Giving Matters Summer 2019

SUMMER 2019

BETH ISRAEL DEACONESS MEDICAL CENTER

GENERATIONS OF GENEROSITY

AI-OK

A NEW MINDSET

IN THE NAME OF NURSING

p. 5

p. 8

p. 14

p. 16

ELEVATING EXCELLENCE Peter J. Healy, President Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

PETER J. HEALY

ELEVATING EXCELLENCE BIDMC’s president is on a mission to bring the institution to new heights Peter J. Healy was drawn to health care from a young age. When he was growing up, his mother, Margaret, a medical–surgical nurse who emigrated from Ireland to Ohio, came home every day exhausted from her shift.

And yet Healy recalls how her face lit up when she talked about her patients.

“My mother loved being a nurse,” says Healy. “Her influence drove me to work in health care because I knew I wanted to do something fundamentally meaningful in my career and, by extension, in my life.”

Having worked in hospitals for almost 30 years, Healy continues to pursue his passion for health care delivery as president of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center since 2017.

Known by staff as simply “Pete,” Healy is uniquely qualified to lead the medical center during a critically important time in its history, where it faces unprecedented physical and financial growth. He possesses a key

2

attribute that few share: from the very beginning of his career, he has always reported to—or been—the chief executive officer, from his first job as administrative fellow at Faulkner Hospital to his role as chief executive officer of Beth Israel Deaconess– Milton prior to joining BIDMC. “Consistently being at the executive table has been an incredible privilege,” says Healy, who early on observed the inner workings of large hospitals and leveraged this valuable knowledge, along with his strong work ethic, to build a distinguished career.

Healy’s vast experience—or his “front row seat” as he calls it—has enabled him to learn from renowned health care leaders in the Boston area to ultimately develop his own signature style. Known as a careful listener and a consensus builder, Healy leverages the expertise of the medical center’s talented physicians, administrators, staff, and board members. “My goal is

to hear each team member’s point of view,” he says, “and to work together to devise strategies and solutions that benefit BIDMC and our patients.”

Healy’s thoughtful approach has paid off. Over the past two and a half years, he and his team have worked tirelessly to advance the medical center’s mission with a focus on quality and safety, patient care, operations, and financial health. An example is Healy’s efforts to expand the medical center’s highacuity capabilities. “As a tertiary/ quaternary hospital, we have to be prepared to meet our patients’ most complex needs,” he says. “Growing our subspecialty surgical programs, where surgeons use advanced techniques that have significantly improved outcomes and quality of life for patients, is essential to our success as an organization.” Better patient outcomes are an unmistakable accomplishment. But there is also less concrete anecdotal evidence of Healy’s, and BIDMC’s,

Giving Matters | Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

success. One of his favorite activities is reading the hundreds of letters he receives each month from patients recounting the life-altering—and oftentimes lifesaving—care they received and expressing gratitude for the staff’s kindness.

“BIDMC is special because we recognize the humanity in everyone,” says Healy. “Yes, we provide clinical excellence, but we go above and beyond that. Everyone is treated with dignity and compassion without exception.” He credits the medical center’s culture of respect as a reflection of the first-ever Patient Bill of Rights, established in 1972, and the work of Mitchell T. Rabkin, M.D., and Joyce Clifford, Ph.D., R.N., who revolutionized the concept of patientcentered care on a national level.

“BIDMC’s warm, caring environment is similar to that of a community hospital,” says Healy. “To have that at a world-class academic medical center is extremely uncommon.” He would know, having spent half his career working at community hospitals and half at academic medical centers.

As he looks to shape the future of BIDMC, Healy is intently focused on three key strategic objectives. The first is to continue to elevate its academic mission. With a longstanding history of leadership and innovation in clinical care, research, and education, BIDMC is ahead of the curve, but Healy believes there is always room for progress. “The minute we stop improving, we fail the patients, families, and communities who need us,” says Healy. “This is especially important with our role in the new system.” Indeed, with the recent launch of Beth Israel Lahey Health, the second largest health care system in the state

“

BIDMC is special because we recognize the humanity in everyone.

Yes, we provide clinical excellence, but we go above and beyond that.

Everyone is treated with dignity and compassion

”

without exception.

PETER J. HEALY

of Massachusetts, the population BIDMC serves is expanding faster than ever. As the entity’s highest acuity hospital, BIDMC accepts referrals from all 12 other member organizations and provides the most complex care to the sickest patients.

Giving Matters | www.bidmc.org/giving

Healy’s second area of focus is an effort called the BIDMC Experience, which is aimed at fostering a culture of collective improvement, respect, and teamwork—not just for patients, but for families, employees, and the community. Initiated in 2017 by Healy and Harvard Medical Faculty

care,” says Healy. At the heart of the institution’s comprehensive fundraising efforts, the building will focus on cardiovascular care and a broad range of surgery, including cardiac. It will also increase BIDMC’s percentage of private rooms to enhance the patient and family experience and ultimately

Peter J. Healy (left) with Christopher Awtrey, M.D., Team BIDMC Boston Marathon runner and vice chair of Gynecology (right)

Physicians President and CEO Alexa Boer Kimball, M.D., M.P.H., this project is the culmination of Healy’s evolution of thought over his decadeslong career. “Everything we do is aimed at exceeding the expectations of our patients and families,” says Healy. “We cannot provide a seamless, safe patient experience if we have disaffected staff or physicians, so engagement must include all parts of the BIDMC ecosystem.” To date, this work has addressed physician burnout, strengthened employee engagement scores, and made BIDMC one of the top-ranked organizations in the country in 2018 for its “likelihood to recommend” score. In the health care industry, it is novel to integrate engagement programming for patients, physicians, and staff into one coordinated endeavor—but to Healy, it’s common sense.

Healy’s third focal point is BIDMC’s hospital-wide effort to transform its physical space and infrastructure, which has been underway since 2015.

The cornerstone of this project is a new 10-story inpatient building on our West Campus at the intersection of Brookline Avenue and Francis Street. Slated to open in 2022, it will offer 128 state-of-the-art private rooms, 30 intensive care unit rooms, and 11 leading-edge operating and procedure rooms, all with advanced imaging and diagnostic equipment.

“This building won’t just be beautiful and technically sophisticated. It’s a valuable tool to help us deliver better

will enable spaces in other buildings to be renovated in order to continue the transformation of the medical center’s campus.

Healy has big plans for BIDMC. By pursuing these key strategic objectives, he aims to make BIDMC the best academic medical center in Boston and beyond. To him, ‘the best’ doesn’t mean the largest, the most expensive, or the most famous, but the place of choice— where patients want to come, where physicians want to refer, and where professionals want to work. “I believe we are well on our way to becoming the place of choice in Boston, and this vision will be expedited by philanthropy,” says Healy. “Generous and visionary donors are essential to BIDMC’s growth in biomedical research, clinical care, and education.”

With his unique leadership style and decades of executive experience, many agree Healy’s goal is well within reach.

“I am thrilled to see Pete Healy take the helm,” says Kevin Tabb, M.D., president and CEO of Beth Israel Lahey Health. “He is a trusted partner whose leadership, wide-ranging expertise, and deep understanding of health care give me great confidence for his and BIDMC’s future success.”

With the profound desire to make a difference and a longstanding commitment to health care, Healy is leading more than 10,000 employees to make a vital impact in Boston and arguably across the country. He inspires confidence in us all. ■

3

LETTER from Kris Dear Reader, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center is constantly pushing the boundaries of what is possible in medicine. As a Harvard Medical School teaching hospital and one of the best academic medical centers in the world, we are on the leading edge of clinical care, biomedical research, and education. Nonetheless, BIDMC President Peter J. Healy, better known as “Pete,” believes there is always room for progress. “The minute we stop improving, we fail the patients, families, and communities who need us,” he says in this issue’s cover story. That’s the motto we live by—we are continually growing, building, and striving to deliver superior care.

Never ceasing to reach higher is the very essence of the BIDMC Office of Development. In that spirit, our talented team surpassed the $100 million mark for the first time ever last fiscal year.

And we continue to make great progress in the current fiscal year. Notably, we raised more than $635,000 at the 123rd annual Boston Marathon this past April. I had the distinct privilege of running for Team BIDMC along with my daughter, Madeline (photo at left). Thank you to all of our Team BIDMC runners!

Kristine C. Laping (left) with her daughter, Madeline Walsh (right)

This issue of Giving Matters highlights BIDMC’s inspiring work that is supported by philanthropy.

Get to know the generous donors who have named the lobby of our new building on the West Campus, the gateway to the Longwood Medical Area (page 5). Learn about our innovations in emergency medicine (page 6) and artificial intelligence technology (page 8). Read about research that is changing the way both cancer (page 12) and psychosis (page 14) are treated and diagnosed. And meet a former patient whose work is literally fighting cancer (page 17).

We are so grateful for your extraordinary support, which allows us to elevate our work every day. We hope this issue makes you proud to be a part of our growing community. Thank you for being a member of the BIDMC family.

Sincerely, Kristine C. Laping Chief Development Officer

Giving Matters is published by the Office of Development at BIDMC. Kristine C. Laping Chief Development Officer (617) 667-7334 klaping@bidmc.harvard.edu Kate Gorman Senior Executive Director of External Relations (617) 667-7371 kjgorman@bidmc.harvard.edu Alexandra Molloy Senior Director of Leadership Communications (617) 667-7350 amolloy@bidmc.harvard.edu Kristina Talevi Senior Director of Marketing and Events (617) 667-7363 ktalevi@bidmc.harvard.edu

Managing Editor: Alexandra Molloy Production Editor: Allison Knee Content Editor: Kathryn Berger Writing: Molly Abrahamson, Kathryn Berger, Amy Flanagan, Allison Knee, Alexandra Molloy, Jane Wandel Photography: Josh Campbell, Danielle Duffey, James Dwyer, Joel Haskell, Theresa Johnson Herlihy Other photography courtesy of Kelsey Biddle, KissPNG.com, and the Sydney Family. Circuit illustration designed by Freepik.com Design: Robert Chow © 2019 BIDMC Volume 9, Issue 1

4

Giving Matters | Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Generations of GENEROSITY André Danesh, Ph.D., and Marilyn Danesh

Couple makes transformational $10 million gift to help support BIDMC’s new inpatient building When Marilyn and André Danesh, Ph.D., attended BIDMC’s Annual Meeting of the Boards in October 2017, a speech by the Board of Directors Chair Carol F. Anderson struck a profound chord. BIDMC’s longstanding history of inclusion and its service to Boston’s Jewish clinicians and patients, as well as its current-day practice of serving patients of all types and advocating for the underserved, deeply resonated with the Daneshes. The couple was inspired to support the medical center in a way that honored the shared impact of the institution and their families. Their generous $10 million gift will help to advance one of BIDMC’s greatest priorities—the

“

I am very proud of my adopted country, which has given me freedom of religion

”

and the ability to pay it forward.

ANDRÉ DANESH, PH.D.

transformation of its physical campus. “We are thoughtful about our legacy and wanted to focus on giving back to local efforts,” says André. “BIDMC’s history demonstrates a commitment to the local community that is reminiscent of our families’ own past, so we are happy to be able to invest in its future.”

in my youth with only $67 and a Persian carpet but I was able to get an education and become successful,” says André, who against all odds became a chemistry professor and ultimately an investor. “I am very proud of my adopted country, which has given me freedom of religion and the ability to pay it forward.” He and his wife decided they wanted to pass on a respect for their humble beginnings and a deeply rooted tradition of helping others. “It wasn’t important to me to have material wealth,” says Marilyn.

“We were more interested in giving back to our area. We’ve always said, ‘What can we do in Boston? How we can help our own community?’”

The couple’s inspiration to give to BIDMC was motivated by the parallels between the institution’s history of inclusion and their own life experiences. Their gift couldn’t have come at a better time to have a community impact as the medical center embarks on the construction of a state-of the-art 10-story inpatient tower on its West Campus, after receiving final state and city approval this past January. A gateway to the Longwood Medical Area, this new building will be designed with input from all BIDMC constituencies and will represent an extraordinary step in making the medical center’s facilities commensurate with the level of its world-class clinicians and staff. These facilities will truly enhance the patient experience, not only focusing on cardiovascular care and a broad range of surgery, but also increasing BIDMC’s percentage of private rooms.

The Danesh family’s gift will name the new building’s main lobby, which will warmly welcome all patients, families, and visitors. “This is going to be one of the most modern, most high-tech, and most sophisticated hospital buildings in the country,” says André. “We are proud to be part of it.” ■

That the Daneshes would develop a long and meaningful tradition of philanthropy was only natural—giving back is an intrinsic part of their heritage. Growing up in Iran before World War II, André observed his father and grandfather fund the creation of a hospital in their home city of Borujerd. André never forgot their generosity, and his childhood experiences remained top of mind as he was considering where to bestow philanthropy of his own.

