Faculty Appointments and Promotions – March 2025
Congratulations to the following Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine faculty on their recent appointment or promotion.
Associate Professor
Gene Kwan, MD, MPH, Medicine/Cardiovascular Medicine, is a global health clinical scientist who studies health services to identify and treat cardiovascular disease in rural low-income countries. He uses implementation science to test strategies for heart failure and hypertension care particularly in Haiti, Rwanda and other countries in Africa. He studies how to improve access to echocardiography by training nurses and mid-level providers to diagnose and treat cardiac disease. Dr. Kwan is a health policy advisor to the governments of Haiti and Rwanda and an advisor to the Lancet Commission on Reframing Non-Communicable Diseases and Injuries for the Poorest Billion. He was invited to the NHLBI-sponsored workshop on Sustaining Global Capacity on Implementing Research for Health in Low- and Middle-Income Countries, and Fogarty International Center’s Non-Communicable Disease networking meetings. Dr. Kwan is a sought-after research mentor for local and international trainees and has been repeatedly recognized for his clinical acumen, teaching and mentoring accomplishments.
Ivan Luptak, MD, PhD, Medicine/Cardiovascular Medicine, is a physician-scientist specializing in cardiac metabolism. His research focuses on the role of mitochondrial dysfunction in cardiovascular disease, utilizing advanced multinuclear magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopy techniques. By measuring the contribution of fuel sources–such as glucose and fatty acids–to mitochondrial energy production and assessing the turnover of energy-carrying molecules like ATP in beating hearts, Dr. Luptak has made significant contributions to the field. His work has advanced the understanding of cardiovascular pathophysiology and yielded important translational insights with potential therapeutic impact.
Sarah Valentine, PhD, Psychiatry, is a clinical psychologist and implementation scientist who focuses on the adaptation and implementation of evidence-based treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in low resource settings. Her work centrally aims to address access and quality of care gaps for PTSD among minoritized groups, including racial, ethnic and sexual, and gender minoritized populations. She directs clinical and research programs to build capacity for culturally responsive PTSD treatment in routine care. Dr. Valentine has received funding from the NIMH to conduct hybrid implementation-effectiveness trials of PTSD treatments in primary care and obstetrics. She is developing adaptive (stepped) interventions for PTSD that prioritize access, reach and engagement to promote health equity. She serves as director of the PRISMM lab (Program of Research in Implementation Science, Minority Stress and Mental Health) and the RESTORE Center (Recovery from Stress and Trauma through Outpatient care, Research and Education).
Clinical Associate Professor
Shivda Pandey, MBBS, Medicine/Cardiovascular Medicine, is an imaging specialist with advanced training in nuclear cardiology. A staff cardiologist at Boston Medical Center (BMC), she provides clinical services in the outpatient and inpatient settings, and in the echocardiography and nuclear medicine laboratories. Her advanced training in nuclear cardiology has been critical to the development and growth of this sub-section, which she has directed since 2016. She has played a central role in the advancement of Cardiac Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and Cardiac Amyloidosis Radionuclide Imaging at BMC and is the primary cardiologist performing and interpreting nuclear stress tests.
Rachel Sagor, MD, Pediatrics, is a clinician-educator with a focus on innovations that promote health and financial equity. Dr. Sagor is the medical director of BMC’s StreetCred, a medical-financial partnership that integrates evidence-based, underutilized economic resources and services into routine prenatal and infant health care. She has presented this work nationally, including to the FDIC, the Aspen Institute and at the Health to Hunger Collaboratory, where she received the 2024 Prize in Innovation. She is the physician lead for BMC’s Primary Care Asthma Team where she has conceptualized, developed and operationalized new initiatives, including the development of an evidence-based acute asthma pathway to standardize the clinical management of patients with asthma exacerbations. Dr. Sagor has been BMC Pediatric Primary Care Clerkship site director, a Boston Combined Residency Program (BCRP) resident preceptor, and a field specific advisor for nine years and the recipient of many teaching awards. Dr. Sagor was inducted into the BUMG Clinical Excellence Society in 2018.