Welcoming New Faculty – Akinobu Itoh, MD, PhD

Please join us in welcoming Akinobu Itoh, MD, PhD, as a new faculty member in the Department of Surgery.

Akinobu Itoh, MD, PhD
Associate Surgeon, Division of Thoracic and Cardiac Surgery
Surgical Director, Heart Transplantation and Mechanical and Circulatory Support

Dr. Itoh received his undergraduate and medical degrees from the Tohoku University School of Medicine in Sendai, Japan. He completed resident training in general surgery and cardiovascular surgery at the NTT Medical Center in Tokyo and a fellowship in cardiovascular surgery at the National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center in Osaka, Japan. Subsequently, he completed a fellowship in cardiovascular surgery at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, Canada and a fellowship in transplant/heart failure at Toronto General Hospital. In 2013, he joined Washington University School of Medicine/Barnes-Jewish Hospital as a faculty member. Dr. Itoh also holds a PhD in cardiac valve physiology and pathology from Tohoku University.

Before coming to the Brigham, Dr. Itoh was an associate professor of surgery, surgical director of the Heart Transplant and Ventricular Assist Device Program and director of the Surgical Heart Failure Fellowship Program at the Washington University School of Medicine, as well as co-director of the Barnes-Jewish ECMO Program. At the Brigham, Dr. Itoh will also be serving as surgical director of Heart Transplantation and Mechanical and Circulatory Support for the Division of Thoracic and Cardiac Surgery.

Dr. Itoh’s main clinical focus is on orthotopic heart transplant and mechanical assist device surgery. He also takes care of high-risk, complex aortic and mitral valve surgeries, as well as aortic dissection and aneurysm. Low ejection fraction coronary artery revascularization surgery, with mechanical circulatory assist is another area of his clinical interest. His clinical and translational research concerns are heart failure and the clinical impact of valvular surgery concomitant with mechanical assist device implantation and reverse remodeling in mechanically unloaded condition. He’s also interested in the clinical outcomes of acute circulatory support, with extracorporeal oxygen membrane circulatory support and other mechanical circulatory support devices, such as the intra-aortic balloon pump and the Impella device. Based upon his previous research experience in valvular/ventricular physiology and transesophageal echocardiography, he would like to contribute to the development of the clinical and translational research in the heart failure field.

Welcoming New Faculty – Devin O’Brien Coon, MD, MSE

Please join us in welcoming Devin O’Brien Coon, MD, MSE, as a new faculty member in the Department of Surgery.

Devin O’Brien Coon, MD, MSE
Associate Surgeon, Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
Surgical and Clinical Director, Brigham Center for Transgender Health

Dr. Coon joins the Brigham from Johns Hopkins University, where he was associate professor of plastic surgery and biomedical engineering. He attended college and medical school at the University of Pittsburgh and holds a master’s in biomedical engineering from Johns Hopkins University. He completed integrated plastic surgery training at the Johns Hopkins/UMD Shock Trauma Center program and is board certified in plastic and reconstructive surgery.

Before joining the Brigham, Dr. Coon also served as the founding chief medical director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Transgender Health, where he developed a multidisciplinary service line across eight departments that became one of the largest academic programs in the U.S. He is recognized as a leader in genitourinary salvage procedures and is frequently referred secondary revision cases. He initiated and directed the Johns Hopkins Complex Gender & Microsurgery Fellowship. He will serve as inaugural clinical and surgical director of the new Brigham Center for Transgender Health.

Dr. O’Brien directs a basic science lab focusing on cutaneous repair, fibrosis and regeneration, as well as sex hormone-mediated control of wound healing and scarring. He is also interested in biomedical innovation and has invented and successfully translated two FDA-approved medical devices (a bioresorbable implant and a 3D ultrasound system) to clinical use.

His primary clinical areas are facial gender surgery, facial aesthetic surgery, genital gender-affirming surgery and genital/pelvic reconstruction for revision or oncologic patients.

Welcoming New Faculty – Erin Taylor, MD

Please join us in welcoming Erin Taylor, MD, as a new faculty member in the Department of Surgery.

Erin Taylor, MD
Associate Surgeon, Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery

Dr. Taylor received her Bachelor of Arts in mathematics from Bowdoin College and her medical degree from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. She completed her plastic and reconstructive surgery residency at the Harvard Plastic Surgery Residency Program and received additional fellowship training in microsurgery at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

Her research experience includes the National Institutes of Health, Columbia University, Harvard Medical School and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Her most recent research focuses on postoperative pain control, patient-reported outcome measures after breast reconstruction, surgeon-based 3D printing in vascularized bone transfer and free functional muscle transfer. She is an active participant in scientific societies and was previously on the Northeastern Society of Plastic Surgeons (NESPS) Board of Directors, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) Resident Council and the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Resident Advisory Board.

Dr. Taylor’s clinical and research interests are complex oncologic reconstruction, microsurgery and lymphatic surgery. She is dedicated to resident and medical student education at Harvard Medical School and national conferences.