Renowned surgeon Dr. David Sugarbaker will leave his position as chief of thoracic surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston to lead a new comprehensive lung disease center at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. Dr. Sugarbaker is also giving up a role as professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Sugarbaker is highly regarded among the mesothelioma community for a variety of reasons, including being credited for the first tri-modal treatment approach to malignant pleural mesothelioma, a type of cancer that develops in the lining of the lungs. He has also helped develop a clinical investigation into the effectiveness of surgery in cancer therapy trials, and he has banked more than 1,500 samples of mesothelioma for the sake of research. Mesothelioma is a direct result of inhaling asbestos fibers, which is one of the many reasons why the hazardous material has been banned since the 1970s. Despite the ban, there are approximately 3,000 mesothelioma diagnoses made each year.
As the leader of the Lung Institute, Sugarbaker will get the chance to develop a preeminent program for the Houston area. “Part of what attracted me to Baylor is the opportunity to build something that never has been done before,” he said. “I see a large role for clinical and translational research, with an eye to getting new treatments to patients as soon as possible.”
Dr. Sugarbaker envisions a comprehensive approach to treatment, in which the many departments and disciplines of the Baylor College of Medicine will work in conjunction with one another to provide the best care possible for the community. “Baylor is a leader in genomic research, and that will play a key part, as well as the personalized treatment of a patient’s lung disease,” he said. “This program also will have a strong surgical presence.”
Dr. Sugarbaker will begin his work at the Lung Institute in July.