Brody School of Medicine names new chair of cardiovascular sciences
The Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University has named a new chair for its Department of Cardiovascular Sciences.
Dr. Mark Iannettoni assumed the role Oct. 1, following a one-year appointment as acting chair and a previous stint as vice chair. In his new role he will also serve as chief of cardiovascular services at Vidant Medical Center.
Dr. Mark Iannettoni
“This is an extremely exciting time for me to be in this leadership role, as we are in the process of merging several opportunities within Brody and the Department of Cardiovascular Sciences,” Iannettoni said, referring to the ongoing effort between Brody and Vidant Health to integrate clinical services. “We’re bringing together a successful and very solvent medical center with a well established and highly respected medical school.
“Combining an extremely dedicated department of academic faculty with a group of talented cardiology clinicians from Vidant Medical Group – who are highly valued partners for the future – will allow us to provide additional educational opportunities for our learners to understand the complexities of both forms of practice,” Iannettoni continued. “It also offers opportunities to expand our specialty care network into different regions of eastern North Carolina as a concerted effort to improve population health issues related to cardiovascular, lung and esophageal disease.”
Iannettoni is chief of Brody’s Division of Thoracic Surgery, which focuses on operations performed on organs within the chest. He joined Brody in 2014 and organized the thoracic surgery residency program at Vidant Medical Center. He received the 2015 Socrates Award from the national Thoracic Surgery Residents Association for his commitment to resident physicians’ education and mentorship.
He earned his medical degree from the State University of New York, where he also completed a general surgery residency. He went on to complete a thoracic surgery residency at the University of Michigan and earned an MBA from its Ross School of Business.
Iannettoni’s medical career spans 30 years and has yielded several academic appointments, including the Ehrenhaft professorship and chair of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, and staff physician in the Section of Thoracic Surgery at the University of Michigan Medical Center.
He sees patients at the East Carolina Heart Institute at ECU. His clinical interests include all diseases of the esophagus with a special focus on foregut surgery and esophageal cancer, as well as lung cancer and all aspects of general thoracic surgery.
He is board-certified in both general and thoracic surgery and completed a specialty fellowship in esophageal and lung surgery. He has published more than 100 articles in these areas of research.
“We have already developed an outstanding program here for clinical care and education,” Iannettoni said. “We now need to focus on our ability to perform outstanding clinical research to help with population health issues that plague us in eastern North Carolina.”
–Amy Ellis