MBA

Academics

David Gellis

David Gellis comes from a family of physicians, but during his college career his interests swung toward journalism and even led to a stint as editor of the Harvard Crimson. Yet the medical call came to him as well. "Journalism gave me hands-on involvement, but not a sense of 'the bigger mission'," David says. "I found that the things I liked about journalism and a hunger for the larger issues were all in health care; I could have the satisfaction of making a difference in individual lives while looking at broader policy and systems issues."

Medicine—plus something more

Once he determined his direction, David wanted to do something more with it. "I wanted to be a doctor 'plus'," he says. "Eventually, I got a better sense of what that 'plus' might be." Much of the insight came when he worked at the University of California, San Francisco, Breast Care Center. Under the tutelage of center director Laura Esserman, MD/MBA, David examined ways to leverage information systems to improve breast cancer treatment. "Dr. Esserman used her clinic as a lab to test ideas for improving care quality and efficiency," David says. Together, he and Dr. Esserman gathered clinical information that helped them design better care processes. "When you work on health care systems, you see a direct connection between the bedside and the bigger picture."

Dr. Esserman encouraged David to further those connections by pursuing the joint MD/MBA degree. "I want to access the fundamentally different perspectives MBA students will bring to health care," says David. "I want to learn how to market ideas, how to look at change and innovation. At HBS, I'll also meet the people who will be leading the firms and industries that I may be working with in the future."

Grounded in service

David anticipates a career combining direct physician practice with the exploration of innovations. "I'd like to use my clinic to test and develop ideas," he says. "I want to find roles that allow me to spread these ideas and lessons from the bottom up." At each step, however, patient needs would remain supreme. "In medicine, institutions are built to serve people. I think that's an important grounding to bring to business."