Cristina R. Ferrone, MD, Named Chair of Cedars-Sinai Department of Surgery
Distinguished Surgeon and Highly Respected Academic Known for Collaborative Style, Extensive Publications
Following an extensive national search, Cedars-Sinai has appointed Cristina R. Ferrone, MD, as chair of the Department of Surgery. Currently a professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School and director of the Office of Clinical Careers for Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Ferrone will assume her new position in January, 2023.
Ferrone succeeds Bruce L. Gewertz, MD, who has moved into a new, expanded leadership role as vice dean of Clinical System Development and Faculty Affairs.
“Dr. Ferrone is known as a visionary leader who has excelled in all aspects of academic medicine,” said Shlomo Melmed, MB, ChB, Cedars-Sinai's executive vice president of Academic Affairs and dean of the Medical Faculty. “She is an innovative clinician as well as an exceptional translational scientist and teacher.”
After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, Ferrone received her medical degree from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and completed her general surgery residency at Massachusetts General Hospital, followed by a surgical oncology fellowship at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. She earned a master’s degree in clinical trial design from the Harvard/MIT Investigator Training Program.
Ferrone specializes in the care of patients with complex hepato-pancreatico-biliary disorders and is associate program director of General Surgery Residency. She has spearheaded novel minimally invasive surgical techniques and developed cutting-edge immunotherapeutic strategies for patients with cancer of the liver, biliary system and pancreas. She runs an NIH-funded translational research laboratory dedicated to discovery of novel immunotherapeutic treatments for these cancers.
Known for being a talented administrator and consensus-builder, Ferrone has excelled in assembling multidisciplinary clinical oncology programs by integrating general surgery, surgical oncology, transplant surgery, and medical and radiation oncology expertise.
A surgical oncology leader who served as secretary of the Society of University Surgeons, Ferrone has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals and has presented at major academic conferences around the world. She leads the largest North American clinical trial for resectable pancreatic cancer.
“I am excited to join Cedars-Sinai and to collaborate across specialties with my new colleagues," Ferrone said. “Collaboration is the key to medical discoveries and innovation, improving outcomes for patients and enhancing public health.”
Read more on the Cedars-Sinai Blog: Immunotherapy: The Fourth Pillar of Cancer Care