July 2024 Avedisian & Chobanian School of Medicine Faculty Promotions
Congratulations to the following Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine faculty on their recent appointment or promotion.
Associate Professor
Heather Edwards, MD, Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, focuses on improving access and equity in oncology clinical trials. While her primary research focus centers on access to clinical trials for historically underrepresented populations, she also explores optimal cancer care for communities that have been historically neglected in oncology research, including patients with a history of substance abuse and patients with limited English proficiency. In addition, she works to promote gender equity in academic medicine. Dr. Edwards was a founding member of the Women’s Head and Neck Reconstructive Surgery Consortium (HERS), a 104-member group of head and neck microvascular surgeons in North America who collaborate on research and knowledge sharing projects to improve equity and quality in cancer and reconstructive care. In 2023, she was appointed chair of the Boston University Medical Group Gender Equity Advisory Council.
Kimberley Mak, MD, MPH, Radiation Oncology, is a lung and gastrointestinal radiation oncologist known for her contributions in patient-reported outcomes (PROs), treatment toxicity and disparities research. As clinical director of the department of radiation oncology at Boston Medical Center (BMC), she spearheaded quality improvement efforts leading to BMC becoming the first site in Massachusetts to achieve accreditation through the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) Accreditation Program for Excellence (APEx). She further analyzes quality metrics as Cancer Liaison Physician for the BMC Cancer Care Committee/American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer. Dr. Mak serves on multiple committees for ASTRO and the international cooperative research group, NRG Oncology. She has contributed her expertise in working groups for the National Quality Forum, Lung Cancer 360 and International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement. She is PRO chair for a national clinical trial, and currently is studying the use of electronic conversational agents for PRO measurement.
Katherine Gifford, PsyD, Anatomy & Neurobiology, is a clinical neuropsychologist who comes to BU from Vanderbilt University. Her work focuses on early detection of unhealthy brain aging, with a focus on brain injury and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). She developed a tool to index subjective cognitive decline and evaluates other clinical tools and biomarkers of AD. Beyond her independent research, she has collaborated on >15 NIH-funded studies as an expert neuropsychologist. Dr. Gifford is an associate editor for Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, chaired an International Society to Advance Alzheimer’s Research and Treatment special interest group, and serves as a reviewer for multiple NIA grant panels.
Clinical Associate Professor
Sonia Ananthakrishnan, MD, Medicine/Endocrinology, Diabetes & Nutrition, is a clinical endocrinologist specializing in neuroendocrinology. As a member of the department of medicine’s student education team since 2009, she is director of clinical student education in the department and clerkship director for third-year students in the medicine clerkship. She has served as the faculty mentor for the Internal Medicine Interest Group since 2012. Dr. Ananthakrishnan was one of the original creators of the Lights On, Intent vs Impact, Full Stop, Teach (LIFT) training for bystanders addressing microaggressions as part of the Mid-Career Faculty Leadership Program in 2020. She is the 2023 recipient of the Stanley L. Robbins Award for Excellence in Teaching.
Andrew Kompel, MD’07, Radiology, specializes in musculoskeletal imaging and interventions. Named section chief of musculoskeletal imaging in 2021, he has streamlined imaging protocols, and prioritized teamwork and communication between schedulers, trainees, technologists and other non-radiology providers. Within the department of radiology, he has developed a standardized resident curriculum in musculoskeletal imaging for the diagnostic and integrated radiology trainees and created and directed the fellowship in musculoskeletal imaging.
Research Associate Professor
Sherral Devine, PhD, Anatomy & Neurobiology, studies brain/cognitive aging with a specialization in preclinical/clinical Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD). A member of the Framingham Heart Study (FHS) research team, she helped develop the FHS neuropsychological (NP) test battery, oversaw the NP testing of 3,000+ FHS participants, managed the training/supervision of neuropsychologists and research assistants. Dr. Devine served on the consensus diagnosis review committee, which has generated the dementia endpoints used in all FHS research on dementia by investigators both internal and external to BU. She designed and implemented a course for investigators to understand and use appropriately FHS cognitive data. She is now developing a brain aging mentorship program, which includes pipeline opportunities for people from underrepresented groups.