Higgins Appointed President at Brigham and Women’s
Robert S.D. Higgins, MD, MSHA, has been named president of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, and executive vice president at Mass General Brigham. In these new roles, which are effective in December 2021, Dr. Higgins will be responsible for faculty and academic leadership appointments and stewardship of the research programs. He previously was surgeon-in-chief at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, as well as director of the Department of Surgery and senior associate dean for diversity and inclusion for The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. An STS member since 1997, Dr. Higgins is a Past President and currently serves on the STS Workforce on Career Development and the Nominating Committee.
Sádaba Joins STS Board as International Director
J. Rafael Sádaba, MD, PhD, FRCS(C-Th), is the new International Director on the STS Board of Directors. He fills the vacancy left by Domenico Pagano, MD, FRCS(C-Th), FETSC. Dr. Sádaba is the associate clinical professor at the University of Navarra in Pamplona, Spain, and head of Cardiovascular Research and Innovation at the Navarra Hospital Complex. He also serves as the Secretary General for the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. Dr. Sádaba has been an STS member since 2011.
Abbas Takes Reins of Brown Thoracic Surgery
Abbas El-Sayed Abbas, MD, is the new chief of thoracic surgery at Brown Surgical Associates in Providence, Rhode Island. He also will serve as chief of thoracic surgery at all Lifespan hospitals—the health system associated with The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University—and chief of thoracic oncology at the Lifespan Cancer Institute. Previously, Dr. Abbas was system thoracic surgeon-in-chief and system director of the Foregut Disease Thoracic Oncology Programs at Temple University Health System in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and chief of thoracic surgery at Fox Chase Comprehensive Cancer Center. He has been an STS member since 2009.
Shekar Leads CT Surgery at Lahey
Prem S. Shekar, MD, MBA, has joined Lahey Hospital & Medical Center in Burlington, Massachusetts, as chair of cardiac and thoracic surgery. Prior to joining Lahey, he was chief of the Division of Cardiac Surgery and surgical director of Brigham and Women's Hospital Heart & Vascular Center in Boston, Massachusetts, as well as associate professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Shekar has been an STS member since 2008.
Killinger Named Chief Medical Officer in Houston
William A. Killinger, MD, now serves as the chief medical officer for HCA Houston Healthcare Clear Lake and HCA Houston Healthcare Mainland in Texas. Most recently, he was chief medical officer in the HCA Healthcare West Florida Division at the Medical Center of Trinity in Florida. Dr. Killinger has been an STS member since 2006.
Sai Sudhakar Is New Chief at UConn
C.B. Sai Sudhakar, MD, has been appointed chief of cardiothoracic surgery at UConn Health in Farmington, Connecticut. Most recently, he was a cardiothoracic surgeon at Largo Medical Center, which is part of the HCA Healthcare West Florida Division. Dr. Sai Sudhakar has been an STS member since 2006.