Brigham and Women's Hospital

November is #PancreaticCancerAwarenessMonth! Join us for a conversation with Dr. Thomas Clancy as he shares how Brigham and Women’s Hospital leads the way in minimally invasive robotic pancreatic surgery. Dr. Clancy discusses the benefits of robotic surgery for patients, especially those facing gastrointestinal or pancreatic cancers, the hospital’s commitment to training the next generation of robotic surgeons and his vision for the future of this groundbreaking program. https://spklr.io/6040x6FM

Veterans bring unparalleled skills, dedication, and a unique perspective to our team, and we are proud to have them as part of our community. To all Veterans, we thank you for your service. #VeteransDay

Jeff Karp, PhD, recently published an article for Psychology Today to discuss the power of your unconscious self, and how the influence in the digital age changes how we act. Learn more:

Congratulations to Pivel Morton on being a 2024 Latino Excellence Awards recipient! Pivel currently serves as the Executive Director of Southern Jamaica Plain Community Health Center (SJPCHC- Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) License Community Health Center) in Jamaica Plain, MA. Along with other members of the SJP leadership team, Pivel’s work focuses on the center’s mission of racial and social justice, dismantling structural racism through health equity analysis and advocacy, policy work and addressing inequity in the social drivers of health. This work has been more critical during these past four years as the pandemic exacerbated the inequities within our health systems and further exposed deeply embedded faults. Under Pivel’s leadership, the health center has deepened and expanded its commitment to racial justice and health equity work withing the BWH Primary Care Racial Justice and Liberation Steering committee which Pivel co-chairs and outside of the hospital system where Pivel’s team engages in multiple training and consultation partnerships across the city, state and country. On the award, she said, “It's an absolute honor to have been nominated by state Rep Samantha Monta?o as one of the Massachusetts Black and Latino Legislative Caucus’ 2024 Latino Excellence Awardees! The State House’s Great Hall was energized and electric as we gathered to celebrate Latino changemakers and disruptors throughout the Commonwealth! Felicidades a todos, gracias por el reconocimiento y síguemos en la lucha resiliente y unidos! Proud to represent Latinos and Southern Jamaica Plain Community Health Center.”

Social media ads for wellness products tend to play on fears of missing out, of inadequacy, of being inferior, says Natalie Dattilo, PhD, a clinical psychologist at the Brigham. “These social media trends don’t just affect our financial health,” Dattilo adds. “They keep us searching for something outside ourselves to fix our problems. We feel pressure to lean on untested products and methods of health and wellness when what you really need to do is partner with your doctor.” Health misinformation has always existed. But today, we live in an “infodemic”—an overabundance of information that obscures evidence-based guidance, especially on social media. Dattilo and other Brigham experts are tracking how health misinformation circulates online and how to protect yourself and combat its spread.

Learn how pacemakers play a role in the rhythm of the heartbeat, how they are implanted and their risks with Nathaniel Steiger, MD, a leading Mass General Brigham electrophysiologist. https://spklr.io/6041aZn9

Brigham researchers have found that older adults who experience a fall are at an increased risk of dementia. Learn more and view key takeaways from their research: https://spklr.io/6042aTzI

Happy Halloween! For some, food allergies can be an important concern heading into trick or treating. Here's how recent Mass General Brigham research, including research from Duane Wesemann, MD, PhD, can help:

By 1980, the World Health Organization declared smallpox eradicated worldwide—the only infectious human disease successfully extinguished. But for as long as it has existed, the smallpox vaccine provoked fear, ignorance, apathy, and resistance—opposition that continues today against vaccines of all kinds. On top of combatting some of the world’s most contagious diseases, infectious disease clinicians and researchers are also tasked with taming myths and misinformation about vaccines. “Vaccines are one of the best public health interventions ever created,” says Lindsey Baden, MD, infectious disease specialist and vice president of clinical research at the Brigham. “Vaccines and sanitation, including hand washing, are probably the main contributors to doubling our life expectancy over the past 200 years."

Congratulations to Hermioni Amonoo, MD, MPP, of the Brigham, for being one of the 11 early career researchers and research teams awarded funding through the Biden Cancer Moonshot initiative. Dr. Amonoo's work will evaluate the impact of phone-delivered psychosocial support in stem cell transplantation survivors for improving anxiety and depression symptoms. Learn more: