Faculty Fellowships
Office for Diversity Inclusion and Community Partnership (DICP) Faculty Fellowship
A two-year, non-degree Faculty Fellowship Program for Harvard Medical School (HMS) junior faculty that enables fellows to pursue activities that enhance their development as researchers and clinicians/teachers, leads to their advancement within the Harvard system, and promotes diversity within the HMS community. The Program will provide two years of fellowship support in the amount of $50,000 per year int ended to provide release time from clinical work to conduct an individual, mentored research project, participate in Fellowship-related activities, meet regularly with mentors, and present research findings at the annual Minority Health Policy Meeting.
Eligibility
- Doctoral degree (e.g. MD, PhD, DO, DMD, DDS)
- Harvard Medical School appointment at the level of Instructor or Assistant Professor
- Applications will also be considered from clinical or research fellows who are in the process of appointment/promotion to instructor and/or assistant professor at Harvard Medical School
DICP Faculty Fellows
2024 DICP Faculty Fellowship Recipients
Kiran Agarwal-Harding, MD, MPH
Instructor, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Mentor: Ara Nazarian, PhD, Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, Harvard Medical School; Director, Musculoskeletal Translational Innovation Initiative, Vice Chair of Research Affairs, Carl J. Shapiro Department of Orthopaedics, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Department Chair: Edward K. Rodriguez, MD, PhD, Chief, Orthopaedic Surgery, Carl J. Shapiro Department of Orthopaedics, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, Harvard Medical School
Project Title: “Improving open fracture care in Northern Malawi through targeted deployment of affordable device innovations, education, and standardized protocols.”
Project Description: Malawi, a low-income country in southeastern Africa, has a high incidence of open fractures and limited orthopaedic surgical capacity. The Northern Region of Malawi is especially underserved, with 2.3 million people and one orthopaedic surgeon based at Mzuzu Central Hospital (MCH). Building on an established partnership with Malawian colleagues, we will develop, implement, and prospectively evaluate capacity building initiatives to improve open fracture care for the poor in Malawi. Firstly, we will introduce novel medical devices designed for the needs of Malawian patients: 1) an affordable external fixator (AEFIX) clamp, and 2) our low-cost wound vacuum (VATARA) pump. These cost <1% of the industry standard devices and performed comparably in preliminary testing. We will submit AEFIX and VATARA for regulatory approval and introduce them to MCH as a pilot site in Malawi. Secondly, we will develop a longitudinal educational program with didactics, case-based teaching, and protocols to improve open fracture management at MCH. Annually, we will run three virtual case-based conferences to discuss cases from MCH and a two-week, in-person program with Harvard faculty visiting and teaching MCH staff alongside Malawian colleagues. Thirdly, to examine open fracture care quality at MCH, we will launch a prospective clinical study, enrolling patients with open fractures and recording 1-year outcomes. Patients will be enrolled before and after the implementation of our capacity building initiatives to allow examination of their impact and cost-effectiveness. We believe this may serve as a model for open fracture capacity building throughout Malawi and in other similar resource-limited settings.
Biography: I am an orthopaedic trauma surgeon at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and the Founder and Director of the Harvard Global Orthopaedics Collaborative. I am the first Harvard-affiliated orthopaedic surgeon with 50% protected time for global orthopaedics research, and I divide my time between Boston and sub-Saharan Africa – primarily Malawi, Ethiopia, and Gambia. In Boston, I care for patients with musculoskeletal injuries at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, a Level 1 trauma center, directly supervise and train medical students and orthopaedic residents, as well as mentor trainees in a variety of global health projects. In Malawi, Ethiopia, and Gambia, I oversee clinical research projects and teach research methods, provide clinical training and mentorship, and regularly meet with policymakers and donors to advocate for expansion of orthopaedic and trauma care for the poor and vulnerable. I have dedicated a significant portion of my training and career to the field of global orthopaedics, which aims to understand and address the burden of musculoskeletal disease, especially in resource-limited settings, and to develop solutions to achieve musculoskeletal health equity. I have published 29 peer-reviewed manuscripts and mentored 46 students and residents who share an interest in this field. I have given numerous presentations on my research and global health work at national and international conferences, serve on national and international committees, and frequently perform peer-review of grants and scientific manuscripts in the field of global orthopaedics. I have personally established and continue to oversee productive academic partnerships with colleagues in Malawi, Ethiopia, and Gambia.
