Rian M. Hasson, MD, MPH, FACS, Named Inaugural Vice Chair for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Department of Surgery

Rian M. Hasson, MD, MPH, FACS (she/her/hers)
Vice Chair for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Department of Surgery
Associate Surgeon
, Division of Thoracic Surgery

Dr. Hasson completed her undergraduate degree in psychology at the University of California, Berkeley and premedical studies through the Health Careers Program at Harvard Extension School. She received her medical degree from the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, and she holds a Master of Public Health from the Dartmouth Institute of Health Policy and Clinical Practice. She completed general surgery training at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a cardiothoracic surgery fellowship at The Ohio State University and a general thoracic surgery fellowship at Mayo Clinic.

Before joining the Brigham, Dr. Hasson was an assistant professor of surgery at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Geisel School of Medicine and the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice. She was the director of the Lung Cancer Screening Program and the founding co-director of the Lung Health and Pulmonary Nodule Clinic at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.

Dr. Hasson is board certified by the American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Thoracic Surgery. She serves on various boards and committees, including the Women in Thoracic Surgery (WTS) Board of Directors, the Society of Black Academic Surgeons (SBAS) Women in Surgery Committee, the SBAS Research and Education Committee, the Society of Thoracic Surgery (STS) Mentorship Committee, and is the WTS representative to the STS Taskforce on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. She also works as a manuscript reviewer for numerous publications, including Annals of Surgical Oncology, Health Equity, the World Journal of Surgical Oncology, the American Journal of Surgery, the Journal of Surgical Research and JAMA Oncology.

Dr. Hasson’s clinical focus is on surgically treating lung, mediastinal and esophageal malignancies, particularly tailoring care to the unique health needs of underserved communities. In her role as a health services researcher, she aims to enhance referral and participation in LCS among vulnerable populations by forming collaborative partnerships within communities. Supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), she previously investigated barriers and facilitators to LCS access in rural areas through a mobile screening program. Her current focus is to extend this research to urban communities in Boston, with a specific focus on addressing lung cancer disparities in Black/African American/Caribbean populations.

As the inaugural vice chair for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Department of Surgery, Dr. Hasson is dedicated to cultivating a supportive environment for faculty and trainees that emphasizes inclusion and belonging and prioritizes health equity to enhance patient access and outcomes. Driven by the belief that surgeons need to be forward thinking, she aims to maintain a diverse workforce capable of providing excellent surgical care to patients of all backgrounds.  To achieve these objectives, Dr. Hasson’s initiatives will include establishing a departmental DEI council to promote inclusion and belonging among physicians; implementing the health equity mission; ensuring that our recruitment and retention practices for faculty and trainees foster diversity and inclusive excellence; promoting collaboration across departments; and building community partnerships to reinforce the departmental commitment to culturally sensitive health care delivery. 

Welcoming New Faculty – John Dunning, MD, ChB, FRCS(C/Th)

Please join us in welcoming Dr. Dunning as a new faculty member in the Department of Surgery.

John Dunning, MD, ChB, FRCS(C/Th)
Associate Surgeon, Division of Thoracic Surgery
Clinical Surgical Director, Lung Transplant Program
Cardiothoracic Liaison, COVID Recovery Center, Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Dr. Dunning completed his undergraduate studies at St. Andrew’s University in Scotland and received his medical degree from the University of Manchester in England. He completed general and cardiothoracic surgery training at various hospitals in England, including Manchester Royal Infirmary, Glenfield Hospital and the Leicester Teaching Hospitals, followed by cardiothoracic fellowship training at John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford and Royal Papworth Hospital in Cambridge.

Before joining the Brigham, Dr. Dunning was a professor of surgery, a cardiothoracic surgeon and the director of Heart and Lung Transplantation and Mechanical Circulatory Support at Harefield Hospital in England.  Previously, he was a professor of surgery and interim chief at the University of South Florida Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery and Cardiopulmonary Transplantation, as well as the endowed professor of cardiovascular research and surgical director of Heart and Lung Transplantation at Tampa General Hospital. At the Brigham, Dr. Dunning will also serve as the clinical surgical director of the Lung Transplant Program and as the cardiothoracic surgical liaison for the COVID Recovery Center.

Dr. Dunning is a member of the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) and the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (EACTS). He regularly reviews articles for the European Journal of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery, the Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation and Circulation.

Dr. Dunning’s clinical and research interests include mechanisms of chronic lung allograft dysfunction, donor organ preservation and mechanisms of right ventricular dysfunction and failure.

Welcoming New Faculty – O. Yusef Kudsi, MD, MBA

Please join us in welcoming Dr. Kudsi as a new faculty member in the Department of Surgery.

O. Yusef Kudsi, MD, MBA
Associate Surgeon, Part-time, Division of General and Gastrointestinal Surgery

Dr. Kudsi earned his medical degree from the University of Aleppo in Syria, followed by a postdoctoral research fellowship in tissue engineering at the Brigham, a surgical residency at Lankenau Medical Center, a minimally invasive surgery (MIS) fellowship at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and an advanced MIS travelling fellowship at IRCAD Institute and the University Hospital of Strasbourg in France. He pursued an MBA with a focus on entrepreneurship and co-founded DigitalSurgical, which has its own patented technology in intra-operative real-time 3D micrometer scanning and artificial intelligence.

Dr. Kudsi has performed over 3,500 robotic surgeries, assisted in setting up robotic programs in the Americas, Europe, and Asia and has taught hernia surgery to over 1,000 surgeons. Throughout his career, he has assumed prominent leadership roles at Clinical Robotic Surgery Association (CRSA), the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) and the Association for Surgical Education (ASE). He founded the Robotic Surgery Collaboration (RSC), a vicarious learning platform that brings together more than 10,000 surgeons to discuss the latest in robotic surgery and to learn how to effectively integrate robotic surgery at their institutions, and he has organized numerous international summits.

Dr. Kudsi also established an accredited MIS fellowship and a funded clinical research fellowship focused on abdominal wall reconstruction, robotic and artificial intelligence surgery. He has written over 100 original peer reviewed articles, abstracts and book chapters and is the editor of five robotic textbooks with over 100 national and international presentations.

Dr. Kudsi’s clinical interests include robotic complex abdominal wall reconstruction and abdominal core health. His research interests include machine learning, artificial intelligence and digital surgery.