Cook Medical announces John A Kaufman (Cook Medical, Bloomington, USA) will be joining as its chief medical officer, effective July 2023. With Kaufman’s expertise and new appointment to this position, Cook is taking a significant step in its clinical and product-related goals.
Kaufman is an interventional radiologist with 30 years of experience. In 1982, he earned his doctor of medicine from the Boston University School of Medicine. He interned at the hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Then, he finished a residency at Boston University/Boston City Hospital, later becoming chief resident in radiology, completing a fellowship in vascular and interventional radiology there as well.
Throughout his career, his research has focused on aortic aneurysms, venous diseases, vascular malformations and image guide treatment of liver cancers and uterine fibroids. Then, in 2010, he earned an MS degree in healthcare management from the T.H. Chan School of Public Health at Harvard. Kaufman is the inaugural chair of the Dotter Department of Interventional Radiology, director of the Dotter Interventional Institute and the Frederick S Keller professor of Interventional Radiology at the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) in Portland, Oregon.
In addition to practicing medicine and being a professor, Kaufman has been involved in many societies. He is active in the American Heart Association, American Board of Radiology, American College of Radiology, American Roentgen Ray Society and Radiological Society of North America. As a long time fellow of the Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR), Kaufman served as SIR president. SIR named him as the 2012 Dotter lecturer. Additionally, he is a fellow of the Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiological Society of Europe (CIRSE). Both SIR and CIRSE awarded Kaufman gold medals for his research and his passion for education.
“We are honoured to have Kaufman join Cook Medical and add his unique expertise to our leadership team. We’ve followed Kaufman’s work for years and it’s evident that we share the same value of putting patients first. He will bring a unique insight into the needs of clinicians, patients, and scientists as we work together to move the practice of medicine forward,” said Pete Yonkman, president of Cook Medical and Cook Group.
In his role as chief medical officer, Kaufman will represent the company to regulatory and legislative agencies, advise on the educational needs of the clinical community and patients, serve as voice of the patient to ensure understanding and promote the future of minimally invasive interventions within Cook. The chief medical officer will also serve as clinical resource for engineers, marketing and ethics and compliance officers, as well as provide strategic input on current devices and programs.
“I look forward to sharing my perspective from the front lines of patient care,” said Kaufman. “One thing I am particularly passionate about is education. Teaching and learning have been staples in my career, and medical education is integral to Cook’s product philosophy. Most importantly, joining Cook is a beautiful opportunity to be a liaison between the scientific community and patients as we learn together how we can improve patient lives.”
Kaufman will continue his clinical practice part-time at OHSU.