Christina Briscoe Abath, MD, EdM
Instructor of Neurology, Boston Children’s Hospital
Mentor: Aisha K. Yousafzai, PhD, Professor of Child Development and Health, Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard T.H Chan School of Public Health
Mentor: Annapurna Poduri, MD, MPH, Director, Epilepsy Program, Investigator, F.M. Kirby Neurobiology Center; Associate Chief for Academic Development, Department of Neurology, Diamond Blackfan Chair in Neuroscience Research, Boston Children’s Hospital
Mentor: Gretchen Brion-Meisels, Senior Lecturer on Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education
Department Chair: Scott L. Pomeroy, MD, PhD, Neurologist-in-Chief, Chairman, Department of Neurology, Boston Children’s Hospital; Bronson Crothers Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School
Project Title: “Voices for Equity: Tackling Infantile Spasms Inequities through Community Action”
Project Description: Inequities in care are well-described for children with epilepsy from historically marginalized communities, but evidence-based interventions are lacking. There is a paucity of detailed information about root causes, in other words how inequities are produced and reproduced. Participatory action research (PAR) has been used in educational and other settings to co-construct solutions with members of affected communities and analyze the results of the intervention with respect to meaningful outcomes to the community. We plan to use PAR methodology to devise and implement interventions to address racial/ethnic, insurance, and linguistic inequities in pediatric epilepsy care in Boston, using infantile epileptic spasms syndrome (IESS) as a model. Engaging caregivers from historically marginalized groups in PAR can support the development of intervention strategies that are culturally responsive and relevant to their needs. In year one, we will complete ongoing qualitative grounded theory research and recruit community researchers. In year two, we will complete a participatory research action cycle, implementing a co-constructed intervention and analyzing its results.
Biography: My passion is working towards equity for pediatric epilepsy patients through collaboration with patients and their families using a strengths-based model of liberatory education. It is a direct result of patient and colleague interactions that I have had throughout the course of my residency, as I have found a passion for working with children with complex and developmental epileptic encephalopathies. As our knowledge as a field continues to blossom with biomedical research and innovation, equitable approaches to distribution and approval of targeted treatment approaches are needed for neurology patients, like the patients I have had the opportunity to care for during residency. To build my abilities as an educator and advocate, I obtained a master’s degree from Harvard Graduate School of Education and will attend the Palatucci Leadership Advocacy Forum. In addition, I have been deeply engaged with teaching, curriculum development, and education advocacy at Harvard Medical School, Boston Children’s Hospital pediatrics and neurology programs, national initiatives, and with international partners in Peru and Chile. These education and advocacy skills, along with my fluency in Spanish and Portuguese, will help me to translate my equity research into practice and policy.
I was born and raised in Harlem, NYC and all my primary family member still reside there and all work in healthcare. Living alone in a new city, starting a new job away from my family during the COVID-19 pandemic heavily impacted my research progression during my time at UD, specifically, manuscript publication. However, I recently joined the research faculty in the Division of General Pediatrics at BCH as a Senior Research Scientist in September 2022. Although it was difficult to leave a hard-money, tenure track faculty position, I believed the great working relationship with Dr. Phipatanakul and the resources available to support my career development at BCH and Harvard Medical School were unmatched.
Carine Davila, MD, MPH
Instructor in Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital
Mentor: Christine S. Ritchie, MD, MSPH, Professor of Medicine, Research Director, Division of Palliative Care and Geriatric Medicine; Director, Mongan Institute Center for Aging and Serious Illness, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School
Division Chief: Vicki A. Jackson, MD, MPH, Blum Family Endowed Chair in Palliative Care, Chief, Division of Palliative Care and Geriatrics, Massachusetts General Hospital; Co-Director, HMS Center for Palliative Care, Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Project Title: “Explore the Serious Illness Communication Needs of Latino Spanish-speaking Patients & Caregivers to Develop Interventions that Support these Needs”
Project Description: The Latino population faces multiple barriers to equitable high-quality care, including low rates of insurance coverage, poor access to care, language barriers, and systemic and institutional discrimination. People living with serious illness have complex healthcare needs and often encounter communication-based challenges when engaging with their health care that can lead to emotional distress and lower quality care. This is further complicated for patients who prefer a language other than English. Serious illness communication is a key element of high-quality palliative care, but it is less likely to occur with Latino Spanish-speaking individuals. However, fewer than one-third of all people with serious illness report having serious illness communication with their clinician and Latino Spanish speaking patients lack access to serious illness communication. We first need to better understand the communication needs of seriously ill Spanish-speaking patients and caregivers.