Marilyn, too, growing up in Colorado, was shaped by a household that was rooted in volunteerism and fostered the idea of giving back.

This model of commitment would stay with André as he built his success from the ground up. “I came to America

Giving Matters | www.bidmc.org/giving

Architectural rendering of the new building’s main lobby

5

Q&A Richard E. Wolfe, M.D. Chief, Department of Emergency Medicine An expert in pioneering approaches to the clinical management of trauma, shock, and sepsis, Richard E. Wolfe, M.D., has led BIDMC’s Berenson Emergency Department (ED) for the last two decades, helping it grow into a multiinstitutional network that treats more than 300,000 patients annually. Wolfe also oversees BIDMC’s international crisis efforts and directed its emergency response to the Boston Marathon bombings.

What made you pursue emergency medicine and why is it such an important field?

What’s appealing about being an emergency physician is that you are playing a role that is part superhero and part Sherlock Holmes. You are called on to make lifesaving decisions on a daily basis combined with solving clinical mysteries where, by asking the right questions and finding the clues, you can unravel the whole story. But most of all, you are working with vulnerable populations in their time of need. So that desire to help others that draws most of us into medicine is gratified and a core feature of our specialty.

What are the most important issues facing emergency medicine today and what are the unique ways you are addressing them?

I spend almost every waking hour thinking about the growing problem of emergency department crowding, which is a serious problem in EDs nationwide and threatens the safety of our patients and the longevity of our providers.

BIDMC has been more fortunate than many other hospitals.

The architectural design we implemented back in 2001 has been remarkably successful in terms of managing patient flow with increasingly high volumes. We hope to continue to address this challenge by leveraging the expansion in inpatient beds and the greater flexibility of the new Beth Israel Lahey Health system. We are working to develop the

skills and capacity of our community EDs and advanced urgent care centers to manage more complex cases—to be a leader in value-based emergency care.

We have also been innovative in the face of the devastating opioid epidemic. The eight hours of additional governmentmandated training to prescribe lifesaving medicines for these patients is extremely expensive, but when we saw the death toll surpass HIV/AIDS at its peak, all our physicians agreed it was something we had to do. Few institutions have made this commitment. Then we recognized that treatment in the ED was just the first step in what is often a lifelong process and not many places offer ongoing treatment at the outpatient level. So we rolled out a plan to have our urgent cares bridge these patients until they can eventually be placed into long-term behavioral health programs, which is very unique.

What role does philanthropy play in helping you address these issues?

Philanthropy not only provides us with a way to mitigate ongoing challenges like overcrowding and opioid addiction but also helps us tackle emerging crises like the health effects of climate change. Fortunately, we have enlightened supporters who appreciate the value of our work. One longstanding donor in particular has been instrumental in our efforts, giving consistently over the years to support our infrastructure and equipment. But what I most admire is that he makes clear that his giving should benefit everyone who walks through our doors and holds us accountable for making that happen. In that, he truly embodies our specialty’s motto: equitable care for all. ■

YOUR GIVING

MATTERS Support our extraordinary lifesaving mission today.

Make your gift online at bidmcgiving.org/gm or call us at (617) 667-7330.

THANK YOU!

6

Giving Matters | Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Sam Spektor and Ann Berman

WORKING HARD,

DOING GOOD Grateful couple gives $1 million to support cancer and cardiovascular care

When Sam Spektor was referred to BIDMC, he knew he would receive excellent care. What he was not anticipating was the degree of personalized attention he would receive from two leading BIDMC physician–scientists: David Avigan, M.D., and Peter Zimetbaum, M.D. “Dr. Avigan and Dr. Zimetbaum were the absolute best doctors anyone could hope for—kind, compassionate, and so competent,” says Spektor. “They treated me as a person, not a patient.”

During his care experience, many elements stood out to Spektor and his wife, Ann Berman. Among them was the fact that, in addition to managing patients, Avigan and Zimetbaum both devote significant time and energy to research endeavors aimed at improving clinical outcomes. “Both David and Peter are incredibly dedicated, meticulous, and motivated,” says Berman.

Adds Spektor: “My Grandma Ruthie always said: ‘Work hard, do good.’

David and Peter are doing exactly that.”

As chief of the Division of Hematology and Hematologic Malignancies within BIDMC’s Cancer Center, Avigan is a

Giving Matters | www.bidmc.org/giving

world leader in cancer immunotherapy, which harnesses the power of the immune system to fight the disease.

In his laboratory, he developed a proprietary, individualized cancer vaccine that combines a patient’s cancer and immune cells. Today, Avigan and his team are conducting large-scale clinical trials with sites around the world to test the vaccine’s effectiveness, and early results suggest it reduces recurrence.

Zimetbaum is BIDMC’s associate chief of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine and a global expert in the study and treatment of atrial fibrillation—a type of arrhythmia, or irregular heartbeat, that can lead to blood clots, stroke, heart failure, and other complications. Zimetbaum has led numerous clinical trials of novel therapies for patients with atrial fibrillation and is renowned for his work exploring clinical effectiveness, quality, ethics, and public policy issues that affect cardiovascular care.

“David and Peter’s passion for their work is remarkable,” says Berman, who, with Spektor, committed $1 million to BIDMC. “Our gift is an expression of deep gratitude for the excellent care I received,” says Spektor.

This support is divided evenly between Avigan and Zimetbaum and is unrestricted. Berman, who was formerly the chief financial officer at Harvard

University, understands the importance of unrestricted giving, which offers investigators much-needed flexibility.

Though working in vastly different fields, Avigan and Zimetbaum have two things in common that appealed to the couple. They both collaborate closely with other institutions—which is rare in a highly competitive academic environment. And they seek to define a major paradigm shift in their respective arenas to have a far-reaching impact. “Some of what is so appealing about Peter and David’s scientific work is their ability and tenacity to find better health care solutions that will help innumerable patients in the future,” says Spektor. “Additionally, the physicians and scientists that they are training today will become tomorrow’s experts.”

Both Avigan and Zimetbaum are profoundly thankful for Berman and Spektor’s philanthropy, which is paramount to advancing their work.

