Category: New Faculty

Please join us in welcoming Priti Lalchandani, MD, as a new faculty member in the Department of Surgery.

Priti Lalchandani, MD
Associate Surgeon, Division of Trauma, Burn and Surgical Critical Care

Dr. Lalchandani graduated from the University of California, Riverside with a Bachelor of Science in biology and received her medical degree from the University of California, Los Angeles. She completed general surgery training at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and an acute care surgery/surgical critical care fellowship at the R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center.

She is certified by the American Board of Surgery and is a member of the Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma (EAST) and the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST). 

Prior to joining the Brigham, Dr. Lalchandani worked as a physician for Kaiser Permanente, focusing on surgical inpatient care and in-house surgical consultation, and as a clinical researcher at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, comparing outcomes of antibiotics versus appendectomy for appendicitis.

Dr. Lalchandani’s clinical and research interests include interpersonal violence, recidivism and surgical education.

Please join us in welcoming Kim Insua de la Cruz, MD, as a new faculty member in the Department of Surgery.

Kim Insua de la Cruz, MD
Associate Surgeon, Division of Thoracic and Cardiac Surgery
Section Chief, Aortic Surgery

Dr. de la Cruz graduated from the University of the Philippines in Manila with a Bachelor of Science in biology as well as his medical degree. He completed his general surgery residency at the Brooklyn Hospital Center and a thoracic surgery residency at the Texas Heart Institute/Baylor College of Medicine, where he also completed an aortic surgery fellowship.

He is board certified by the American Board of Thoracic Surgery and is a member of various societies, including the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS), the American College of Cardiology (ACC), the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (EACTS) and the Society of Asian Academic Surgeons (SAAS). Dr. de la Cruz is also a reviewer for the Journal of Aorta and the Journal of Medicine and Surgery.

Before joining the Brigham, Dr. de la Cruz was the director of Aortic Surgery at the Methodist Healthcare System/HCA San Antonio Division and previously served as an assistant professor of surgery in the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery of the Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery at Baylor College of Medicine. At the Brigham, he will serve as the inaugural section chief of aortic surgery in the Division of Thoracic and Cardiac Surgery.

Dr. de la Cruz is committed to improving quality of life of patients with cardiovascular disease through evidence-driven patient care. He has particular clinical expertise and research interests in complex aortic reconstruction, particularly open thoracoabominal aortic aneurysm (TAAA) repair, valve-sparing aortic root replacement, mechanical and bioprosthetic aortic root replacement, aortic arch surgery, open/endovascular/hybrid aortic repairs, repair of aortic dissections and management of aortic pathology in those with connective tissue disorders.

Please join us in welcoming M. Reza Afrasiabi, MD, as a new faculty member in the Department of Surgery.

M. Reza Afrasiabi, MD
Associate Surgeon, Division of Trauma, Burn and Surgical Critical Care

Dr. Afrasiabi graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Science in applied mathematics. Prior to medical school, he worked as a fixed-income derivatives research analyst at JP Morgan. He received his medical degree from the Creighton University School of Medicine and completed residency training in general surgery at Saint Joseph Hospital in Chicago. Subsequently, he completed fellowships in surgical critical care and acute care surgery at the Brigham.

Dr. Afrasiabi’s clinical interests include trauma surgery, emergency general surgery and robotic assisted minimally invasive surgery. His research interests include quality improvement and outcomes analysis within the entire realm of surgical critical care and acute care surgery.