To address this, I will first investigate the communication experiences and needs of seriously ill Latino Spanish-speaking patients and their caregivers, related to serious illness communication and palliative care. I will then explore barriers and facilitators to serious illness communication from the perspective of medical interpreters, who are often called upon to support this communication for this patient population. I will also explore best practices for partnering with interpreters to support serious illness communication. Finally, together with the perspectives of language-concordant and language-discordant palliative care clinicians supporting seriously ill Spanish speaking patients (in a separately funded effort), I will begin the development of a behavioral change intervention for clinicians to better support and meet the communication needs of seriously ill Spanish-speaking patients.
Biography: I am an internist and palliative care physician caring for individuals with serious illness. I am passionate about improving the serious illness care experience for Latino Spanish-speaking patients and families. To further my own training, following palliative care fellowship, I was selected as a Commonwealth Fund Fellow in Minority Health Policy at Harvard University. I now serve as the Equity Director for the Division of Palliative Care and Geriatric Medicine. My research interests include understanding the needs of and improving serious illness communication and care for Latino Spanish-speaking patients. As part of this, I hope to better understand the health care experiences of individuals, particularly those from marginalized communities including Latino and Black individuals, in service of designing interventions to improve their access to high quality serious illness communication. I co-lead Health Equity Curriculum and Track for Palliative Care Fellows. I am currently the site co-lead of an institutionally funded United Against Racism Palliative Care project to reduce the inequities in serious illness conversations among Black and Latino people in partner community health centers.
Demetrice Jordan, PhD, MPH
Instructor, Harvard Medical School
Mentor: Matthew Bonds, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Division Chief: Vikram Patel, MBBS, PhD, Paul Farmer Professor and Chair of the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical Center
Project Title: “A Geographic Analysis of Community Wastewater as an Early Warning Signal for Emerging or Re-Emerging Diseases with implications on Climate Change.”
Project Description: Global health preparedness requires anticipating emerging threats and coordinating risk reduction efforts. Climate change induced health inequities across the globe force us to consider the amount of risk the most vulnerable populations are facing. Vector-Borne Parasitic Diseases (VBPDs) pose a daily challenge to the ability to survive and thrive for inhabitants of tropical and sub-tropical regions. Early warning signals of surveillance that detect changes in vector-host exposure risk are essential to reducing global health vulnerabilities from VBPDs. Community wastewater can forecast population disease dynamics and provide an early indication of risk well before symptoms are present within a population, potentially preventing outbreaks. This project will leverage geolocated wastewater samples to build a community health profile to determine where infectious disease risk is greatest in southern Africa by conducting wastewater sampling across geographically discreet locations, building an exposure risk model for certain vector borne and parasitic diseases and combining pathogen detection results with socio-ecological factors to map area-level risk. The development of a community health profile framework can provide useful insights that inform outbreak mitigation and prevention campaigns.
Biography: Demetrice “Dee” Jordan is an Instructor in the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine. She holds a dual-PhD in Health Geography and Environmental Science and Policy from Michigan State University (MSU), a Master of Public Health in Global Health and graduate certificate in Global Infectious Diseases from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Dee’s research focuses on the spatial-ecological determinants of disease risk for vector-borne parasitic diseases and Neglected Tropical Diseases of sub-Saharan Africa and the tropics and the role of climate change in emerging and reemerging infectious diseases. Dee also examines issues related to health equity, health disparities, social and environmental justice. She is a trustee for the Society of Public Health Education (SOPHE), a member of Oak Ridge National Lab’s Geospatial Science and Human Security Division’s Scientific Advisory Committee, councilmember of the American Geographical Society (AGS), and the creator of the Celebrating Black Geographers anthology, hosted online by AGS.
Dee is the recipient of numerous awards including an Equity, Social Justice and Advocacy award from the Office of Diversity Inclusion and Community Partnerships at Harvard Medical School, a Burke Global Health Fellowship at the Harvard Global Health Institute, a Burroughs Wellcome Fund Postdoctoral
Bushra Taha, MD
Instructor in Anaesthesia, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Chief/Mentor: Michaela K. Farber, MD, MS, Chief, Division of Obstetric Anesthesia, Brigham and Women’s Hospital; Associate Professor of Anaesthesia, Harvard Medical School
Project Title: “Point-of-Care Ultrasound for Acute Obstetric Care: Training Anesthesiologist to Address a Critical Gap on Labor and Delivery."
Project Description: Maternal mortality in the United States has increased more than 50% over the past two decades, with nearly 80% of pregnancy-related deaths deemed preventable and attributed to a delay in diagnosis. Cardiovascular disease, sepsis and hemorrhage remain among leading causes of maternal death. Point of care ultrasound (POCUS) has emerged as a powerful tool for timely recognition and management of these and other forms of maternal critical illness. As an adaptable tool for bedside diagnosis, POCUS can address urgent clinical questions, expedite care, and guide management of hemodynamic instability.