“Thanks to Ann and Sam, I will be able to accelerate my team’s efforts to validate a novel cancer vaccine,” says Avigan. Adds Zimetbaum: “The goal of my work is to improve the standard of care for atrial fibrillation, and this philanthropy is vital to making that vision a reality.” ■

7

AI-OK

Artificial intelligence technology is changing health care in a real way John D. Halamka, M.D., M.S.

8

Giving Matters | Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Imagine if physicians could predict a patient’s diagnosis, ideal treatment regimen, or health outcome.

This is the promise of artificial intelligence (AI), and it’s not fictional—this branch of computer science is being used today at BIDMC and across the Beth Israel Lahey Health (BILH) system.

“There is great value in delivering the right care at the right time in the right setting,” says John D. Halamka, M.D., M.S., Harvard Medical School’s International Healthcare Innovation Professor and executive director of BILH’s Health Technology Exploration Center (HTEC). “That’s exactly what AI allows us to do.”

AI—which enables computers to learn without being programmed through algorithms and patterns—can be applied to virtually any aspect of medicine. Case in point: a sophisticated new machine learning model integrating AI technology with hospital data can effectively detect where simple operating room schedule changes would improve efficiency and balance BIDMC’s load during busier times. “Because our services are in such high demand, we are always looking for innovative ideas to help maximize our capacity,” says BIDMC Chief Information Officer Manu Tandon, M.B.A., M.P.A. Using information about surgical procedures, physician schedules, and patient length of stay, this machine learning model performs calculations and makes recommendations. As a result, two simple changes were made to orthopedic surgeons’ schedules leading to an astonishing 18 percent reduction in beds needed early in the week. “This significant decrease in demand—when the hospital is busiest—has a positive effect on operations and enhances our ability to care for patients who would otherwise be waiting for beds,” adds Tandon.

“We have reached a point where medicine’s complexity cannot be solved with the human mind,” says Halamka, a globally renowned thought leader in health care information technology. “Even the most experienced physicians misdiagnose patients. Human error is inevitable.” The National Academy of Medicine confirms diagnostic errors contribute to 10 percent of patient deaths. But according to Halamka, this situation will soon be remedied as data analytics,

Continued on page 10

Continued from page 9

forecasting, and machine learning—a subset of AI and the powerful technology behind web searches and speech recognition software—transform the clinical decision process. “Big data allows us to look at a million patients from the past to influence the care we provide the patients of the future,” says Halamka.

This kind of innovation is not new to BIDMC, one of the first hospitals in the world to apply computers to patient care. Halamka—who with his team developed one of the first electronic health records in 1985 and launched the first patient portal in 1998—has a long history of collaboration with organizations like Google, Amazon, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), as well as

machine learning,” says Tandon. “This work is scalable across the health care industry, with the goal of advancing outcomes for patients everywhere.”

Thanks to this support, Halamka, Tandon, and their teams are leading a range of AI initiatives that positively impact BIDMC and BILH’s bottom line—and, most importantly, enhance patient-centered care—through everything from reducing hospital length of stay to maximizing hospital capacity to managing chronic diseases to preventing missed appointments. “Patients no-show for appointments for many reasons,” says Halamka. “Maybe English isn’t their first language; maybe they don’t have a car. So we use machine learning to predict who is less likely to make it, and then we reach out proactively to help them.”

Halamka also serves as a mentor to HTEC physician– engineers who are leveraging AI to disrupt health care delivery. As a trauma surgeon, Gabriel Brat, M.D., M.P.H., is addressing one of the nation’s greatest public health crises: the opioid epidemic. With data showing that addiction often originates after surgery, Brat has launched

“

There is great value in delivering the right care at the right time in the right setting. That’s exactly what AI allows

”

us to do.

JOHN D. HALAMKA, M.D., M.S.

an unprecedented effort to optimize post-surgical opioid prescribing. He is using crowd-sourced national data and AI to personalize opioid prescribing based on patient risk profiles during hospitalization, which BIDMC surgeons are using in clinical practice. As this project expands, it has the potential to become a global prescription resource—with the aim of ultimately reducing both addiction and the number of unused opioid pills.

As chief information officer of BIDMC, Manu Tandon, M.B.A., M.P.A., is leading the development and evaluation of data-driven AI solutions across the medical center.

governments around the world. Today, BILH continues to expand this legacy by leveraging AI to improve diagnosis, personalize care, and enhance quality and safety. Essential to HTEC’s success is the generosity of visionary supporters.

Notably, BIDMC received $6 million from the global private equity firm HAVY International to support health care information technology efforts system-wide.

Among other gifts is an academic research sponsorship grant from Amazon. “We are thrilled to be embarking on this pioneering multi-year research program to evaluate

10

Emergency medicine physician Steven Horng, M.D., M.M.Sc., is working with collaborators at MIT to bring machine learning to the bedside by automating clinical workflows and amplifying human cognition. Using nextgeneration user interfaces powered by machine learning, Horng and his colleagues are reimagining how clinicians interact with computers. They have created a redesigned, interactive, user-friendly electronic health record interface that acts as a personal digital assistant, collecting and synthesizing relevant patient information, as well as providing diagnostic and therapeutic suggestions. Horng believes this technology will result in decreased diagnostic error and physician burnout.

Innovative work in AI has piqued the interest of leaders, physicians, and staff across the medical center and its system. “Emerging AI technologies offer great promise for BIDMC,” says BIDMC Chief Medical Officer Anthony Weiss, M.D., M.B.A. “Beyond advancing our clinical care and physician–patient communication, this technology also has vast potential to help us continually improve our workflow.” And with early research demonstrating that AI improves patient outcomes in a wide range of conditions from diabetic retinopathy and sepsis to melanoma and colorectal cancer, there is more to come. “We are just scratching the surface of what AI can do,” says Halamka.

“It will help us profoundly impact patient lives.” ■

Giving Matters | Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Detector Gadget

Computer-aided polyp detection is the future of GI care As a world-renowned academic medical center, BIDMC serves as a major referral hospital for patients from across New England—and even nationwide—who have been diagnosed with advanced polyps or colon cancer. Early on in his career, gastroenterologist Tyler Berzin, M.D., noticed a recurring trend that troubled him. “When patients are referred to us with large polyps or colon cancers, even after having undergone recent screening colonoscopies, it’s a clue that some polyps may be getting missed,” says Berzin.

With literature showing that up to 20 to 30 percent of polyps are not identified by physicians during colonoscopies— which in turn allows the polyps to become larger and more advanced— Berzin became determined to address the problem. Larger polyps may be more difficult to remove endoscopically or surgically and can sometimes already harbor areas of cancer. “My question was, ‘How can we reduce the likelihood of polyps being missed in the first place?’” says Berzin.

