Randolph Named Bertucci Associate Professor of Otolaryngology

Title recognizes work in thyroid surgical oncology

From left: Jeffrey S. Flier, Claire Bertucci, John Bertucci and Gregory Randolph. Image: Gretchen Ertl

From left: Jeffrey S. Flier, Claire Bertucci, John Bertucci and Gregory Randolph. Image: Gretchen Ertl

Gregory Randolph was celebrated as the first incumbent to the Claire and John Bertucci Professorship in Otolaryngology in the Field of Thyroid Surgical Oncology in a ceremony held at Harvard Medical School on May 16.

Randolph began his career with the HMS community as an otolaryngology resident at what was then known as the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. Over the years, he became director of the General Otolaryngology Department and the founder and director of the Division of Thyroid and Parathyroid Endocrine Surgery at the hospital.

As part of his commitment to improving treatment for people with thyroid cancer, Randolph helped develop new techniques to monitor the recurrent laryngeal nerve during thyroid surgery to preserve motor function in the larynx and prevent damage to patients’ voices.

“This new technology has further enhanced Mass. Eye and Ear’s reputation as a world leader in thyroid and parathyroid surgery,” Jeffrey S. Flier, dean of the faculty of medicine at Harvard University, said at the event.

Randolph has also led thyroid surgical missions to Russia, China, Kenya, India and the Chernobyl region of the Ukraine, where he has treated children with radiation exposure-related thyroid cancer.

A dedicated teacher, Randolph founded and directs the Harvard Surgery of the Thyroid and Parathyroid Glands course for practicing surgeons and established the first otolaryngology thyroid and parathyroid fellowship in the country to educate future surgeons and specialists. He has written two textbooks and currently serves as president-elect of the American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery.

The professorship was made possible by Claire and John Bertucci. John Bertucci is director and chairman of MKS Instruments, Inc.

“With this gift, the Bertuccis are helping to ensure that Mass. Eye and Ear, HMS and Dr. Randolph will continue to advance the field of thyroid surgical oncology while maintaining the high standard of care that patients have come to expect from Mass. Eye and Ear’s Department of Otolaryngology and Division of Thyroid and Parathyroid Surgery,” Flier said.

John Fernandez, president and chief executive officer of Mass. Eye and Ear, and D. Bradley Welling, the Walter Augustus LeCompte Professor of Otology and Laryngology and chair of the Department of Otolaryngology at HMS and chief of otolaryngology at Mass. Eye and Ear and Massachusetts General Hospital, also spoke at the event.