POCUS has become the standard of care for critically ill patients in acute settings outside of the labor and delivery unit, such as the intensive care unit and emergency department, but access to POCUS and appropriate training are rarely available for clinicians providing acute obstetric care. Despite its potential to improve outcomes, routine use of POCUS in patients on labor and delivery is variable and there are no existing standards for obstetric POCUS training or implementation.
We intend to develop and implement a model for obstetric POCUS training and application while simultaneously gathering data to define national standards for its use. We have already piloted this model for neuraxial POCUS and will expand our approach to include transthoracic, lung, gastric and ocular ultrasound. The model will incorporate educational modules via online delivery platforms; hands-on simulation; direct bedside application through clinical prompts; and generation of an image repository to inform an evidence-based algorithm for the use of POCUS for at-risk obstetric patients.
Biography: I am an obstetric anesthesiologist and a specialist in critical care medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) and Instructor in Anaethesia at Harvard Medical School. My interests focus on the intersections of critical, cardiac, and obstetric care, as well as the development of systems to lower maternal morbidity and mortality. After completing my residency in anesthesiology and chief residency at Massachusetts General Hospital, I pursued subspecialty training in critical care medicine at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, and obstetric anesthesiology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
Since joining the BWH faculty in 2020, I have devoted 100% effort to my clinical practice, during which I supervise medical students, residents, and fellows. I am also engaged in several projects within our institution, locally and internationally to improve maternal outcomes and mitigate disparities in maternal care. These initiatives include:
- Implementation of a point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) initiative on the BWH labor and delivery unit;
- Expansion of the Cardiovascular Disease and Pregnancy Program to include educational and research opportunities for BWH obstetric anesthesia fellows;
- Engagement with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health Maternal Health Taskforce;
- Collaboration on high quality and safe obstetric anesthesiology practices between the BWH Division of Obstetric Anesthesia and Phu San Hanoi Hospital, Vietnam.
One area where I have leveraged my combined expertise in critical care and obstetric anesthesia is the use of POCUS to manage acute decompensation on the labor and delivery unit. Most maternal deaths are deemed preventable and attributed to a delay in diagnosis and management of clinical deterioration. POCUS can address focused urgent clinical questions and expedite management at the bedside; however, access to and training in POCUS are rarely available for clinicians providing acute obstetric care. Despite its potential, the use of POCUS during labor and delivery is variable and there are no standards or guidelines for its implementation. Within this context, I lead a team of core faculty who have acquired or are acquiring POCUS certification, with expertise in perioperative ultrasound education, critical care, obstetric anesthesiology, and implementation science. We are developing a model for obstetric POCUS training and application. We have already piloted this model for neuraxial POCUS and will expand our approach to include transthoracic, lung, gastric and ocular ultrasound.
The maternal POCUS initiative is synergistic with my work as Director of the Pregnancy and Cardiovascular Disease Program for the Obstetric Anesthesia Division. Since assuming this role in 2023, I have created a monthly rotation for fellows focused on the acute management of cardiac disease in pregnancy. My vision is to encourage clinical and academic inquiry through formal engagement in the program, and ultimately generate evidence to inform best practices for cardiac disease in pregnancy. This perspective as an educator is an integral part of my approach to improve obstetric care for high-risk patients.
As the only anesthesiologist member of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s Maternal Health Taskforce, I contribute expertise on evidence-based critical care to improve the delivery of maternal care in our state. I also advise the Betsy Lehman Center in its policymaking, research, and quality improvement initiatives for maternal health in Massachusetts.
My perspective on public health and policy is informed by years of experience in diverse international settings, including Rwanda, South Africa, and Vietnam. I currently serve as co-director of the BWH Obstetric Anesthesia partnership with the largest maternity hospital in Hanoi, Vietnam, where recent trends in maternal mortality are similar to those in the United States. We are collaborating to build a needs assessment framework to improve maternal health outcomes in low and middle income countries (LMIC). To date, we have developed a model for comprehensive assessment of obstetric anesthesiology practices in LMIC hospitals to provide insight into material and human resources, characterize maternal outcomes, and identify areas for improvement in delivering safe care.
