Executive Committee

The Executive Committee provides informed guidance and expert advice on intra-departmental programs and hospital-wide initiatives related to global health. Through their collective experience and expertise, Executive Committee members create opportunities for new and improved collaborations, reduce duplication within the organization, improve and streamline policies and procedures, and champion the MGH commitment to global health.

  • Susan M. Briggs, MD, MPH, FACS

    Dr. Susan Briggs is a General and Trauma Surgeon at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Associate Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Briggs completed her surgical training at MGH and her MPH in International Health at the Harvard School of Public Health. She is Director of the International Trauma and Disaster Institute at Massachusetts General Hospital.

    Dr. Susan Briggs is a General and Trauma Surgeon at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Associate Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Briggs completed her surgical training at MGH and her MPH in International Health at the Harvard School of Public Health. She is Director of the International Trauma and Disaster Institute at Massachusetts General Hospital.

    Dr. Briggs has been active, both nationally and internationally, in trauma and disaster relief activities with the United States Government and non-governmental agencies such as Project Hope and the American Refugee Committee. Currently, she is the Supervising Medical Officer of the Department of Health and Human Services/ASPR/OPEO Specialty Medical Teams, including the Medical Surgical Response Teams (IMSURT). She has participated in numerous national and international disasters, including Armenia, the World Trade Center bombing, the Bam, Iran earthquake as head of the United States Disaster Team, the Katrina hurricane relief in Louisiana, and the humanitarian response to the recent earthquake in Haiti.

  • Debra Burke, DNP, MBA, RN

    Debra Burke is an Associate Chief Nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston.  She graduated from the Malden Hospital School of Nursing with a Diploma in Nursing then received her Bachelors of Science in Nursing at Northeastern University, a Master of Science in Nursing and a Masters in Business Administration from Salem State College, and a Doctorate in Nursing from Northeastern University.

    Debra Burke is an Associate Chief Nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston.  She graduated from the Malden Hospital School of Nursing with a Diploma in Nursing then received her Bachelors of Science in Nursing at Northeastern University, a Master of Science in Nursing and a Masters in Business Administration from Salem State College, and a Doctorate in Nursing from Northeastern University.

    Debra has served in a variety of nurse leader positions at MGH including Clinical Educator and Nurse Director.  As an Associate Chief Nurse, Debra oversees the nursing practice in our Obstetric, Pediatric, Oncology, Mental Health and Ambulatory Practice Areas and participates in the strategic direction for these clinical areas.  She also plays a role in the management of the department of nursing and the development of its strategic plan. 

    In addition to her responsibilities at MGH, the is a major fundraiser for Friends Fighting Breast Cancer, a non-profit organization that has raised over $1M for breast cancer research.

  • Thomas F. Burke, MD

    Thomas Burke, MD, FACEP, FRSM is Chief of the Division of Global Health and Human Rights in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital, a practicing emergency physician, and an associate professor at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Burke was the Founding Director of the MGH Center for Global Health, the African Institute for Health Transformation, the Ujenzi Charitable Trust, and the popular Harvard Summer School program in Western Kenya.

    Thomas Burke, MD, FACEP, FRSM is Chief of the Division of Global Health and Human Rights in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital, a practicing emergency physician, and an associate professor at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Burke was the Founding Director of the MGH Center for Global Health, the African Institute for Health Transformation, the Ujenzi Charitable Trust, and the popular Harvard Summer School program in Western Kenya.

    Dr. Burke is widely recognized as an expert on disruptive innovations for the poor and consequently holds several prestigious grants and awards. Dr. Burke is often invited to speak at high profile forums and leading universities around the globe, and he is widely published. Dr. Burke serves on the Harvard Medical School Committee on Admissions and the Harvard University Center for African Studies.

  • Joseph F. Carone, CPA

    Joseph Carone is controller of Massachusetts General Hospital.  He is a certified public accountant with much of his professional experience in public accounting, including accounting, auditing, and tax services for non-profit entities.  He is currently a member of the Massachusetts Society of Certified Public Accountants and the Healthcare Financial Management Association.

  • Garry Choy, M.D.

    Garry Choy, M.D. is a radiologist at MGH in the Division of Emergency Radiology, Teleradiology, and Cardiac Imaging.  His main academic and research focus has been in global health and quality improvement through medical informatics.  Dr. Choy co-founded and leads the MGH Imaging Global Health Programs that focuses on global health imaging efforts in education, clinical service, technology transfer, research, and institutional development.  He also co-founded non-profit, the International Radiology Exchange (iRadX.org), an organization specializing in teleradiology outreach and education.

