#  Mark Schuster 

William Berenberg Professor of Pediatrics, HMS

Vice Chair for Health Policy, Boston Children's Hospital

Chief, Division of General Pediatrics, Boston Children's Hospital

 

 

 



   ![Mark Schuster is wearing a dark striped blazer, white shirt, and blue striped tie. He is holding a framed photo of his family. ](/sites/g/files/omnuum11411/files/styles/hwp_4_5__480x600/public/2026-05/86.Mark-Schuster-Questions.jpg?h=336123ce&itok=WnOge4p-) 

 



 





 

**What inspires or motivates you in your role at HMS/HSDM?**  
I am inspired by the students, who burst forth with energy, ideas, fearlessness, and commitment.

**What are you most proud of about your work at HMS/HSDM?**  
I am most proud of the remarkable faculty who have joined our division.

**What is the significance of the object you brought with you to the photo shoot?**  
I selected a photo from my office of my husband, two sons, and me. On a personal note, it's nice to look at the photo every now and then during the day. From a professional perspective, it represents a dramatic shift over the past several decades. When I started medical school, it would have been shocking to see a photo depicting a same-sex relationship in a physician's office at Harvard. Not many physicians were publicly out, and when a physician did come out, the response was often, "Why do you people have to be so in-your-face about it? I don't tell my colleagues/co-workers/ students that I'm straight. Why do you need to tell anyone you're gay?" Such reactions came from folks who didn't realize that straight people were constantly announcing their heterosexuality. They did so with their wedding bands at a time when such bands invariably signified a heterosexual marriage. They did so when recounting a trip they and their opposite-sex spouse enjoyed. They did so when commenting on the attractiveness of an opposite-sex person walking by. And, most importantly, they did so by displaying photos in their office of their opposite-sex spouse and their kids. Now, many years later, I keep photos of my family in my office, and it doesn't seem shocking at all. What was once a symbol of oppression now feels to me like a symbol of freedom. It's a reminder of how much better things are  
today.



 

 

 



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- ## Person Categories
    
     [Dimensions](/person-categories/dimensions)
- ## Institution
    
     [Boston Children's Hospital](/institution/boston-childrens-hospital)