We are pleased to announce the inaugural incumbent of the Mark E. Comunale Chair in Cardiac Anesthesia at BIDMC is Feroze-Ud-Din Mahmood, MD, FASE. This endowed chair is a prestigious appointment that is given only to experienced medical professionals of proven excellence and accomplishment. The Chair offers the incumbent funding to pursue their priorities in the areas of clinical medicine, medical research and education. Dr. Mahmood has earned this illustrious honor and privilege that will allow him to make further strides in cardiac anesthesia and improve the lives of patients.
Department Chair Dr. Daniel Talmor spoke about Dr. Mahmood receiving this honor:
“It’s a real closing of the circle - Mark Comunale, who envisioned the echocardiography program in cardiac anesthesia, endowing a chair for the person who has transformed the field of echocardiography not only in anesthesia, not only in BI, not only in the United States but really around the world. I get a chance to travel to many countries for conferences and everywhere I go I’m more known as the friend of Feroze Mahmood than as a critical care physician. We all know about his achievements but really those are only his academic achievements. Feroze is a tremendous human being. He has mentored many of us in the department – I was his first fellow. He’s been generous with his time; he is an amazing clinician, an amazing educator and an amazing family man.”
See the complete bio on Dr. Mahmood below, which details his remarkable career and many accomplishments, as well as a bio on Dr. Comunale.
Feroze-Ud-Din Mahmood, MD, FASA, Professor of Anaesthesia at Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the Director of Cardiac Anesthesia at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC). Dr. Mahmood is a world-renowned expert in cardiac anesthesia and perioperative echocardiography, a prolific investigator and beloved teacher and mentor in the Dept. of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine at BIDMC. He is considered one of the finest cardiac anesthesiologists in the United States and has brought the BIDMC Division of Cardiac Anesthesia to national prominence since he took over as Director in 2016. Dr. Mahmood has been a staff anesthesiologist at the Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine at BIDMC since 2001, where he has demonstrated an unwavering devotion to providing excellent anesthesia care to patients.
Dr. Mahmood has held numerous leadership positions with the department and hospital. He has been Division Director of Thoracic Anesthesia and Vascular Anesthesia. In addition to his role as Director of Cardiac Anesthesia, he is also currently Director of Perioperative Echocardiography and System Director of Cardiac Anesthesia for BIDMC.
Dr. Mahmood, a native of Pakistan, received his MBBS at the Army Medical College in Rawalpindi, Pakistan and his F.Sc (Fellowship in Science) at Cadet College in Hasanabdul, Pakistan. He completed a residency in surgery at the College of Physicians and Surgeons in Karachi, Pakistan and a residency in Anesthesia and Critical Care and a Cardiology Fellowship at BIDMC. Since that time, he has had a thriving career in his field, making significant clinical and educational advances, honing his remarkable skill as a cardiac anesthesiologist and revolutionizing the art of perioperative echocardiography.
Dr. Mahmood has made groundbreaking strides in the teaching of perioperative echocardiography and was founding director on several CME courses at HMS, including “Perioperative and Critical Care Echocardiography and Echo Boards Review” and “Perioperative and Critical Care Echocardiography.” He was also Course Director for the Perioperative Echocardiography course for the Society for Cardiac Anesthesiologists and, along with his wife, Dr. Robina Matyal, is Co-Director of the Valve Research Group, an echocardiography and cardiovascular research collaboration between the Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Department of Surgery, and Division of Cardiac Surgery at BIDMC.
Dr. Mahmood is an outstanding investigator, with over 350 publications spanning both clinical and educational themes, many of them in top journals in his field. He has also held prominent editorial roles and has served as ad hoc reviewer in many journals related to cardiac anesthesia and perioperative echocardiography.
Dr. Mahmood is a master educator in the department who has taught and inspired many residents, fellows and peers. He is a sought-after speaker and teacher at national and international conferences and events in his field. His expertise and passion for his work is infectious, making him a popular mentor to many of our trainees who aspire to careers in cardiac anesthesia. The expertise and stellar reputation of the department’s cardiac anesthesia program under his leadership attracts top applicants from the US and abroad to our Advanced Perioperative Ultrasound and Clinical Anesthesia Fellowship and Adult Cardiothoracic Fellowship.
Mark E. Comunale, MD is a nationally recognized leader in the field of anesthesiology, particularly in cardiac anesthesia. Dr. Comunale received his medical degree from Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston and completed his anesthesia residency at Beth Israel Hospital.
After completing his residency and a fellowship in cardiac anesthesia, Dr. Comunale joined the staff at Beth Israel Hospital. He subsequently progressed within the department to become first Chief of the Division of Cardiac Anesthesia and then the Associate Anesthetist in Chief at BIDMC. While at Beth Israel Hospital, Dr. Comunale was instrumental in the integration of the combined anesthesia department of the newly merged Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. This was a time of considerable turmoil in the department and in the medical center. Dr. Comunale’s firm leadership was critical in allowing the department to grow and thrive during that time.
While at BIDMC, Dr. Comunale led multiple clinical innovations, the most important of which was the introduction of transesophageal echocardiography into clinical practice in the cardiac operating rooms. BIDMC has since become a world leader in the use of echocardiography in anesthesia. Dr. Comunale trained a generation of cardiac anesthetists at BIDMC including Dr. Talmor, the current chair of the department and Dr. Mahmood, the inaugural incumbent of the Mark E. Comunale Chair.
After leaving BIDMC, Dr. Comunale served as Professor and Chairman of the Dept. of Anesthesiology at St. Louis University School of Medicine in St. Louis in Missouri. He later became President and CEO at Inland Empire Anesthesia Medical Group, a privately held Anesthesiology Contracting Corporation in Southern California. In that role he was Professor and Chairman of Anesthesiology and Pain Management at the University of Science and Medicine in Colton, CA, and Professor of Anesthesiology at Loma Linda University in Loma Linda, CA.
In addition to his clinical work and leadership, Dr. Comunale is an experienced research investigator and innovator. An early member of the McSPI network, he participated in many of the first trials in the field of cardiac anesthesia. As an innovator, Dr. Comunale invented a device called the Patient Isolation Transport Unit (PITU), a device that plays a critical role in protecting clinicians from patients infected with dangerous viruses such as Ebola or COVID-19. The PITU is a large vinyl enclosure that creates a negative pressure environment, allowing caregivers to safely interact with critically ill patients while minimizing the risk of exposure. It utilizes motors that pull air out and pass it through filters to generative negative pressure, allowing gloved caregivers to safely reach into the enclosure.