  • Alasdair K.T. Conn, MD

    Born in Sheffield, England, Dr. Conn received his medical training at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland and his General Surgery residency at the University of Toronto. Dr. Conn is the Chief of Emergency Services at MGH and Chairman of the Board for Boston MedFlight, a critical care transport program. In addition to his clinical responsibilities at MGH, Dr. Conn is also an Associate Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School.

  • Jim Cusack, MD

    James Cusack MD, FACS, is an Associate Professor of Surgery at Harvard University School of Medicine and a Surgical Oncologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, who specializes in the complex multidisciplinary management of malignancies. He is the director of the Peritoneal Surface Malignancy Program and the Global Surgery Initiative in the Department of Surgery. Dr. Cusack is actively involved in improving access to surgical care in resource limited settings and has been involved in projects in Liberia, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, Rwanda and Uganda.

  • Paul Firth, MD

    Dr. Paul Firth studied medicine at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. After working for a number of years at Edendale Hospital in KwaZulu-Natal, he moved to Boston to specialize in anesthesia at the Massachusetts General Hospital. He subsequently completed a fellowship in pediatric anesthesia, and practiced in Oxford, England, before joining the Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care at the MGH in 2006.

    Dr. Paul Firth studied medicine at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. After working for a number of years at Edendale Hospital in KwaZulu-Natal, he moved to Boston to specialize in anesthesia at the Massachusetts General Hospital. He subsequently completed a fellowship in pediatric anesthesia, and practiced in Oxford, England, before joining the Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care at the MGH in 2006.

    His published interests include pediatric anesthesia, high altitude physiology and sickle cell disease. He worked as a Project Hope volunteer on the USNS Comfort during the Haitian earthquake relief mission in 2010.

  • Greg Fricchione, MD

    Dr. Fricchione is Associate Chief of Psychiatry at MGH and Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He is also the Director of the Division of Psychiatry and Medicine, Director of the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind-Body Medicine, and the Director of the Psychosomatic Medicine Fellowship at MGH, as well as a Senior Scientist for the Pierce Division of Global Psychiatry.

  • Annekathryn Goodman, MD

    Dr. Annekathryn Goodman is an Associate Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology at Harvard Medical School and a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons.  In addition to board certification in gynecologic oncology, she is certified in acupuncture, and has completed training in both pastoral and palliative care.She is the Director of the Gynecologic Oncology Fellowship Program at Massachusetts General Hospital.  She is also a member of the Ethics Committee at Massachusetts General Hospital.  She is the past president of The Obstetrical Society of Boston and of the New England Society of Gynecologic Oncologists.

    Dr. Annekathryn Goodman is an Associate Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology at Harvard Medical School and a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons.  In addition to board certification in gynecologic oncology, she is certified in acupuncture, and has completed training in both pastoral and palliative care.She is the Director of the Gynecologic Oncology Fellowship Program at Massachusetts General Hospital.  She is also a member of the Ethics Committee at Massachusetts General Hospital.  She is the past president of The Obstetrical Society of Boston and of the New England Society of Gynecologic Oncologists.

    She is a member of the national disaster team, IMSuRT (International Medical Surgical Response team), a branch of the US department of Health and Human Services and has deployed to various international disasters including Bam, Iran 2004, Banda Aceh 2005, and Haiti 2010.  She received the 2012 ACOG International Service Award for service to pregnant women after the Haiti earthquake.  Since 2008, she has been consulting in Bangladesh on cervical cancer prevention and the development of medical infrastructure to care for women with gynecologic cancers.

  • Farrah J. Mateen, M.D.,Ph.D.

    Farrah Mateen, MD, PhD is an Assistant Professor and practicing neurologist at the Massachusetts General Hospital, subspecialized in neuroimmunology and neurological infections. She completed her PhD in International Health Epidemiology from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and a fellowship in Medical Ethics from Harvard Medical School.  Her work abroad includes neurological research with collaborators in Bhutan, Kenya, Peru, Tanzania, and South Africa.

  • Harry Orf
    Senior Vice President for Research, MGH

    Harry W. Orf, PhD, has had a 35-year career in science and administration, including scientific research, research administration, teaching and education outreach, and biotechnology start-ups.  In the last 25 years, his primary effort has focused on research administration, with significant contributions in education outreach, and service on various scientific organizations dedicated to the promotion of science and education.

