Rian M. Hasson, MD, MPH, FACS serves as the inaugural Vice Chair for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Department of Surgery and as an Associate Surgeon in the Division of Thoracic Surgery. Dr. Hasson completed her undergraduate degree in psychology at the University of California, Berkeley and premedical studies through the Health Careers Program at Harvard Extension School. She received her medical degree from the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, and she holds a Master of Public Health from the Dartmouth Institute of Health Policy and Clinical Practice. She completed general surgery training at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a cardiothoracic surgery fellowship at The Ohio State University and a general thoracic surgery fellowship at Mayo Clinic.

Before joining the Brigham, Dr. Hasson was an assistant professor of surgery at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Geisel School of Medicine and the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice. She was the director of the Lung Cancer Screening Program and the founding co-director of the Lung Health and Pulmonary Nodule Clinic at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.

Dr. Hasson is board certified by the American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Thoracic Surgery. She serves on various boards and committees, including the Women in Thoracic Surgery (WTS) Board of Directors, the Society of Black Academic Surgeons (SBAS) Women in Surgery Committee, the SBAS Research and Education Committee, the Society of Thoracic Surgery (STS) Mentorship Committee, and is the WTS representative to the STS Taskforce on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. She also works as a manuscript reviewer for numerous publications, including Annals of Surgical Oncology, Health Equity, the World Journal of Surgical Oncology, the American Journal of Surgery, the Journal of Surgical Research and JAMA Oncology.

Dr. Hasson’s clinical focus is on surgically treating lung, mediastinal and esophageal malignancies, particularly tailoring care to the unique health needs of underserved communities. In her role as a health services researcher, she aims to enhance referral and participation in LCS among vulnerable populations by forming collaborative partnerships within communities. Supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), she previously investigated barriers and facilitators to LCS access in rural areas through a mobile screening program. Her current focus is to extend this research to urban communities in Boston, with a specific focus on addressing lung cancer disparities in Black/African American/Caribbean populations.

As the inaugural vice chair for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Department of Surgery, Dr. Hasson is dedicated to cultivating a supportive environment for faculty and trainees that emphasizes inclusion and belonging and prioritizes health equity to enhance patient access and outcomes. Driven by the belief that surgeons need to be forward thinking, she aims to maintain a diverse workforce capable of providing excellent surgical care to patients of all backgrounds.  To achieve these objectives, Dr. Hasson’s initiatives will include establishing a departmental DEI council to promote inclusion and belonging among physicians; implementing the health equity mission; ensuring that our recruitment and retention practices for faculty and trainees foster diversity and inclusive excellence; promoting collaboration across departments; and building community partnerships to reinforce the departmental commitment to culturally sensitive health care delivery.