He knew that one answer was likely AI, but at the time the software didn’t exist.

“The key was training a computer to detect polyps,” Berzin says, explaining that small, flat, or flesh-colored polyps can easily be camouflaged within human tissue. “We just needed a team to create the AI software to do that.”

In 2015, Berzin published a paper describing this need, which was followed by the creation of several AI-aided polyp detection systems. This

Tyler Berzin, M.D., (left) and Jeremy Glissen-Brown, M.D. (right) software enables a computer to learn from images of subtle polyps and then to recognize new ones. “The explosion of AI truly aligned with our need,” says Jeremy Glissen-Brown, M.D., a fellow on Berzin’s team.

Today, Berzin is principal investigator of a first-of-its-kind trial in the U.S. to evaluate this technology in patients at three sites: BIDMC (the primary site), New York University, and The University of Kansas. “We believe AI-assisted colonoscopy will become the standard of

care,” says Berzin, whose work has already yielded promising findings in two key international trials based in China. “The physician will always be essential to a colonoscopy, but we only have two eyes, whereas the computer has the ability to be attentive to all areas of the screen at the same time. This technology will help us save lives.” ■

Decisions, Decisions Robots and AI help clinicians and enhance safety

The advancement of AI begs the question: When will we start to see robot health care workers collaborating alongside humans? As a physician dedicated to improving the experience of women throughout the oftenchallenging pregnancy, labor, and delivery process, Neel Shah, M.D., wondered that himself. “I was curious whether the use of robots might be a plausible way to enhance the quality and safety of care we deliver,” says the BIDMC obstetrician and gynecologist.

Together with his wife, roboticist Julie Shah, Ph.D., who leads the Interactive Robot Group in the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Neel conducted a study to explore AI’s potential to help physicians perform complex clinical tasks. “In almost every job, some part of a

Giving Matters | www.bidmc.org/giving

person’s work can be easily accomplished by robots,” says Julie. “In the hospital setting, if we are able to offload even the most simple decisions and tasks and free up nurses’ cognitive capacity to handle the most challenging decisions, we might significantly improve the safety of care.”

The couple and their team conducted a pilot study where they placed a robot named Ginger on the labor floor and programmed it with AI technology. This program enabled Ginger to help nurses decide how to assign rooms to patients and which personnel to staff for certain procedures. “Our robot used computer vision to read clinicians’ handwriting,” explains Julie. “Then, through AI, she learned patterns and was able to make these decisions on her own.”

In the end, the Shahs showed that Ginger was able to make recommendations with a high degree of accuracy, and they published their findings in The International Journal of Robotics Research. This work demonstrated AI’s vast promise to

Neel Shah, M.D., (left) and Ginger (right, foreground), a robot programmed with AI technology

supplement, rather than replace, clinicians in performing complicated jobs. “What is clear is that this technology can augment clinicians’ ability to make complex decisions and, by extension, their performance—but it does not replace them,” says Julie.

“Designing robots like Ginger as collaborators really opens up the many possibilities of what AI can offer.” Adds Neel: “We’re better together.” ■

11

THE RIGHT

FOUNDATIONS Charitable organizations’ generous support of cancer research helps lay groundwork for new treatments

Breast Cancer Research Foundation With one in eight women in the United States diagnosed with invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime, investigators in BIDMC’s Cancer Center are committed to furthering their understanding of this complex disease and developing new therapeutic options. Sharing this commitment, the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF) has been a longstanding supporter of the medical center’s cancer scientists, providing 25 $100,000-plus grants over the last decade.

“Research is the reason breast cancer deaths have declined by 40 percent over the last 25 years,” says Myra Biblowit, BCRF president and CEO. “We invest in the world’s foremost scientists to eradicate this disease and we know that the investigators at BIDMC will undoubtedly bring us closer to a world without breast cancer.”

Most recently, BCRF awarded four $250,000 grants to advance exciting projects by BIDMC Cancer Center Director and Chief of the Division of Genetics Pier Paolo Pandolfi, M.D., Ph.D., and faculty members Senthil Muthaswamy, Ph.D., Nadine Tung, M.D., and Gerburg Wulf, M.D., Ph.D. With this generous funding, Pandolfi is exploring the use of RNA-based therapy to treat metastatic breast cancer, the first time this type of genetic material has been used against this disease. Muthuswamy is examining how to target breast cancer cells that are resistant to commonly used anti-estrogen therapies, and Wulf, along with several BCRF colleagues, is working to better identify patients’ response to cancer inhibitor drugs. Tung, who has received grants from BCRF for more than 12 years, is currently studying the effectiveness of two different chemotherapy drugs on patients with newly diagnosed breast cancer and germline BRCA, a gene mutation that greatly increases risk of breast cancer.

The Stewart J. Rahr Foundation and Prostate Cancer Foundation Challenge Award Targeting key negative regulators, or “immune checkpoints,” of a patient’s immune response can cause tumor regression in malignant diseases. This therapy, known as checkpoint immunotherapy, holds enormous potential, but to date has not been effective in more than a small percentage of patients with advanced prostate cancer. Steven Balk, M.D., Ph.D., director of BIDMC’s Prostate Cancer Research Program, and David Avigan, M.D., chief of the Division of Hematology and Hematologic Malignancies and co-director of BIDMC’s Immunotherapy Institute, both within BIDMC’s Cancer Center, are now partnering to change that situation. Recipients of the 2018 Stewart J. Rahr Foundation and Prostate Cancer Foundation Challenge Award, Balk and Avigan were selected from a highly meritorious pool of 70 international applicants to receive $1 million in funding to support their research. In this two-part study, these investigators plan to discover specific features of tumors to use as potential biomarkers—indicators that tell scientists which patients with prostate cancer could benefit from checkpoint immunotherapy. Once these biomarkers have been identified, Balk and Avigan will investigate whether checkpoint immunotherapy in these patients can activate anti-tumor T cells with the goal of using these cells to develop novel therapies to slow or arrest the growth of prostate cancer.

“The Prostate Cancer Foundation is focused on propelling the research urgently needed to treat prostate cancer, the most common cancer among men,” says Howard Soule, Ph.D., executive vice president and chief science officer of the Prostate Cancer Foundation. “We are proud to support highly qualified investigators like Drs. Avigan and Balk, whose research demonstrates promise for developments in new therapeutic strategies for advanced prostate cancer.”

