In March, Mass General Brigham leaders announced a vision for the two academic medical centers (AMC), Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, that included the creation of single, unified departments. Today, David F. M. Brown, MD, President of Academic Medical Centers for MGB, and O’Neil Britton, MD, Chief Integration Officer for MGB, announced that Maurizio Fava, MD, has accepted the role of AMC Chair of Psychiatry, effective Oct. 1, 2024.
In the words of Dr. Brown:
Dr. Fava, who has served as psychiatrist-in-chief at MGH since 2019, is a brilliant and kind leader who is fully equipped to bring together our two departments — building on the incredible achievements and reputations at both organizations and helping to guide the future of psychiatric care across MGB.
Dr. Fava is a world-renowned expert in the field of depression who served as founding director of the Mass General Hospital’s Depression Clinical and Research Program (DCRP). Under his leadership, it became one of the most highly regarded depression programs in the country — a model for academic programs that bi-directionally links clinical and research work.
A devoted researcher who is passionate about applying rigorous research practices to improve the practice of psychiatric care, he founded the Mass General Psychiatry Clinical Trials Network and Institute, a specialized organization that supports the planning and coordination of multi-center clinical trials in psychiatry. He is the co-principal investigator of STAR*D, the largest-ever research study conducted on depression, and also previously served as director of the Division of Clinical Research of the MGH Research Institute. Dr. Fava is not only passionate about research and science, but also mentoring and guiding the next generation of leaders in psychiatry, for which he has been recognized with multiple awards.
Under Dr. Fava’s exceptional leadership, we will build the most impactful, inclusive and patient-focused psychiatry department in the world, with broad training programs and a deep and well-funded research portfolio. Together, we will ensure that we continue to deliver the highest-quality, research-infused care to the patients, families and communities we serve.
The integrated AMC Psychiatry will be a large and complex department with 2400 employees including almost 900 credentialed faculty, over 200 clinical trainees, as well as hundreds of research fellows, clinical research coordinators, and administrative staff. Across Mass General and Brigham (which includes Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital) sites, the integrated department will occupy approximately 185,000 square feet of office, clinical, and research space, and perform over 300,000 ambulatory and inpatient consultation visits per year. Clinical service sites include two 24-bed psychiatric inpatient units, a 14-bed substance use unit, two partial hospital programs, inpatient consultative services, a dedicated emergency psychiatric service, and several neurotherapeutic procedural services.
Congratulations to Dr. Fava!!