2023-2025 DICP Faculty Fellowship Recipients
Jessica Addison, MD, MPH
Instructor, Boston Children’s Hospital
Mentor: Sabra Katz-Wise, PhD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Senior Faculty Advisor, Office of Health Equity and Inclusion, Boston Children's Hospital; Co-Director, Harvard SOGIE Health Equity Research Collaborative; Associate Professor, Harvard T.H Chan School of Public Health
Department Chair: Amy Divasta, MD, MMSc, Chief, Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine, Co-Director, Reproductive Endocrinology and PCOS Program, Co-Director, Adolescent Long Acting Reversible Contraception (LARC) Program, Boston Children’s Hospital; Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School
Project Title: “Retention of Care in Adolescents and Young Adults Living HIV Who Are Engaged in a Multidisciplinary Healthcare Program”
Project Description: Adolescents and young adults (AYA) living with HIV experience significant challenges to engagement in healthcare. This population is known to have lower rates of retention in care compared to their adult counterparts, resulting in poor adherence to antiretroviral therapy, and ultimately, higher viral load and lower CD4 counts that negatively impact their health. Understanding constraints and barriers to care through the lens of AYA living with HIV is vital to improving access to care and can inform future interventions to address barriers to adherence.
To reduce barriers to care, the Boston HAPPENS |LS|Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) Adolescent Provider and Peer Education Network for Services|RS| offers an open access, multi-disciplinary approach to caring for AYA living with HIV.
The purpose of this study is to determine if this multi-disciplinary care approach keeps adolescents and young adults (AYA) living with HIV engaged in care. Our specific aims are to:
1) Understand experiences of healthcare engagement and retention, including facilitators and barriers, from the perspectives of AYA living with HIV, and 2) Determine if a patient’s health status improves when engaged with a multi-disciplinary care team.
To address Aim 1, we will conduct semi-structured qualitative interviews with AYA living with HIV who are engaged in care with the Boston HAPPENS program. To address Aim 2, we will analyze objective measures to determine whether a patient’s health status has improved since engaging in care with the Boston HAPPENS program. A chart review will be performed on all Boston HAPPENS patients from 2017-2022.
Biography: As and Adolescent Medicine Fellow at Children’s National Health Center in Washington DC I honed my skills to become an effective medical educator, researcher, and clinician. It was during this time I started my work in advocating and providing care to youth living with HIV and transgendered youth through my work in the Burgess Clinic and the Pride Clinic respectively. I am currently a faculty member in the Division of Adolescent/Young Adult Medicine and Instructor of Pediatrics and Harvard Medical School. In this role, provide primary and consultative care to adolescents/young adults (AYA). One specific clinical interest and passion of mine that I have been able to continue in this role is providing care to youth living with HIV and youth who engage in sexually behaviors that may increase their risk of HIV. I am Co-Medical Director of Boston HAPPENS, a multidisciplinary program that provides medical, mental health, and nutritional services to AYA living with HIV. In addition to providing medical services for youth at risk for the HIV and other sexually transmitted infection’s (STI’s) and victims of sexual assault. I also prescribe and counsel patients about PrEP. I have presented at the National Association of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology conference in addition to numerous local presentations about PrEP. I have also collaborated with other members of the Boston HAPPENS team on many grants and received funding for the following projects: Ryan White part A (Health Education Risk Reduction and Medical Nutrition Services), Ending the Epidemic funding, and Testing Together (support services that encouraged sexual partners to get STI testing together. I was also involved with developing a clinical pathway to assist medical providers in navigating counseling and prescribing or Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis. I have also worked collaboratively with colleagues to develop a non-occupational post exposure prophylaxis (nPEP) guide for patients after sexual assault. The proposed project aligns perfectly within my clinical and research priorities of engaging, educating, and advocating for PrEP uptake in AYA. My work and experience have prepared me to successfully contribute to the proposed project. My responsibilities for this project will be recruitment at the Martha Eliot Health Center, a community health center where I provide medical care to AYA; in addition to engaging facilitating discussions with clinicians around PrEP.
Medina Jackson-Browne, PhD, MPhil, MS
Member of the Faculty of Pediatrics, Boston Children’s Hospital
Mentor: Wanda Phipitanakul, MD, Attending Physician, Division of Immunology, Director, Research Center, Division of Immunology, Boston Children’s Hospital; S. Jean Emans Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School.
