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Envisioning the Future of Neuroscience

6 minute read

Colleagues from Neurology, Neurosurgery, Neuroradiology, Anesthesiology, Pathology, Otolaryngology, Ophthalmology, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Psychiatry came together last week to establish a vision and strategy for the future of the neurosciences at Mass General Brigham. During a day of networking, discussion and brainstorming, they laid the groundwork for our system’s Neuroscience Institute.

David F. M. Brown, Merit Cudkowicz, Tracy Batchelor, and E. Antonio Chiocca
Clockwise from upper left: David F. M. Brown, MD; Merit Cudkowicz, MD, MSC; Tracy Batchelor, MD, MPH; and E. Antonio Chiocca, MD, PhD

In his opening remarks, David F. M. Brown, MD, president of Academic Medical Centers for Mass General Brigham, urged leadership and faculty from every department that touches neuroscience to keep the patient at the center as we build for the future. “It’s what drives us — and what I hope inspires all of you here — to envision the world’s greatest neuroscience institute,” he said.

Merit Cudkowicz, MD, MSC, was recently named executive director of the MGB Neuroscience Institute, and Tracy Batchelor, MD, MPH, was named chair of Neurology for Mass General Brigham, while E. Antonio Chiocca, MD, PhD, was named chair of Neurosurgery for Mass General Brigham. It was then that the vision for the Neuroscience Institute began to take shape. Over the past several months, Cudkowicz has been working closely with Meg Kotarski, MBA, chief administrator for the Neuroscience Institute, on strategic planning, implementation and optimization.

During the official kickoff meeting, Cudkowicz welcomed colleagues from across the system who will play a key role in forming the Neuroscience Institute. She then outlined the strategic planning process that requires input from an array of departments and reported on the themes identified in listening sessions and stakeholder interviews. She also outlined our current capabilities, competition and other institute case studies and highlighted major trends in neuroscience.

She equated building an institute to climbing a mountain. “We are starting from a strong space,” she said. “We really are trying to get to the summit. That summit is being the world’s best place for people to come to get their care, to have access to clinical trials and to have access to the great research that you are doing; and for people to want to work here as the best place to do their science, see patients and get trained. That’s our summit. And we have the pieces here to do it together.”

The real collaboration began when Kotarski moderated a panel discussion between Cudkowicz, Batchelor and Chiocca. The discussion focused on topics such as improving access for patients, seamlessly integrating research and clinical care, maximizing space and building community and culture within the institute. To accomplish these goals, the institute will establish design and enablement workgroups, as well as an interdisciplinary advisory committee.

Later, colleagues had the opportunity to gather in small groups to envision the future of the Neuroscience Institute. Batchelor guided participants ahead of the session, saying, “Don’t hold back. We want to ensure everyone’s perspective is heard. Hearing multiple perspectives is key to ensuring our success.”

We didn’t stop talking, we didn’t stop sharing and the most amazing ideas came out.

Lidia Moura, MD, PhD, MPH

MGB neurologists Lidia Moura, MD, PhD, MPHMichael D. Fox, MD, PhDGary Usher, MD, and Michael Hayes, MD, were among the participants. All four expressed enthusiasm for the future of the Mass General Brigham Neuroscience Institute after taking part in the day.

“This has truly been exciting,” said Moura. “My prior expectations have been far exceeded. We are truly together. We didn’t stop talking, we didn’t stop sharing and the most amazing ideas came out.”

“I’m very excited to be working together with all of my neuroscience colleagues across the two academic medical centers and the community,” Fox added. “We’re all thinking about the future of neuroscience.”

“I thought it was a great meeting, with a talented, energized group,” said Usher. “The mixture of people from diverse backgrounds in the neurosciences provided some great conversations. For me, the focus was improving care for our patients by developing a system of care to get a patient the help they need, from a local practitioner to cutting-edge research protocols. I’m looking forward to seeing how we accomplish this.”

“The decreased presence of private practice neurology in the community is leaving fewer and fewer local options for care in an area where care is becoming increasingly complicated and subspecialized. We have to continue to evolve a strategy to bring specialized care to the community so that patients can get the majority of their care near home but still have a seamless connection to the academic medical center for the tertiary and quaternary care that cannot be done in the community. This can be accomplished if we develop a clear strategy about what needs to be built where (what are the needs in these different communities?) and how we collaborate between the academic medical centers and our community locations,” said Hayes. “I’m very optimistic that we can bring this vision to fruition here at Mass General Brigham.”

Building on the day’s efforts, workgroups will convene in the coming months with clear objectives and timelines, all with the goal of bringing together neurological care, research and education in service of our patients.

By the numbers

The MGB Neuroscience Institute will be built on the combined strengths of our existing departments of Neurology and Neurosurgery, both of which are exceptionally strong. Here’s a snapshot of our strengths as of 2024:

  • 544 faculty members
  • 87 endowed positions
  • 2,180 staff members
  • 9,000 inpatient discharges
  • 190,000 outpatient visits
  • More than 20 primary service locations
  • $439 million in research revenue
  • More than 400 clinical trials
  • More than 2,000 research publications
  • $130 million in philanthropy
  • 105 residents
  • 91 fellows
  • 36 fellowships