The Applebaum Foundation With the help of generous funding from The Applebaum Foundation, researchers in BIDMC’s Cancer Center are conducting a landmark trial on the effects of novel, personalized cancer vaccines on survival in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

Led by Avigan and Jacalyn Rosenblatt, M.D., deputy director of the Immunotherapy Institute, the study, which began as a small pilot with 16 participants, has since transformed into a multi-site Phase II trial with more than 100 participants and continues to attract national and international attention. Inspired by the initial success of Avigan and Rosenblatt’s work in this area, this New York–based foundation recently awarded the researchers nearly $540,000 in additional support to build on their efforts. “We are pleased to continue our partnership with BIDMC’s Cancer Center and hope that this groundbreaking trial will save lives and alleviate suffering,” says Rebecca Lieberman, executive director of The Applebaum Foundation. “The Immunotherapy Institute extends the trial’s impact from Boston to people around the country, and eventually to all those who will benefit from the knowledge and expertise it generates.”

This vital funding from The Applebaum Foundation will expedite enrollment to the AML trial, expanding it to cancer centers across the United States and sites in Israel, as well as support the personnel, equipment, and infrastructure that will further position the Immunotherapy Institute as a global leader in cancer vaccine development. ■

12

Giving Matters | Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Illustration by Sam Falconer

A NEW

Mindset Groundbreaking diagnostics and treatments for psychiatric disorders offer hope

MATCHERI KESHAVAN, M.D. OPTIMISM. It’s not the first word that springs to mind when it comes to psychotic disorders, but Matcheri Keshavan, M.D., is committed to shifting that perception.

Keshavan, a physician–researcher in BIDMC’s Department of Psychiatry, has dedicated his career to easing the profound suffering of those with psychiatric illness. Thanks in part to generous philanthropy, his efforts have paved the way for more effective diagnostics and classifications, along with novel therapeutic methods that may halt and even reverse disease.

Since medical school, Keshavan has been fascinated with the development of mental illness. At that time, however, scientists in the field of neuropsychiatry lacked basic insights into the brain’s function. “When I started out,

schizophrenia was thought to be a progressive disease.

Once diagnosed, there was no hope,” says Keshavan. “But we are learning that outcomes vary significantly, and relief is possible.” Today, advanced imaging and data analytics, large-scale clinical studies, and an understanding of human genetics are shedding more light on what makes the brain tick—and what leads to mental disorders.

With their expanding knowledge of the brain’s underpinnings, Keshavan and his team are focused on how to best diagnose patients. They believe that the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), the tool used by psychiatrists for almost 70 years, is fundamentally flawed. “In medicine, once we understood how organs function, we began to define disease around pathophysiology,” says Keshavan. “But in psychiatry, we still rely on symptoms. When someone reports sadness, we call it depression. Instead, we should be diagnosing based on the underlying disease process.”

With that goal in mind, Keshavan is looking to biological indicators of disease, or biomarkers. His team is engaged in a multi-site National Institutes of Health–funded study investigating biomarkers in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder using machine learning—a subset of artificial intelligence technology that enables computers to learn without being programmed. The researchers are defining entirely new biological categories of these conditions, separate from the DSM, that are linked to changes in the brain. The result of this work could revolutionize disease classification and diagnosis.

Keshavan and his team are also investigating brain development during adolescence, a critically important time in the development of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and depression, which represents a key period for research and intervention. “The brain changes dramatically between ages 17 and 25,” says Keshavan, describing a natural brain process called synaptic pruning, which involves the progressive shrinking and thinning of the brain. In healthy adolescents, this process enhances the brain’s efficiency. But

14

Giving Matters | Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

in some, where the process goes into overdrive, it results in a loss of brain matter and connectivity, as suggested by Keshavan in a 1994 journal article. Research studies over several decades at Harvard Medical School, led by Steven McCarroll, Ph.D., and Beth Stevens, Ph.D., have identified the complement genes that may be the cause of synaptic pruning gone wrong.

But biology does not work alone in the onset of psychotic illness, so Keshavan is researching the various causes of these disorders—including environmental factors—to refine diagnostics and even predict illness. In one study, individuals at high genetic risk for developing psychosis were screened to uncover various childhood experiences, from infections and birth complications to abuse and

M.D., co-director of BIDMC’s Digital Psychiatry Program, to develop the Digital Care Assessment Research and Education program. Their recently developed app, LAMP (which stands for Learn, Assess, Manage, and Prevent), enables patients to connect with clinicians and serves as a digital clinic where providers can monitor treatment adherence, compliance, and response. It also offers in-themoment interventions, at patients’ fingertips, so they can receive help in between appointments.

Through innovative research, cognitive training, and digital tools, Keshavan continues to pursue his passion for helping patients. With the help of philanthropy, he and his team are poised to revolutionize the world’s approach to

“

In medicine, once we understood how organs function, we began to define disease around pathophysiology.

But in psychiatry, we still rely on symptoms. When someone reports sadness, we call it depression. Instead we should be diagnosing based on

”

underlying disease process.

MATCHERI KESHAVAN, M.D.

exposure to recreational drugs. “We can see in brain scans that there is a progressive decline in gray matter in the first few years of illness,” says Keshavan, who with his team, created a composite index of environmental risk factors that is more than 75 percent successful in predicting disease onset. “Identifying and treating patients as early as possible is vital to improving outcomes.”

When it comes to therapeutic intervention, Keshavan refutes the longstanding misconception that patients with psychiatric illnesses cannot recover. His rationale? In the past couple of decades, researchers have found that the brain has neuroplasticity, a feature that enables it to repair itself, increase gray matter, and even regrow lost connections. Neuroplasticity is the basis for Keshavan’s novel approach to remediation: cognitive enhancement therapy (CET). “The brain is like a muscle,” says Keshavan.

“And you will build the muscle if you train it.” Through CET, Keshavan and his team work with patients to improve cognition, attention, and memory with therapy and computer-based exercises. The results are impressive; after nine to 18 months of treatment, individuals with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and schizoaffective disorder show improved cognitive function and have increased volume in various key areas of the brain. Gray matter losses have been reversed and disease progression halted.

Keshavan is now looking to combine physical exercise— which data shows has positive effects on patients with schizophrenia—with CET. Supported by the Sidney R. Baer, Jr. Foundation, studies are underway to integrate cognitive exercises with physical exercises using gaming consoles and virtual reality systems. Eye tracking, facial recognition, heart rate monitoring, and other technologies are used to ensure the most therapeutic benefit. What’s really promising is that this type of therapy is scalable, with the potential of serving patients across the globe.