Department Chair: Christopher Landrigan, MD, MPH, Chief, Division of General Pediatrics, Boston Children’s Hospital; Director, Sleep and Patient Safety Program, Brigham and Women’s Hospital; William Berenberg Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School
Project Title: “Associations between Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Exposure and Aeroallergen Sensitization among Infants at High-Risk for Developing Asthma”
Project Description: We propose evaluating the extent to which PFAS exposure plays a role in aeroallergen sensitization, a known precursor to asthma development. The proposed study population will be approximately 200 children aged 24, and up to 47 months of age who are at high risk for asthma enrolled in the on-going NIH-funded pediatric clinical trial (PARK). Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) are PFAS almost universally detected in the serum of pregnant women and neonates worldwide. Serum PFOA and PFOS concentrations will be quantified from children serum samples and aeroallergen sensitization status will be assessed by allergen skin testing at the PARK clinical centers. Additionally, the PARK clinical trial will have biomarkers of immune function and other subclinical outcomes measures from urine and serum samples, medical history from questionnaires, and other extensive clinical and medical data including anthropometrics and medical/healthcare utilization measures. Using the baseline data, we propose to:
1. Evaluate the cross-sectional associations of PFAS with aeroallergen sensitization and other asthma development risk factors in high-risk infants. We will explore whether PFAS exposure are associated with allergen skin prick test results and other secondary subclinical outcomes (e.g., biomarkers of immune function, hypersensitivity biomarkers). We will adjust for sociodemographic and allergic disease risk factors.
2. We will also evaluate effect modification and potential mediators of the associations in Aim 1. Priority modifiers and mediators will include sex, race/ethnicity, home environment, and other chemical exposures.
Biography: My long-term career goal is to develop an independent career of high-quality research in children's environmental health. I study early life environmental chemical exposures, hormonal/molecular pathways that are sensitive to environmental chemical exposures, and health disparities in urban children. Specifically, I have used prospective cohort studies to quantify the association of early life exposure to phenols and perfluoroalkyl substances, with children’s neurodevelopment and immune and respiratory system function. Through this DICP Faculty Fellowship proposal entitled “Associations between Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Exposure and Aeroallergen Sensitization among Infants at High-Risk for Developing Asthma”, we propose to evaluate the cross-sectional between PFAS serum levels and allergic sensitization (IgE antibody production) in a cohort of infants from age 24-47 months with a highrisk of developing asthma enrolled in the “Controlling and Preventing Asthma Progression and Severity in Kids” short title PARK (Preventing Asthma in High-Risk Kids), U01 AI 126614, PI: Wanda Phipatanakul, MD) clinical trial. This fellowship focuses on enhancing my clinical research capabilities and community-based pediatric cohort building skills. I am privileged to have an outstanding research mentor, Dr. Wanda Phipatanakul, MD, who has devoted considerable time and effort to my research and career development since August 2019. With Dr. Phipatanakul’s guidance, I recently joined the division of pediatrics at Boston Children's Hospital as a full-time research scientist, leaving a tenure-track position at the University of Delaware. This transition gave me the opportunity to focus on research full-time at one of the top clinical pediatric institutions in the country. Under Dr. Phipatanakul I have also successfully submitted four NIH proposals of which three have been awarded: 1) NIH Research Supplement to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research, 2) NIH Pediatric Loan Repayment Renewal award, and 3) 2 separate NIH Human Health Exposure Analysis Resource (HHEAR) awards. Additionally, I have published 3 first author manuscripts during this time as well. My contributions to Dr. Phipatanakul’s research team will, enrich the overall goal of the parent study by undertaking paralleling and complimentary specific aims to deepen the understanding of early- life PFAS exposures and the immune and respiratory systems in children at high risk for developing asthma. Longer term, this clinical trial will also allow us to measure the effects of these and other chemical exposures on the efficacy of the intervention on the primary outcome (asthma development). Additionally, I plan to extend my training by learning how to successfully recruit and develop a pediatric clinical trial and to learn cutting-edge methodologies that will allow me to begin to disentangle the complex relationship between environmental exposures and early-life allergic disease development. This award will contribute to the fulfillment of my career goal to develop into an independent interdisciplinary researcher in pediatric environmental health research by giving me the tools to identify risk factors for allergic disease development and morbidity in children.
I was born and raised in Harlem, NYC and all my primary family member still reside there and all work in healthcare. Living alone in a new city, starting a new job away from my family during the COVID-19 pandemic heavily impacted my research progression during my time at UD, specifically, manuscript publication. However, I recently joined the research faculty in the Division of General Pediatrics at BCH as a Senior Research Scientist in September 2022. Although it was difficult to leave a hard-money, tenure track faculty position, I believed the great working relationship with Dr. Phipatanakul and the resources available to support my career development at BCH and Harvard Medical School were unmatched.
