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Atul Gawande, MD, MPH, of the BWH Division of General and Gastrointestinal Surgery, this week was named a MacArthur Fellow for his work on modern surgical practices and medical ethics. Gawande joins 24 others from across the country in receiving this prestigious honor—also known as the “genius grant”—which awards recipients $500,000 to spend any way they choose.
“Atul’s passion and commitment to excellence is the hallmark of his dedication to medicine. I do believe he will become one of the great leaders in medicine,” Michael Zinner, MD, BWH’s chair of Surgery and surgeon-in-chief, said. “This is a remarkable young man.”
Gawande said he was shocked and pleased to learn of this honor. “I’m elated to have my work—which just involves chasing ideas I find interesting no matter how they fit together—so wonderfully validated,” he said.
Gawande’s innovations in surgery include developing bar codes to prevent surgeons from accidentally leaving sponges and instruments in patients and a simple scale to indicate the likelihood of complications.
“Gawande is giving leadership to the identification of numerous other bold enhancements to surgical protocol that will both improve practice and save lives,” according to the MacArthur Fellows Program.
Gawande also is changing the future of surgery through his writing. A seasoned author, Gawande published “Complications” in 2002, a New York Times best-selling book that provides insight into the problems faced by surgeons-in-training. He is a staff writer for the New Yorker and pens the “Notes of a Surgeon” column for the New England Journal of Medicine.
“In all his published work, he brings fresh and unique perspective, clarity and intuition to the field,” according to the MacArthur Fellows Program. “Recognizing the reality of human failures in an imperfect craft, Gawande is equally energetic and imaginative in the identification of practical changes and solutions.”
The MacArthur Foundation looks at potential to make such important contributions to the world and creativity and originality in selecting fellows with unique accomplishments in various fields of study or interest. This year’s group of fellows includes a developmental biologist, a sculptor, a country doctor, a jazz violinist and a deep-sea explorer.
“There is something palpable about this group of MacArthur Fellows—about their character as explorers and pioneers at the absolute cutting edge,” said Daniel J. Socolow, director of the MacArthur Fellows Program. “These are people pushing boldly to change, improve and protect our world, to make it a better place for all of us.”
Gawande has been a surgeon in the Division of General and Gastrointestinal Surgery at BWH and an assistant professor in the Department of Surgery at HMS since 2003. He also has served for the past two years as assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at Harvard School of Public Health and an assistant director of the Center for Surgery and Public Health at BWH.
Gawande received a BAS from Stanford University, an MA from the University of Oxford, an MD from Harvard Medical School and an MPH from the Harvard School of Public Health.