Image of John Gerard Meara

John G Meara, D.M.D., M.D.

Boston Children's Hospital Professor of Surgery in the Field of Pediatric Plastic Surgery, Boston Children's Hospital
Professor of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School
617-355-2313

John G. Meara, MD, DMD, MBA is the Director of the Program in Global Surgery and Social Change, and Professor of Surgery in the Department of Surgery at Harvard Medical School.  Dr. Meara serves as the Plastic Surgeon-in-Chief of the Department of Plastic & Oral Surgery at Boston Children's Hospital.   He was Co-Chair for the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery and was a commissioner on the Lancet Global Health Commission on High Quality Health Systems in the SDG Era, and the Lancet Oncology Commission.   He currently serves as a commissioner on the Lancet Commission on Diagnostics.  In 2008 he created the Paul Farmer Global Surgery Fellowship program. He is also interested in value-based health care and implementation science research, including time driven activity-based cost research and outcomes research.  Dr. Meara has led several ICHOM projects focusing on outcomes reporting and international benchmarking. 

Affiliations
Department of Plastic and Oral Surgery, Boston Children's Hospital

Contact Information
Harvard Medical School
Department of Global Health and Social Medicine
641 Huntington Avenue
Boston, Massachusetts 02115

Boston Children's Hospital
Department of Plastic and Oral Surgery

Assistant
Marshalee Bowens

Dr. Meara's interests and innovation activities lie in the areas of craniofacial anomalies, cleft lip and cleft palate, but he has a particular interest in augmenting the delivery of quality surgical and anesthesia care in low-resource settings through long term capacity building. He is involved in multiple global surgery projects looking at the burden of surgical disease, the surgical capacity and health systems building in low-resource environments, surgical education and the economic impact of untreated surgical disease. He is also interested in value based health care and implementation science research, including time driven activity based cost research and outcomes research. Dr. Meara has led several ICHOM projects focusing on outcomes reporting and international benchmarking. Since 2008, he has directed the Paul Farmer Global Surgery Fellowship program in collaboration with Partners In Health. Its purpose is to strengthen global surgical systems through a combination of research, advocacy, and implementation science as well as train leaders who will further promote surgical care, education, and research pertinent to global surgery.

Research Interests

Implementing surgical mentorship in a resource-constrained context: a mixed methods assessment of the experiences of mentees, mentors, and leaders, and lessons learned.
Authors: Authors: Alidina S, Sydlowski MM, Ahearn O, Andualem BG, Barash D, Bari S, Barringer E, Bekele A, Beyene AD, Burssa DG, Derbew M, Drown L, Gulilat D, Gultie TK, Hayirli TC, Meara JG, Staffa SJ, Workineh SE, Zanial N, Zeleke ZB, Mengistu AE, Ashengo TA.
BMC Med Educ
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Endoscopic strip craniectomy with orthotic helmeting for safe improvement of head growth in children with Apert syndrome.
Authors: Authors: Riesel JN, Riordan CP, Hughes CD, Karsten MB, Staffa SJ, Meara JG, Proctor MR.
J Neurosurg Pediatr
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Access to safe, timely and affordable surgical, anaesthesia and obstetric care in Pakistan: a 16-year scoping review.
Authors: Authors: Ashraf M, Vervoort D, Rizvi S, Fatima I, Shoman H, Meara JG, Samad L.
East Mediterr Health J
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Surgical Safety Checklist Use and Post-Caesarean Sepsis in the Lake Zone of Tanzania: Results from Safe Surgery 2020.
Authors: Authors: Wurdeman T, Staffa SJ, Barash D, Buberwa L, Eliakimu E, Maina E, Maongezi S, Meara JG, Munyonyela W, Mushi R, Reynolds C, Strader C, Varallo J, Washington L, Zurakowski D, Alidina S, Kapologwe NA.
World J Surg
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Access and Financial Burden for Patients Seeking Essential Surgical Care in Pakistan.
Authors: Authors: Samad L, Ashraf MN, Mohammad AA, Fatima I, Fowler Z, Albutt K, Latif A, Meara JG, Pigeolet M.
Ann Glob Health
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Surgical capacity assessment in the state of Amazonas using the surgical assessment tool. Cross-sectional study.
Authors: Authors: Souza JE, Ferreirai RV, Saluja S, Amundson J, Citron I, Truche P, Roa L, Zimmerman K, Jenny HE, Bowder AN, Gomes PHDS, Correia JO, Meara J, Alonso N.
Rev Col Bras Cir
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The future of global health is inclusive and anti-racist.
Authors: Authors: Pigeolet M, Al-Wahdani B, El Omrani O, Enabulele O, Walumbe R, Senkubuge F, Alayande B, Maki L, Meara JG, Park KB.
Trop Doct
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The Development and Inclusion of Questions on Surgery in the 2018 Zambia Demographic and Health Survey.
Authors: Authors: Juran S, Moren S, Santhirapala V, Roa L, Makasa E, Davies J, Guzman JM, Hagander L, Holmer H, Shrime MG, Weiser TG, Meara JG, Klug SJ, Ljungman D.
Glob Health Sci Pract
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The Lancet Commission on diagnostics: transforming access to diagnostics.
Authors: Authors: Fleming KA, Horton S, Wilson ML, Atun R, DeStigter K, Flanigan J, Sayed S, Adam P, Aguilar B, Andronikou S, Boehme C, Cherniak W, Cheung AN, Dahn B, Donoso-Bach L, Douglas T, Garcia P, Hussain S, Iyer HS, Kohli M, Labrique AB, Looi LM, Meara JG, Nkengasong J, Pai M, Pool KL, Ramaiya K, Schroeder L, Shah D, Sullivan R, Tan BS, Walia K.
Lancet
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Editorial. What is the "value" of surgery in the management of craniosynostosis?
Authors: Authors: Proctor MR, Meara JG.
J Neurosurg Pediatr
View full abstract on Pubmed