Members

Samuel R. G. Finlayson, MD, MPH

Kessler Director, Center for Surgery and Public Health

Samuel R. G. Finlayson, MD, MPH, is the Kessler Director of the Center for Surgery and Public Health (CSPH).  In this role, he leads the strategic growth of the Center in the research areas of health services research, education, and global health as it relates to surgery.  In addition, Dr. Finlayson guides the CSPH’s programmatic development to support the needs of faculty within the Brigham and Women’s Hospital as well as constituents at the local, state, national, and international levels.  He also oversees the mentorship of young faculty and trainees to develop their individual research careers.

Dr. Finlayson has developed a national reputation as a health services and outcomes researcher specifically focused on surgical access, quality, and outcomes.  He has a specific interest in the quality of surgical care delivery in rural versus urban settings in the United States, as well as low income and resource poor countries.  His clinical interests include minimally invasive surgery, with a particular interest in benign and malignant diseases of the colon, abdominal wall hernias, and biliary disease.

Prior to his arrival at the CSPH, Dr. Finlayson spent a decade at Dartmouth Medical School, where he was Vice Chair of the Department of Surgery, Director of the Surgical Residency Program, and Associate Professor of Surgery and of Community and Family Medicine.  A graduate of Harvard College, Dr. Finlayson received his M.D. degree from Harvard Medical School and his Master of Public Health degree from the Harvard School of Public Health.  He was trained in surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital, and completed a surgical outcomes research fellowship at Dartmouth Medical School.