CHA Names Carl Fulwiler, MD, PhD, as Chief and Chair of Psychiatry
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Following a national search process, Carl Fulwiler, MD, PhD, has been named the chief and chair of the Department of Psychiatry at Cambridge Health Alliance, a community health system serving Cambridge, Somerville, and Boston's metro-north communities. Dr. Fulwiler has acted as the interim chief and chair since May 2022.
Dr. Fulwiler joined CHA in January 2020 and, as vice chair for research, teaching, and academia, created an infrastructure to support research in the department, elevate the importance of academic promotion, and advance the academic careers of faculty. Since assuming the interim leadership role, he has guided the department through COVID-19 surges and overseen a critical expansion of its inpatient child and adolescent psychiatry services as well as the launch of CHA's Community Behavioral Health Centers in Cambridge and Malden.
His career in public sector psychiatry has focused on improving behavioral health outcomes for underserved populations by integrating novel clinical, population health, research, and training approaches. As the head of the Harvard Department of Psychiatry at CHA, Dr. Fulwiler provides leadership and oversight for all academic and clinical operations. He is responsible for appointments and promotions at Harvard Medical School, where he also serves as an associate professor of psychiatry. In addition to his efforts to expand access to high quality and equitable care, he is deeply committed to supporting ongoing research, scholarship, and innovation across CHA.
Dr. Fulwiler received his MD from Washington University and his PhD in neuroscience from Harvard where he also completed a residency in psychiatry at McLean Hospital. He has held a variety of leadership roles in training, clinical services, and research before joining CHA. Prior to joining CHA, he was a professor of psychiatry and medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He has conducted federally funded research on health services for underserved populations, neuroimaging, and mindfulness-based interventions in health care. He is an internationally recognized expert in Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and directs professional teacher training in MBCT through the Center for Mindfulness and Compassion at CHA and Harvard Medical School.
"Carl is an outstanding leader who values community health and champions diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, all of which are essential to our mission," said Jeffrey Hoffman, MD, CHA's chief medical officer. "In addition to his efforts to expand access to high quality and equitable care, he is deeply committed to supporting ongoing research and innovation across CHA and strengthening the culture that makes our Department of Psychiatry so unique and exceptional."
Cambridge Health Alliance is an academic community health system committed to providing high-quality care in Cambridge, Somerville and Boston's metro-north communities. CHA has expertise in primary care, specialty care and mental health/substance use services, as well as caring for diverse and complex populations. It includes two hospital campuses, a network of primary care and specialty practices and the Cambridge Public Health Dept. CHA patients have seamless access to advanced care through the system's affiliation with Beth Israel Lahey Health. CHA is a Harvard Medical School teaching affiliate and is also affiliated with Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard School of Dental Medicine and Tufts University School of Medicine.