    Harry W. Orf, PhD, has had a 35-year career in science and administration, including scientific research, research administration, teaching and education outreach, and biotechnology start-ups.  In the last 25 years, his primary effort has focused on research administration, with significant contributions in education outreach, and service on various scientific organizations dedicated to the promotion of science and education.

    After receiving his BS in Chemistry summa cum laude from the University of Missouri-St. Louis and his PhD in Chemistry from Harvard, Dr. Orf conducted research in organic and bio-organic chemistry and served as Dean of Mather House at Harvard College.  He became the inaugural Director of Biochemical Laboratories at Harvard University, overseeing the construction and staffing of the Fairchild Biochemical Laboratories while serving as Lecturer in Chemistry and Biochemistry in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.  In 1983, Dr. Orf moved to Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) to become its first Director of Molecular Biology Laboratories.
    Dr. Orf spent a year in Iraq on active duty as a Colonel in the Army during Operation Iraqi Freedom.  Shortly after returning home, Dr. Orf was named Vice President for Scientific Operations and Professor of Chemistry at The Scripps Research Institute, where he directed the construction of its new 350,000 SF Florida campus, and built and directed the entire science support operation.  In February 2012, Dr. Orf left Scripps Florida to become Senior Vice President for Research at Massachusetts General Hospital, where he oversees the largest hospital-based research program in the nation, with over 6,000 researchers, 1,400 principal investigators, 1 million square feet of dedicated research space, and $750 million of annual research revenue.

  • Drucilla Jane Roberts, MD

    Dr. Roberts's area of expertise and interest is in perinatal pathology - surgical and autopsy pathology.  She has a special interest in understanding the biology and clinical significance of pathologic findings.

    Dr. Roberts's area of expertise and interest is in perinatal pathology - surgical and autopsy pathology.  She has a special interest in understanding the biology and clinical significance of pathologic findings.

    She has been invited to participate in the NICHD?s ?white paper? meetings for the Human Placental Project in 2014 and 2015. She works on perinatal projects focusing on the placenta both in the US and internationally.  She is active in global health working in teaching and practice (anatomic pathology and laboratory services) in sub-Saharan Africa and has projects including placental malaria, stillbirths, and autopsy pathology in resource-poor settings. She directed the first ever Harvard Medical School CME course in Sub-Saharan Africa titled "The contribution of anatomic pathology to the health of women and children" with faculty from the USA, South Africa, and Ethiopia in 2011 and in Nigeria in 2013. In 2012 she participated in the Multidisciplinary Cancer Management Course (MCMC), in Eldoret, Kenya, presented by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in partnership with ASCP and the Academic Model for the Provision of Access to Health Care (AMPATH). Dr. Roberts is interested in highlighting the improvements pathologists can make for all patients. Her aim is to raise awareness of issues that can lead to improvements in pathology especially in sub-Saharan Africa.

  • Peggy Slasman
    Senior Vice President for Public Affairs, MGH

    Peggy Slasman is Senior Vice President for Public Affairs at Massachusetts General Hospital, overseeing the hospital’s multi-faceted internal and external communication program. She serves as editor-in-chief of Proto, a national science magazine that the MGH produces in collaboration with Time, Inc.  In addition, she co-directs the MGH History Program, which includes the Paul S. Russell, MD Museum of Medical History and Innovation as well as the MGH Archives. Peggy has been a member of the MGH community since 1994.

  • Bruce Walker, MD

    Dr. Bruce Walker is a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, and Director of the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard. In addition to his clinical duties as a board certified Infectious Disease specialist, his research focuses on cellular immune responses in chronic viral infections, with a particular focus on HIV. 

    Dr. Bruce Walker is a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, and Director of the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard. In addition to his clinical duties as a board certified Infectious Disease specialist, his research focuses on cellular immune responses in chronic viral infections, with a particular focus on HIV. 

    He leads an international translational clinical and basic science research effort to understand how some rare people who are infected with HIV, but have never been treated, can fight the virus with their immune system. Dr. Walker is also an Adjunct Professor at the Nelson Mandela School of Medicine in Durban.  In South Africa, Dr. Walker collaborates with the Doris Duke Medical Research Institute at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and serves as a Principal Investigator in the HIV Pathogenesis Program.