Raphael Bueno, MD, Named the Lawrence Harvey Cohn Professor of Surgery in the Field of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Harvard Medical School

Raphael Bueno, MD
Fredric G. Levin Distinguished Chair in Thoracic Surgery and Lung Cancer Research, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Chief, Division of Thoracic Surgery, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Co-Director, Lung Center, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Lawrence Harvey Cohn Professor of Surgery in the Field of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Harvard Medical School

Raphael Bueno, MD, is chief of the Division of Thoracic Surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Fredric Levin Distinguished Chair in Thoracic Surgery and Lung Cancer Research. He completed his bachelor’s degree at Harvard College and medical training at Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He subsequently trained in general surgery at the Brigham and thoracic surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital and joined the Brigham thoracic faculty in 1996. Over the past 21 years, Dr. Bueno has developed robust clinical and research portfolios at the Brigham. He has also mentored many fellows and staff and previously served as the cardiothoracic residency director at the Brigham.

His clinical focus is management of thoracic malignancies particularly mesothelioma, lung cancer, and esophageal cancer. His main research interests center on the molecular events that lead to malignancy in mesothelioma and lung cancer. Specifically, Dr. Bueno focuses on developing biomarkers for diagnosis, prognosis, and predicting therapy in malignant pleural mesothelioma and lung cancer. His research also includes tumor sequencing and identification of targetable pathways. He runs a molecular biology lab at the George W. Thorn Medical Research Building and has been funded for almost two decades by the National Cancer Institute, Department of Defense, and various foundations and industry grants. He has invented, patented and licensed several algorithms and medical devices for patient care, some having been licensed by industry. Dr. Bueno has also invented and continues to develop several novel surgical procedures and devices.

Dr. Bueno is a member of numerous prestigious national and international professional societies. He has been an invited lecturer at teaching hospitals and universities around the country and internationally. At the Brigham, he has built the largest division of thoracic surgery in the U.S., with 25 faculty members and five affiliated network sites in New England and co-founded the Brigham Lung Center and the Lung Research Center. Dr. Bueno continues to push the boundaries of what is possible in patient care.

Faculty Promotions and Appointments

The following faculty members were recently promoted or appointed at Harvard Medical School.

Nancy L. Cho, MD Headshot

Nancy Cho, MD, promoted to associate professor of surgery.

Elizabeth Lilley, MD, MPH, appointed to assistant professor of surgery.

Naomi Shimizu, MD, promoted to assistant professor of surgery.

2024 Final Service Conference and Graduation Awards

The following recipients were recently honored with awards at the Final Service Conference.

Surgery Class of ’63 Scholar – Katherine He, MD

Surgical Oncology Research Award – Eliza Lorentzen, MD

PBB Scholar Award (This award is the highest ABSITE score and comes with a $500 award) – Yun Jee Kang, MD (80.4% correct and 98th percentile)

Medical Student Teaching Awards

PGY1     Ezra Brooks, MD

PGY2     Tom Martin, MD

PGY3     Cullen Roberts, MD

PGY4     Christine Wu, MD

PGY5     Elizabeth Yates, MD, MPH (The Robert T. Osteen Award for Medical Student Education in Surgery)

Faculty Student Teaching Award – Reza Askari, MD

Edward Kwasnik Award – James Etheridge, MD, MPH

Christine Weeks Schofield Award – John Gaspich, MD

Grant Rodkey Award – Katherine He, MD

Vollman Award (This award is voted by the faculty at Faulkner Hospital) – Cullen Roberts, MD

Star Thrower Award (This award is given by the administrative chiefs to the resident who has gone above and beyond) – Max Riley, MD

Francis D. Moore Award (This award is voted on by junior residents and presented to a senior resident) – 
Elizabeth Yates, MD, MPH

Donald J. Matson Award (This award is voted on by all the house staff and presented to a faculty member) – Matt Nehs, MD

Richard E. Wilson Award (This award is voted on by chief residents and presented to a faculty member) – Jiping Wang, MD, PhD, and Stanley Ashley, MD