Malika Boudries, PhD
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center/ Center for Virology and Vaccine Research
Mentor: Omar K. Siddiqi, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School; Visiting Lecturer, University of Zambia School of Medicine
Division Chief: Dan H. Barouch, MD, PhD, Director, Center for Virology and Vaccine Research, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; Member, Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard; Williams Bosworth Castle Professor of Medicine, Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, Harvard Medical School;
Project Title: “HIVEpi-Lat: Longitudinal Profiling of the Genomics and Epigenetics Features of SIV Integration Site in ART suppressed rhesus macaques at the single cell level.”
Project Description: In this project, we will implement a new computational tool for multi-level profiling of SIV integration and host interaction. We will employ a multi-omics TEA-Seq approach, combined with integration site profiling of SIV latent cells in SIV-infected-ART suppressed macaques at the single cell level. Longitudinal samples from SIVmac251-infected, ART-suppressed macaques were obtained from an archived study at baseline, week 0, weeks 4, 72, and 136 on ART suppression. PBMCs, LNMCs, and plasma samples were collected from all animals at the specified time points. We plan to implement a mathematical model to establish a multi-level association network between integration sites, proviral sequences, and the epigenetic and plasma features associated with transcriptionally active or latent infected cells. By capturing the complex relationships among different layers of the generated data, these models will not only reveal the factors governing proviral integration but also help to elucidate the role of various genomic and epigenetic features in the persistence and survival of SIV-infected cells during ART suppression. By leveraging the power of multi-omics profiling, proviral integration, and advanced analytical techniques, this proposal aims to address the critical questions surrounding HIV latency and integration and pave the way for groundbreaking advancements in HIV research and therapy. If validated in humans, our work will provide invaluable insights into the complex dynamics of HIV latency and pave the way for novel therapeutic strategies.
Biography: I am an Assistant Professor of Medicine specializing in Computational and Systems Biology and Bioinformatics at the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research (CVVR). My Primary research focuses on developing and implementing machine learning-based computational approaches for gene signature associate with disease pathogenesis, innate correlate, and biomarkers of vaccine response efficacy. I am also involved in studies identifying transcriptomics and proteomics correlates of vaccine protection durability. These methods were successfully applied to the recent Ad26 COVID-19 vaccine using transcriptomics, and proteomics data sets from individuals, rhesus macaques, and hamsters vaccinated with Ad26.COV2.S vaccine. At CVVR, my work bridges multiple disciplines, including immunology, virology, computer science, statistics, mathematical modeling, and machine learning to analyze and interpret biological omics data sets that include but are not limited to bulk RNA-Seq, single RNA-Seq, Path-Seq, ATAC-Seq, Metabolome, Proteome, System serology, and Flow cytometry.
George Molina, MD, MPH
Assistant Professor, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Mentor: Quoc-Dien Trinh, MD, Director, Ambulatory Clinical Operations, Division of Urology Surgery, Department of Surgery, Brigham And Women’s Hospital; Associate Professor of Surgery, Harvard Medical School
Department Chair: Chandrajit P. Raut, MD, MSc, Chief, Division of Surgical Oncology, BWH Distinguished Chair for Cancer Care, Brigham and Women’s Hospital; Surgery Director, Center for Sarcoma and Bone Oncology, Dana Farber Cancer Institute; Professor of Surgery, Harvard Medical School
Project Title: “Improving Survival among Patients with Colorectal Liver Metastasis by Using a Regional and Hospital System-level Approach to Improve Equitable access to Liver Surgery.”
Project Description: The overall objective of the project is to determine modifiable regional and hospital system-level drivers of variation in access to liver surgery for colorectal liver metastasis (CRLM) by characterizing these drivers for a group of complex gastrointestinal cancers (CRLM, pancreatic cancer, and gastric cancer). The central hypothesis is that a regional and hospital system-level understanding is needed to address variation in resources and systems and thus improve survival for patients with CRLM. This project addresses variation in undergoing a liver surgical resection for CRLM, despite significant survival benefit in undergoing a liver metastasectomy. Additionally, variation in access to a liver surgical resection for CRLM is a significant problem because it disproportionately impacts patients who have been historically underserved. I will address the following specific aims: (1) Characterize the source and uncover the pattern of variation in surgical treatment for this group of cancers across health service areas in the US; (2) Design a comparative case study to describe predictive regional factors that are common among this group of cancers and are associated with access to surgery. The findings from this study could improve survival for all patients with CRLM, regardless of race or place of residence, by improving access to and reducing regional disparities in surgery for CRLM.
