Robert S.D. Higgins, MD, MSHA, serves as president of Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) and executive vice president at Mass General Brigham, roles he assumed in December 2021. A distinguished academic and clinical physician with a long track record of collaborative leadership, Dr. Higgins joined the Brigham from Johns Hopkins, where he led the Department of Surgery as Surgeon-in-Chief and the William Stewart Halsted Professor of Surgery.
Dr. Higgins obtained his bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College and his medical degree from the Yale School of Medicine, followed by a master’s degree in health services administration at Virginia Commonwealth
University. He completed a residency in general surgery at the University Hospitals of Pittsburgh. He was a Winchester Scholar and fellow in cardiothoracic surgery at the Yale School of Medicine and served as a senior registrar in transplantation at the renowned Papworth Hospital in the U.K. He has served in numerous national professional leadership roles, including the President of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, the President of the American College of Surgeons Society of Surgical Chairs, and the President of the United Network for Organ Sharing. He has authored more than 200 scientific articles and book chapters.
Dr. Higgins is a proven innovator with the ability to manage complex, multidisciplinary services at world-class organizations, and a passionate advocate for research with a life-long commitment to training the next generation of exceptional people in healthcare.