Access to care is paramount in mental illness, and Keshavan is eager to explore new technology-based treatments, which are more readily available and userfriendly. A generous grant from the Natalia Mental Health Foundation has allowed him to partner with John Torous,

Aditya Vaidyam, M.S., analyzes brain structure for a psychosis study in the Keshavan lab.

mental illness. This field is highly complex, but his message is simple. “Biology is not determinism. Genes are not destiny,” says Keshavan. With that new outlook comes new diagnostic, treatment, and even preventive possibilities— and one key element: hope. ■

A participant in one of Keshavan’s research studies wears an electrode head cap to measure the brain’s electrical activity.

In the Name of

NURSING Major gift establishes the Cynthia and Robert J. Lepofsky Chief Nursing Officer

MARSHA MAURER, D.N.P., R.N. Over the years, Cynthia and Robert J. Lepofsky have developed a deep appreciation for the critical role nurses play in patient care. Now they have provided generous support to ensure that role, which is essential to BIDMC’s mission, is consistently upheld.

The medical center’s rich history of innovation in nursing stems from the field-defining work of its founding institutions, including that of the late Joyce Clifford, Ph.D., R.N., who was a national pioneer in promoting the vital leadership role of nursing in health care and in championing the primary nurse model to improve patient outcomes. Today, BIDMC’s legacy of excellence in this area is sustained by almost 3,000 nurses, the medical center’s single largest professional group. Led by Chief Nursing Officer and Senior Vice President for Patient Care Services Marsha Maurer, D.N.P., R.N., BIDMC nurses are committed to caring with compassion and advocating for the health of patients, families, and communities.

With their gift of $1 million to name and endow the Cynthia and Robert J. Lepofsky Chief Nursing Officer, the Lepofskys are providing discretionary support to further the strategic priorities of Maurer—and her successors— in the Lois E. Silverman Department of Nursing at BIDMC. “We have watched and admired Marsha’s work for years now, and her leadership is impressive,”

16

says Cynthia. A highly respected nursing leader, Maurer was recently appointed to the inaugural class of fellows of the American Organization for Nursing Leadership, a prestigious recognition within the profession. “We wanted this gift to have an impact,” says Bob, a longtime member of BIDMC’s Board of Directors, “but we also saw it as an opportunity to make a statement about the role of nursing and the importance of the chief nursing officer.”

Bob and Cynthia Lepofsky

The couple’s cognizance of the importance of nursing is not merely a consequence of their engagement with BIDMC’s board community. “I’ve had the opportunity to really experience superior nursing care firsthand,” says Cynthia. “During my own illnesses, nurses were always the ones I really depended on, and they advocated on

my behalf. It made an incredible difference for me.” Adds Bob: “The nurse spends more time with the patient and family than anyone else, and serves as a trusted voice for the patient.” This thoughtful approach to care embodied by the nurses at BIDMC helped the Lepofskys fully embrace this field and inspired their most recent contribution to the medical center.

For Maurer, the Lepofskys’ generosity offers not just a change in title but also a valuable source of discretionary funds that can be used to move key nursing initiatives forward. “This gift is an honor for us, and it will be very impactful, allowing us to do many things to support our mission and advance the art and science of nursing,” she says. For one, her department has recently embarked on a journey to attain Magnet designation—the highest level of recognition possible for a nursing service—and this type of support could be instrumental in meeting the rigorous criteria of this process and help increase awareness of BIDMC’s signature brand of nursing care. “Nurses have had a direct impact on Cindy and me—a real and significant impact,” says Bob. “We are proud to work with Marsha and her team, who extend that same impact to so many patients and families.” ■

Giving Matters | Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Hitting Cancer Where It Hurts

BITS & PIECES

Boxing nonprofit supports BIDMC’s immunotherapy research

Little updates on big happenings in the BIDMC community

Julie Anne Kelly had just graduated from Boston College when she was diagnosed with stage 2 Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2001. Throughout an arduous series of treatments at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, the lifelong athlete says she never stopped to take in the entirety of what she was facing. Instead, she felt fortunate to have been diagnosed early and receive extraordinary care.

Want to learn more or share one of your own?

Email development@bidmc. harvard.edu.

Restored to health, Kelly soon got back to her athletic pursuits. She was training for a marathon when, one fateful day, she passed a boxing gym. Lucky for her—and so many others—she went in. Kelly fell in love with the sport immediately. “I realized that I had bottled up my emotions about my experience,” she recalls. “Boxing was just the medicine I needed.”

It was at this very gym that she met her future Haymakers for Hope co-founder Andrew Myerson, a fellow Bostonian. Together they hatched the idea of connecting the camaraderie of boxing to the mission of eradicating cancer. Today their organization hosts charitable boxing tournaments in three cities, helping people of all abilities train and fundraise for four months prior to each event. One hundred percent of proceeds from each participant’s fundraising efforts support a cancer institute or program of their choice.

Haymakers for Hope made a generous $20,000 gift to advance the research of David Avigan, M.D., chief of the Division of Hematology and Hematologic Malignancies and co-director of BIDMC’s Immunotherapy Institute within the Cancer Center, to investigate a novel vaccine in patients with blood cancers. Supporting BIDMC, and this effort to change the standard of care, is the pinnacle of the organization’s mission.

And the organization’s impact extends beyond the incredible $11 million it has raised so far. “Boxing saved me just as much as chemo and radiation did,” says Kelly. “Introducing this sport to others and seeing them meet a supportive community and become empowered personally—and in the fight against cancer—is remarkably rewarding.” ■

Newly diagnosed with a neurological sleep disorder called type 1 narcolepsy with cataplexy, Kelsey Biddle, a 23-year-old grateful patient of BIDMC neurologist Thomas E. Scammell, M.D., ran the 2019 Boston Marathon (above), raising more than $56,000 to support the nonprofit foundation Wake Up Narcolepsy (WUN). WUN helps fund Scammell’s research on the neurobiology of sleep and the neural basis of narcolepsy, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently awarded him a major grant based on pilot studies supported by the foundation.

Gyongyi Szabo, M.D., Ph.D., Hon. Sc.D., was named BIDMC’s chief academic officer, overseeing the medical center’s robust research and teaching programs.

