October & November 2024 Faculty Promotions

Congratulations to the following Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine faculty on their recent appointment or promotion.

Professor

head and shoulders image of Mark Conrad, short gray heair eyeglasses, broad smile, wearing white shirt, yellow tie, blue suitjacketMark Conrad, MD, MMSc, Surgery, is a vascular surgeon who studies aortic aneurysm repair, specifically the endovascular management of acute type B aortic dissection and the long-term anatomic response after treatment. He published one of the first series showing that aortic remodeling after endograft coverage of a thoracic entry tear in acute type B dissections persists over time. He maintains an interest in the prevention of disease progression in patients with carotid stenosis and is currently focusing on improving clinical outcomes in patients with vascular disease. He is chief of vascular surgery and interim chair of surgery at St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Brighton. Previously Dr. Conrad was director of clinical research for the division of vascular surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). In this role, he worked on a variety of research projects with residents and fellows, with a goal to take each trainee through the research process from idea to manuscript during their tenure at MGH. He has served as president of the Vascular and Endovascular Surgical Society and has been a member of various committees for the Society for Vascular Surgery and the New England Society for Vascular Surgery. He also is the editor of the textbook, Complications in Vascular Surgery.

Associate Professor

Head and shoulders of Abigail Batchelder shoulder length brown straight hair parted on side, dark suit jacketAbigail Batchelder, PhD, MPH, Psychiatry, with secondary appointments in medicine as well as community health sciences at the School of Public Health, is the founder and director of the new Behavioral Health Equity Program, serves as associate vice chair of psychology in the department, and is an affiliated investigator at the Fenway Institute. Dr. Batchelder’s research aims to collaboratively identify, adapt and implement evidence-based interventions with and for underserved people with unmet psycho-behavioral health needs, including people with and vulnerable to HIV, people who use drugs, and sexual and gender minority people with a goal of increasing behavioral health equity. Dr. Batchelder is the PI on a $4M R01, Mitigating the Impact of Stigma and Shame as a Barrier to Viral Suppression among MSM Living with HIV and Substance Abuse Disorders. She has been the PI of 13 additional grants, which include a previous NIH/NIDA K23 and a K23 supplement, and a current R34 and R21 that aim to develop, refine and assess interventions for people with HIV.

head and shoulders of Sean Tallman wearing plaid casual shirt, smiling broadlySean Tallman, Anatomy & Neurobiology, is a biological and forensic anthropologist studying human variation, the biological profile of human remains using contemporary forensic anthropology techniques, forensic applied skeletal analysis and techniques in archeology to help identify missing persons. His research has constructively critiqued current modern forensic anthropology estimations of sex and ancestry, noting the existence of transgender individuals and the errors of assigning race to forensic remains. Dr. Tallman has been a voice for anti-racism and better appreciation of gender diversity. He received a 2023-4 Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award to the University of Cape Town and Stellenbosch University, where he studied the effects of embodied structural vulnerability and weathering on the skeleton in South African forensic cases and in anatomical collections.

Clinical Associate Professor

headshot of Maryann Macneil long dark brown straight hair, broad smileMaryann MacNeil, MA RPT, Anatomy & Neurobiology, is a broadly experienced and highly innovative master educator in basic and clinical gross anatomy, histology and embryology – disciplines that lie at the core of the pre-clinical medical and graduate teaching of the department of anatomy & neurobiology. She has maintained a full commitment to teaching throughout her career and has received many teaching awards, including the 2015 Educator of the Year in Preclinical Sciences and the 2022 Stanley L. Robbins Award for Excellence in Teaching, the highest teaching honor awarded by the school. She is highly skilled in the development of new courses. Particularly impactful has been her four-credit course, “Foundations of Histology,” designed specifically for students in BU’s Early Medical School Selection Program (EMSSP) and offered each spring to prepare them for both the MCAT and continued coursework upon matriculation into the medical school.

head and shoulders shot of Eric Schwartz, gray hair, smiling broadly, wearing blue shirt, dark necktie and whitecoatEric D. Schwartz, MD, Radiology, is director of neuroradiology at St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center (SEMC) in Brighton. He received his undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College in 1991 and medical degree from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 1995. He completed his radiology residency at University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital, where he was chief resident, and a neuroradiology fellowship at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP). From 2001-09, Dr. Schwartz held faculty appointments at HUP and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. During that time, he received grants from the NIH, as well as private foundations, focusing on advanced MR imaging of spinal cord injury. In 2004, he received the Cornelius G. Dyke Memorial Award from the American Society of Neuroradiology (ASN) for his research. He is co-author of the textbook Spinal Trauma: Imaging, Diagnosis, and Management, published in 2006. Prior to joining SEMC in 2019, Dr. Schwartz worked with Shields Health Care in Massachusetts. He serves on committees for the ASN, Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) and American Society of Spine Radiology and recently was involved with RSNA AI initiatives that focused on spine imaging.