Category: New Faculty

Please join us in welcoming Christopher Dwyer, MD, FRCSC, as a new faculty member in the Department of Surgery.

Christopher Dwyer, MD, FRCSC
Associate Surgeon, Division of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery

Dr. Dwyer received his medical degree from the Memorial University of Newfoundland in Canada. He also completed his BSc degree at Memorial University, majoring in both chemistry and biochemistry. He thereafter completed his residency training in otolaryngology-head and neck surgery at Western University’s Schulich School of Dentistry and Medicine in Ontario, Canada. He then pursued subspecialty fellowship training in laryngology and care of the professional voice at UC San Francisco. He is a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

Dr. Dwyer specializes in the medical and surgical care of voice, airway and swallowing pathologies. He is a strong advocate for offering a multidisciplinary, collaborative approach to patient care, aiming to optimize outcomes and likelihood of sustainable, long-term success. His research interests include management and prevention of airway stenosis, balancing functional and oncologic outcomes of early glottic carcinoma, and pursuing future endeavors in treatment of chronic cough. He is passionate about medical and surgical education, with a special interest in teaching residents and medical students. Working alongside medical trainees has been a significant factor for his decision to pursue a career in academic medicine.

Please join us in welcoming Kentaro Ikeda, DDS, MPH, FDS RCSEd, as a new faculty member in the Department of Surgery.

Kentaro Ikeda, DDS, MPH, FDS RCSEd
Associate Surgeon, Division of Oral Medicine
Clinical Director, Division of Oral Medicine

Dr. Ikeda received a Doctor of Dental Surgery from the Tokyo Dental College in Japan. He completed an infectious diseases fellowship at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, followed by a special needs pediatric dentistry residency at the Kanagawa Children’s Medical Center in Yokohama, Japan. Dr. Ikeda then completed a general practice residency and an oral medicine residency at the Carolinas Medical Center. He also holds an MPH from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Global Public Health.

Dr. Ikeda is a member of various professional organizations, including the American Academy of Oral Medicine, the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry and the American Dental Association. He is a diplomat of the American Board of Oral Medicine and a fellow of the Faculty of Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.  

Before coming to the Brigham, Dr. Ikeda was an assistant professor of diagnostic and biological sciences/oral medicine and family medicine at the University of Colorado School of Dental Medicine. At the Brigham, he will also serve as clinical director of the Division of Oral Medicine. In this role, he will lead clinical improvement projects, advise regarding opportunities to promote clinical service, work with clinic managers to ensure adequate scheduling, develop clinic policies and practice guidelines, coordinate division clinical rounds and monitor faculty and staff compliance.

Dr. Ikeda’s clinical and research interests include diagnosis and management of oral mucosal diseases, orofacial pain and oral complications of systemic diseases and their management/treatment.

Please join us in welcoming Akinobu Itoh, MD, PhD, as a new faculty member in the Department of Surgery.

Akinobu Itoh, MD, PhD
Associate Surgeon, Division of Thoracic and Cardiac Surgery
Surgical Director, Heart Transplantation and Mechanical and Circulatory Support

Dr. Itoh received his undergraduate and medical degrees from the Tohoku University School of Medicine in Sendai, Japan. He completed resident training in general surgery and cardiovascular surgery at the NTT Medical Center in Tokyo and a fellowship in cardiovascular surgery at the National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center in Osaka, Japan. Subsequently, he completed a fellowship in cardiovascular surgery at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, Canada and a fellowship in transplant/heart failure at Toronto General Hospital. In 2013, he joined Washington University School of Medicine/Barnes-Jewish Hospital as a faculty member. Dr. Itoh also holds a PhD in cardiac valve physiology and pathology from Tohoku University.

Before coming to the Brigham, Dr. Itoh was an associate professor of surgery, surgical director of the Heart Transplant and Ventricular Assist Device Program and director of the Surgical Heart Failure Fellowship Program at the Washington University School of Medicine, as well as co-director of the Barnes-Jewish ECMO Program. At the Brigham, Dr. Itoh will also be serving as surgical director of Heart Transplantation and Mechanical and Circulatory Support for the Division of Thoracic and Cardiac Surgery.

Dr. Itoh’s main clinical focus is on orthotopic heart transplant and mechanical assist device surgery. He also takes care of high-risk, complex aortic and mitral valve surgeries, as well as aortic dissection and aneurysm. Low ejection fraction coronary artery revascularization surgery, with mechanical circulatory assist is another area of his clinical interest. His clinical and translational research concerns are heart failure and the clinical impact of valvular surgery concomitant with mechanical assist device implantation and reverse remodeling in mechanically unloaded condition. He’s also interested in the clinical outcomes of acute circulatory support, with extracorporeal oxygen membrane circulatory support and other mechanical circulatory support devices, such as the intra-aortic balloon pump and the Impella device. Based upon his previous research experience in valvular/ventricular physiology and transesophageal echocardiography, he would like to contribute to the development of the clinical and translational research in the heart failure field.