An internationally recognized leader in the field of liver immunology and a highly regarded educator, Szabo has received uninterrupted NIH grant support since 1989, including the Merit Award, and currently has five NIH grants. She joins BIDMC from UMass Medical Center on July 1, 2019.

BIDMC researchers Kun Ping Lu, M.D., Ph.D., and Xiao Zhen Zhou, M.D., are co-principal investigators on a multiinstitutional study that has received a $14.7 million grant from the National Football League (NFL). Focused on former NFL players, the study will examine the potential long-term neurologic health consequences of concussions and sub-concussive injuries and will investigate the treatment and prevention of chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

Julie Anne Kelly

Giving Matters | www.bidmc.org/giving

17

to improve patients’ quality of life. “A computational approach gives us the flexibility to explore aspects that cannot be examined in animal or human models.”

Jeffrey Arle, M.D., Ph.D., and Roberta Sydney

A Family Affair

Major gift supports leading-edge Parkinson’s disease research

The Sydney family’s first interaction with BIDMC neurosurgeon Jeffrey Arle, M.D., Ph.D., came nearly two decades ago, when Stanley Sydney was suffering from advanced Parkinson’s disease.

Arle’s groundbreaking work in deep brain stimulation (DBS), a specialized surgical treatment that reduces motor problems resulting from neurological disorders, dramatically improved Stanley’s quality of life. Thanks to Arle, DBS kept the side effects of Stanley’s neurodegenerative disease in check and allowed him to watch his grandchildren and first great grandchild grow during his last 12 years of life.

Forever grateful for Arle’s life-altering treatment, the Sydney family began generously supporting his research in 2012—and have continued supporting him ever since. “Dr. Arle sees the bigger picture and is always exploring new possibilities,” says Stanley’s daughter and BIDMC Overseer Roberta Sydney. In

2018, the Sydney family made a $225,000 commitment toward Arle’s leading-edge investigations into DBS, the very therapy that enriched Stanley’s well-being for so many years. “We are thrilled by the idea that life could one day be easier for people with Parkinson’s,” says Sheila Sydney, Stanley’s widow.

The decision to contribute to Arle’s work was natural for the Sydney family, who, for generations, have supported important causes—many health care– related. They are familiar with the difficulties that arise when a loved one is facing illness, particularly neurological.

At the age of 37, with five children between the ages of one and 14, Sheila suffered a stroke. Even with resulting limitations, she remained a driving force—orchestrating the day-to-day responsibilities of her busy family while continuing to be a vital part of her community. When Stanley was initially diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, she became his primary caregiver. “To this day, our mother is an inspiration to my brothers and sisters and me,” says Roberta. “Looking at all she has accomplished, it’s truly remarkable.”

Arle is an expert in neuromodulation, a process that delivers a targeted electrical stimulus to the brain in order to reduce or modulate abnormal activity.

His research is focused on developing

“

Dr. Arle is working day and night, doing lifechanging work. We are fortunate to have the

”

power to help him.

SHEILA SYDNEY

and analyzing computational models related to therapies that use neuromodulation, such as DBS, which have shown promise in easing the debilitating symptoms of movement disorders like Parkinson’s disease. “We study new therapies, new types of stimulation, and new devices,” says Arle, whose ultimate goal is enhancing treatments

Sheila Sydney The Sydney family’s firsthand knowledge of the toll diseases like Parkinson’s disease take on patients and their families has motivated them to maintain their support of Arle’s promising research over the years. They hope their giving will ultimately help many others facing similar situations.

“Dr. Arle is working day and night, doing life-changing work,” says Sheila.

“We are fortunate to have the power to help him.” ■

A Daughter’s Lasting Legacy Elizabeth Lane, M.S., R.N., has always focused on others. As a retired cardiac nurse, she is a compassionate caregiver by nature. After her daughter, Andrea Battit Fisher, passed away from complications of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Lane decided to support patients like her. By establishing charitable remainder trusts for herself and family members, she continues her long legacy of caring. These trusts not only provide income to each relative but will ultimately benefit the Andrea Battit Fisher Fund at BIDMC. ■

Elizabeth Lane, M.S., R.N.

18

“

Before she died, Andrea filmed a video with messages to her children. I watch it every year on her birthday. She lives on in that video. I wanted to help other patients like her and families like ours.

”

ELIZABETH LANE, M.S., R.N.

To learn more about planned giving at BIDMC, please visit bidmc.giftplans.org.

Giving Matters | Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

BOSTON MARATHON 1

2

3

4

APRIL 15, 2019 On Patriots’ Day, Team BIDMC took the famed right on Hereford and left on Boylston to complete the 123rd Boston Marathon in support of the medical center. The 61 runners of Team BIDMC, an official partner of the non-profit John Hancock Marathon Program, raised more than $635,000 toward various departments. Learn more at treadstrong.org.

5

6 1

Tasha, Jim, Jan, and India Boland

2

Chelsea Curran

3 John Serafini 4 Shaylee, Robin, Alexa, and Sue Maxcy 5 Kassy Fritz 6 Zander Sebenius

CRITICAL VOICES 7

8

9

10

MAY 1, 2019 This year’s Critical Voices event, hosted by the Board of Overseers and co-chaired by Alexandra and Jody Simes, showcased ultraprecision medicine, the BIDMC Cancer Center’s revolutionary approach to individualized cancer care. The evening included featured speakers Matthew Consigli, Peter J. Healy, Pier Paolo Pandolfi, M.D., Ph.D., and Kevin Tabb, M.D., as well as a distinguished panel of physician–researchers and grateful patients moderated by WCVB-TV Channel 5 sports anchor and reporter Bob Halloran.

11

7

Alexandra and Jody Simes, David Avigan, M.D.

8

Denis and Tania Cleary, Matthew and Kathleen Consigli

9 Pier Paolo Pandolfi, M.D., Ph.D. 10 David McDermott, M.D., Marlene Colerico, David Avigan, M.D., Randi Schwartz, Bob Halloran, Jacalyn Rosenblatt, M.D., Peter Kitsakos, Pier Paolo Pandolfi, M.D., Ph.D. 11 Peter J. Healy, Carol F. Anderson, Kevin Tabb, M.D.

Giving Matters | www.bidmc.org/giving

19

Office of Development 330 Brookline Avenue (OV) Boston, MA 02215

www.bidmc.org/giving

BETH ISRAEL DEACONESS MEDICAL CENTER

SUMMER 2019

BREAKING

GROUND on a state-of-the-art new inpatient building at BIDMC

…coming soon