Renowned Surgeon, Educator, Researcher, Textbook Editor, And Former Downstate Residency Alum F. Charles Brunicardi, M.D. Named As Senior Vice President And Dean Of The College Of Medicine At SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University
Dec 2, 2019
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 2, 2019
MEDIA CONTACT: John Gillespie | john.gillespie@downstate.edu | (718)270-2262
Renowned Surgeon, Educator, Researcher, Textbook Editor, And Former Downstate Residency Alum F. Charles Brunicardi, M.D. Named As Senior Vice President And Dean Of The College Of Medicine At SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University
Dr. Brunicardi returns to Downstate where he completed residency training in general surgery and served as Chief Resident
BROOKLYN, N.Y. (December 2, 2019) – SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University president Wayne J. Riley, M.D. announced
today that F. Charles Brunicardi, M.D. FACS, the Medical College of Ohio (MCO) Alumni Endowed Professor and Chair of the Department
of Surgery at the University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences has been
named as Senior Vice President and new Dean of the College of Medicine at SUNY Downstate.
Dr. Brunicardi joined the University of Toledo in 2016 as Chair of Surgery and Academic
Chief of Surgery for the ProMedica Health System, roles in which he still serves.
Additionally, he has served as Director of the Cancer Program since 2017 and was named
the John Howard Endowed Professor of Pancreatic Cancer Research in 2018. Since 2018,
he has been serving as a medical director of the Ebeid Social Determinants of Health
Institute at ProMedica; he previously was the Department of Cancer Biology Interim
Chair during 2018-19, as well as the Department of Cancer Biology Professor in 2018.
Dr. Brunicardi brings more than three decades of experience in academic medicine and
patient care, serving on the faculty at three medical schools and as Chair of two
departments of Surgery and Vice-Chair of another. Dr. Brunicardi earned his undergraduate
degree in Chemistry with Honors at the Johns Hopkins University and his medical degree
at Rutgers University School of Medicine.
“It is with an overwhelming sense of pride that we welcome one of our own back to
Brooklyn,” said Downstate president Wayne J. Riley, M.D. “Dr. Brunicardi’s breadth and depth of experience since he served as General Surgery
Chief Resident more than 30 years ago provide him with a solid foundation to lead
our College of Medicine. He is a visionary leader and a passionate advocate for high-quality
patient care and undergraduate and postgraduate medical education. He will work collaboratively
with our faculty and students to advance our superb medical education program and
enhance our clinical enterprise. I look forward to working with him closely and witnessing
the new successes and accomplishments that will come under his able leadership.”
Dr. Brunicardi served as a research assistant in the Department of Anesthesiology
at Cornell University Medical Center and interned in surgery at Mount Zion Hospital
in San Francisco. He then returned to New York, joining SUNY Downstate, where he completed
residency training in general surgery, was a research fellow for three years in the
Department of Surgery, a senior resident in General Surgery, and subsequently served
as Chief Resident in General Surgery.
“It is a great honor to have been asked by President Riley to serve as the next Dean
of the College of Medicine at SUNY Downstate, my surgical training alma mater,” said Dean-Designate Dr. Brunicardi. “The medical education and specialty training programs at Downstate and its affiliated
hospitals are second to none, and I am delighted to be able to work with President
Riley, the outstanding faculty, and the learners to continue the great tradition of
leadership training at Downstate. It is also an honor to serve the patients of Brooklyn
and beyond to deliver safe and high-quality patient and family-centered care at Downstate
Medical Center and to advance the state-of-the-art in healthcare through research
and education.”
Before joining the University of Toledo, Dr. Brunicardi was the Jerry Moss Professor
of Gastrointestinal Surgery and Vice-Chair of Surgery at the David Geffen School of
Medicine at UCLA. His other notable past appointments include serving as the DeBakey-Bard
Professor and Chair of the Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery, George Jordan
Professor and the Founding Chief of the Division of General Surgery, Founder and Director
of Elkins Pancreas Center at the Baylor College of Medicine, and as Chief of Surgical
Services, Methodist Hospital, Houston, Texas.
Dr. Brunicardi also served as the Founding Director, Human Islet Program, UCLA/VA
Medical Center, Chief, General Surgery Group, and Vice-Chair for Surgical Services,
UCLA-Santa Monica Medical Center and Orthopaedic Hospital. He was Surgical Director,
UCLA Center for Gastrointestinal Diseases, UCLA-Santa Monica Center and Orthopaedic
Hospital, and Founder and Executive Director of the UCLA Santa Monica Breast Center.
"We are very appreciative for Dr. Brunicardi's service at the University of Toledo
and very pleased that he has this special opportunity to return to where his medical
journey started and support the education of students and residents in this new role
as Senior Vice President and Dean at SUNY Downstate," said University of Toledo College
of Medicine and Life Sciences Executive Vice President and Dean Christopher J. Cooper, M.D.
Dr. Brunicardi has been a continuously funded researcher since 1992. His research
has been supported by the National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute
as well as by a variety of foundations, including the Jerry Moss Foundation and most
recently the Hal Federman Foundation and the Mel and Jeannie Miller Foundation, as
well as the Ohio Department of Medicaid where he serves as PI on a Medicaid Equity
Simulation Project. His research has broadly focused on genomic translational medicine
and surgery and specifically on pancreatic cancer. He holds several patent applications
related to early detection and targeted treatment of pancreatic cancer and neuroendocrine
tumors, among others.
His clinical expertise includes GI surgery, precision therapy for pancreatic cancer,
and hernia repairs using minimally invasive and robotic surgery. Dr. Brunicardi has
published 304 papers and has served as the Editor-in-Chief of Schwartz’s Principles
of Surgery since 2000. The 11th edition of Schwartz’s Principles of Surgery, considered the world’s leading surgical textbook, was published in March 2019.
Dr. Brunicardi has been perennially listed among the nation’s “Top Doctors” by Castle
Connolly, Ltd. and is a member of numerous professional and medical associations.
He is often invited as a speaker for visiting professorships and medical and scientific
presentations.
Dr. Brunicardi is expected to start in late January.
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About SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University
SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University is the borough’s only academic medical center for health education, research, and patient care, and is a 342-bed facility serving the healthcare needs of New York City, and Brooklyn’s 2.6 million residents. University Hospital of Brooklyn (UHB) is Downstate’s teaching hospital, backed by the expertise of an outstanding medical school and the research facilities of a world-class academic center. More than 800 physicians, representing 53 specialties and subspecialties—many of them ranked as tops in their fields—comprise Downstate's staff.
A regional center for cardiac care, neonatal and high-risk infant services, pediatric dialysis, and transplantation, Downstate also houses a major learning center for children with physical ailments or neurological disorders. In addition to UHB, Downstate comprises a College of Medicine, College of Nursing, School of Health Professions, a School of Graduate Studies, a School of Public Health, and a multifaceted biotechnology initiative, including the Downstate Biotechnology Incubator and BioBAT for early-stage and more mature companies, respectively. For more information, visit www.downstate.edu or follow us on Twitter at @sunydownstate.