Skip to contents
In This Issue:
All the boxes are unpacked and the portraits of DOM chief residents are back on the office walls, including his from 1983. Just a few months after beginning as chairman of the Department of Medicine, Joseph Loscalzo, MD, PhD, is settling into life at BWH.
Loscalzo served as resident and chief resident in Medicine and as a fellow in Cardiology. He became a staff cardiologist in 1984 and remained at BWH until 1993. And after 12 years at Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center, he returned to BWH in July as DOM chairman and physician-in- chief.
“I've received a very warm welcome during these first few months. There have been plenty of surprises, but all good ones,” Loscalzo said.
In September, physicians, researchers and administrators from across BWH filled the seats and aisles of the Bornstein Amphitheater for a Loscalzo Grand Rounds presentation, “Internal Medicine at BWH: Past, Present and Future.” Loscalzo talked about challenges the DOM faces in house staff education, clinical care and biomedical research while citing sociology, mathematics and pop culture to explain the shift from popular medicine to personalized medicine.
“There's a great sense of excitement about Dr. Loscalzo's broad vision for the department,” said Pat O'Gara, MD, vice chairman of Clinical Affairs in the DOM. “He is an incredibly accomplished, yet compassionate and respectful physician-scientist who is really without peer in terms of his knowledge of research, clinical medicine and education.”
Loscalzo has asked Joel Katz, MD, and Bruce Levy, MD, to develop a structural change in the residency program to enhance the training experience without compromising the residents' sleep schedule. Restrictions on residents' schedules, additional regulatory demands on their time and significant reductions in length of stay are combining to limit residents' interaction with patients.
“There needs to be more emphasis on education and direct patient contact,” Loscalzo said
As vice director of BWH's Biomedical Research Institute (BRI), Loscalzo is looking forward to a close working relationship between the DOM and BRI. “The BRI brings opportunities in collaboration and resources, and will provide access to technologies individual departments would not otherwise have,” Loscalzo said.
BWH will be among the leaders in the transition from population medicine toward personalized medicine under Loscalzo's leadership. With personalized medicine, physicians will use a patient's genomic, proteomic and metabolomic signature to guide therapy. Personalized medicine also will play a role in the way BWH researchers approach drug development, he said.
Looking ahead, Loscalzo said the Carl J. and Ruth Shapiro Cardiovascular Center is sure to be a national centerpiece for cardiovascular medicine. “The Shapiro Center will allow us to put in place the most cutting edge tools and practices,” he said. “This is certainly an exciting time to be at BWH.”