus is management of thoracic malignancies particularly mesothelioma, lung cancer, and esophageal cancer. His main research interests center on the molecular events that lead to malignancy in mesothelioma and lung cancer. Specifically, Bueno focuses on developing biomarkers for diagnosis, prognosis, and predicting therapy in malignant pleural mesothelioma and lung cancer. His research also includes tumor sequencing and identification of targetable pathways. He runs a molecular biology lab at the George W. Thorn Medical Research Building and has been funded for almost two decades by the National Cancer Institute, Department of Defense, and various foundations and industry grants. He has invented, patented and licensed several algorithms and medical devices for patient care, some having been licensed by industry. Dr. Bueno has also invented and continues to develop several novel surgical procedures and devices.

Weiss Stepping Down as Scientific Director

Scott Weiss, MD, will step down from his role as scientific director for Mass General Brigham Personalized Medicine, effective September 1. Weiss will continue his research in the Channing Division of Network Medicine at the Brigham.

As the founding leader of Mass General Brigham Personalized Medicine, Weiss directed its core laboratories to serve the investigative community for over a decade. The Biobank Genomics Core (previously called Translational Genomics Core) currently serves over 100 investigators per year and supports over $100 million in National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants. The Lab for Molecular Medicine supports Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) germline genetic tests, NIH-funded genomic medicine programs requiring cutting- edge clinical genetic and genomic testing, and Biobank Return of Research Results. Under Weiss’ leadership, the MGB Biobank was built, linking serum, plasma and DNA to the electronic medical record. Over the years and through Weiss’ leadership, the Biobank has grown to have over 120,000 consented subjects with samples and over 43,500 subjects with genomic data and to support over 250 investigators receiving free GWAS data and samples. The Biobank supports over $300 million in NIH-funded research. MGB Personalized Medicine itself has obtained over $75 million in NIH grants largely for participation in the eMERGE network and the All of Us program.

Weiss is personally funded by the NIH and has been for over 43 years. During this time, he has been the principal investigator on over 50 grants. Weiss has also trained a total of 51 investigators; 13 of these trainees have reached the rank of professor, and most remain in academic medicine. Weiss has authored or co-authored over 900 papers and co-written and co-edited four books, including a comprehensive textbook of Respiratory Genetics.

Mass General Brigham will be forming a search committee to fill this system-wide role. Further details of this search will follow.

Harris Promoted to VP of Patient Access Services

Sheila Harris, executive director for Patient Access Services, was promoted to vice president of Patient Access Services in February.

Harris has worked at the Brigham for 10 years. During her time as executive director, she successfully centralized the operating room scheduling and revenue teams across the Brigham and was instrumental in the redesign of its community transfer program and the launch of the Brigham Health Access Center. Last spring, during the height of the initial COVID-19 surge, Harris led teams responsible for implementing the Brigham’s patient and visitor screening processes, physical distancing efforts and the visitor policy.

In her new role, Harris will continue to oversee Patient Access Services and work closely with Julia Sinclair, senior vice president, Clinical Services and other senior leaders on strategic planning for patient access within the Brigham as well as across Mass General Brigham. She will also continue to work closely with Chris Dunleavy, chief financial officer, on revenue cycle operations and will partner with leaders across the Brigham to advance operations related to the delivery of high-quality care throughout the Brigham.

Morse Takes on a New Appointment

Michelle Morse, MD, MPH, an associate physician in the Division of Global Health Equity at the Brigham, has taken on the role as chief medical officer for the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene of New York. Morse will retain her role as a Brigham faculty member where she has been on faculty since 2009.

Morse joins the Health Department as deputy commissioner for the Center for Health Equity and Community Wellness (CHECW) and the agency’s first-ever chief medical officer. Morse will have the responsibility of leading the agency’s work in bridging public health and health care, ensuring greater alignment and coordination with health care systems, and serving as a key liaison to clinicians and clinical leaders across New York City.

Morse is a graduate of the Doris and Howard Hiatt Residency in Global Health Equity and Internal Medicine at the Brigham. As a resident, Morse worked primarily in Haiti where she helped to coordinate Partners In Health’s earthquake relief efforts, served as a first-responder for the subsequent cholera epidemic, and worked on women’s health and quality improvement projects. Morse previously served as assistant program director for the Internal Medicine Residency Program at the Brigham and hospitalist in the Department of General Internal Medicine. Morse is an assistant professor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School and an affiliate of the school’s Department of Global Health and Social Medicine.

Mohan Departs the Brigham

Santosh Mohan, MMCi, CPHIMS, FHIMSS, managing director of the Brigham Digital Innovation Hub (iHub), departed the Brigham at the end of February.

During his time at iHub, Mohan launched and led a number of flagship innovation initiatives at the Brigham and across Mass General Brigham and represented iHub nationally and internationally through thought leadership. From matchmaking market solutions with internal challenges to accelerating the development, use and commercialization of Brigham-developed solutions to fostering a culture of digital innovation and collaboration, he has elevated iHub to new heights and strengthened the group for future success.

Mohan will be joining Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute in Tampa, FL as vice president of Digital Innovation, in March.

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