Biography: I am a practicing Surgical Oncologist specializing in hepatopancreatobiliary cancers in the Division of Surgical Oncology at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) and the Gastrointestinal Cancer Treatment Center at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI), and an Assistant Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School. I obtained an MPH in Quantitative Methods from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (HSPH) and I have skills in using SAS and Stata programming. As part of my training in general surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), I completed a two-year post-graduate research fellowship at Ariadne Labs, a joint health systems innovation center of BWH and HSPH. During this professional development time, I was involved in or led projects on health systems innovation and research, global surgery modeling, clinical studies in surgical oncology, surgical safety culture in inpatient and ambulatory settings, and impact of a surgical safety checklist program. As a fellow in complex general surgical oncology at DFCI, I have collaborated in projects using the National Cancer Database evaluating the association between neoadjuvant therapy and overall survival for pancreatic cancer. As an early-career academic surgeon, I have led work evaluating the association between volume of major liver surgery and receiving care at a Commission on Cancer-accredited hospital and undergoing a liver metastasectomy for colorectal liver metastasis.
Azeesat Babajide, MD, MBA
Instructor, Cambridge Health Alliance
Mentor: Nicholas Carson, MD, Chief, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Director, Child and Adolescent Outpatient Psychiatry, Clinical Research Associate, Health Equity Research Lab, Cambridge Health Alliance; Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
Mentor: Benjamin Le Cook, PhD, MPH, Director of the Health Equity Research Lab, Director ofResearch, Department of Psychiatry, Cambridge Health Alliance; Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School
Department Chair: Carl Fulwiler, MD, PhD, Chair and Chief of Psychiatry (Interim), Cambridge Health Alliance; Associate Professor in Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
Project Title: "Identifying Barriers and Facilitators to Mental Health Care Transitions for Young Adults in a Safety Net System"
Project Description: Young adults (18-25 years) often fall out of mental health (MH) care as they transition into adulthood and are less likely to engage in MH care compared to other age groups despite higher rates of mental illness. This treatment gap is worse for racial, ethnic, and linguistic (REL) minorities. Few services exist to support youth with these MH care transitions, and even fewer focus on the needs of REL minority youth in public healthcare settings. Clinical entities serving minority youth, particularly community health systems, require strategies for using electronic medical record (EMR) data to provide insight into MH care use and to inform interventions that target those at highest risk of failure to transition. This mixed methods research project seeks to 1) use EMR data to assess MH care use and transition rates as patients enter adulthood, 2) examine predictors of MH care follow-up and transition to adult services among REL minority young adults compared to White young adults, and 3) understand barriers and facilitators to MH care engagement and transition using semi-structured qualitative interviews. The outcomes of this research will expand understanding of MH care transitions for REL youth in a community health system and lay the groundwork for the translation of these methods for use in other health systems. All three aims will provide insight into barriers to transition and support the development of an intervention targeting youth transition.
Biography: Currently, I am an Instructor in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and a staff psychiatrist at Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA). Throughout my career, I have maintained interests in systems of care, including considerations around the utility of integrated care models and challenges around transitions of care for young adults, particularly thoughts from underserved backgrounds. I have many years of clinical experience working with youth in underserved communities, which has led to a deep appreciation for the challenges they face when transitioning out of pediatric mental health services. I have presented work in this area at the American Psychiatric Association’s Annual Conference andhave served on the American Psychiatric Association's Council for Children Adolescents and their Families. As part of my work with the Council, I helped write a position statement advocating for increased attention to the needs of these transition-aged youth. I have published a review article with first authorship focusing on the developmental needs for transition-aged youth with depression and anxiety disorders and the challenges they face during the transition to adulthood. This review explored the possibility of integrated care models as a way to address transition needs for these patients. At CHA, I am one of a few faculty selected for the Learning Health Scholars Program, a program thatinvolves seminars on research design and methods and affords me 4 hours of protected time a week for research. In my time as a Learning Health Scholar, I have conducted preliminary work that provided critical information regarding the mental health transition landscape for youth transitioning to adult services from the provider perspective. As part of that work, I conducted five focus groups with CHA psychotherapists, psychiatrists, and care partners to identify themes around provider experiences in working with and engaging young adults. I also administered and analyzed survey data from focus group participants with a 40% response rate. The focus groups and survey data provided important information about potential barriers to transition for youth at CHA. I intend to build upon this work with my current project, which seeks to quantify rates of mental health care utilization among youth as they transition into adulthood, identify predictors for engagement in services in adulthood, and explore barriers and facilitators to successful transition to adult services with a particular focus on racial, ethnic, and linguistic minoritized youth. The time afforded by the Learning Health Scholar’s program has allowed me to familiarize myself with the EMR variables available through the Health Equity Research Lab’s data warehouse. This provides foundational understanding that will be imperative for the quantitative analyses that I will conduct as part of this project