Northeastern Law and Tufts Medical Center to Establish Amy J. Reed Collaborative to Promote Medical Device Safety

12.23.2024 – Northeastern Law and Tufts Medical Center are joining together to establish the Amy J. Reed Collaborative for Medical Device Safety to analyze data from tens of thousands of medical devices to identify safety risks and develop legal tools to address them. Northeastern Law Professor David A. Simon, an expert on intellectual property, healthcare law, FDA and liability, will serve as principal investigator on the three-year project supported by Arnold Ventures. The research team aims to establish a self-sustaining medical-legal partnership at Northeastern Law to continue pursuing unsafe devices using innovative legal strategies. Simon, along with Dr. Hooman Noorchashm, an internationally recognized medical device safety expert, and Dr. Michael Paasche-Orlow, professor of medicine and vice chair for research of the Tufts Medical Center Department of Medicine, will serve co-directors of the Amy J. Reed Collaborative.

“We are thrilled to begin this project, which is designed to improve the safety of medical devices for all patients using an evidence-based approach,” said Simon, who is also a member of the research team at CLASSICA, a major research project on AI-assisted cancer surgery funded by the European Union. “We have assembled a real dream team. Dr.  Noorchashm, along with Dr. Paasche-Orlow and the group at Tufts Medical Center bring significant medical, scientific and practical experience with the 510(k) process, device regulation and the practice of medicine. Their academic rigor and public interest focus make this collaboration with Northeastern Law an ideal fit.”

Arnold Ventures, which supports research to better understand the root causes of broken systems that limit opportunity and create injustice, was founded in 2008 by Laura and John Arnold to improve the lives of all Americans through evidence-based policy solutions.