Bang-Bon Koo, PhD, Anatomy & Neurobiology, specializes in developing, validating and translating novel neuroimaging biomarkers and informatics approaches to investigate normal and pathological brain states. His current research focuses on examining brain structure and function, with a particular emphasis on understanding how genetics and environmental factors influence the brain’s protective systems and how they interact with changes in brain connections and functions as we age. Dr. Koo leads several projects, including one that studies the effects of toxic exposure on Gulf War veterans (Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program, CDMRP-TERP), along with a program that aims to create imaging tools to help diagnose conditions related to this exposure (CDMRP-GWIRP), in collaboration with Kim Sullivan at BU SPH. In addition to these projects, Dr. Koo collaborates with his department colleagues on various initiatives related to cognitive aging, utilizing animal models. Their collective work aims to uncover how aging and disease impact the brain, paving the way for earlier detection and improved treatments.

Jamel Ortoleva, MD, Anesthesiology, is a triple board-certified (anesthesiology, critical care medicine and advanced perioperative echocardiography) clinician educator whostudies shock, resuscitation, and the life-support technique Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) with the goal of minimizing complications and expanding patient access to this technology. He is an integral member of the ECMO program at Boston Medical Center. His work provides critical insights into the role of ECMO and echocardiography in the management of complex cardiovascular conditions during and after surgery. Dr. Ortoleva is a member of the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization Scientific Oversight Committee and Massachusetts District 8 representative to the American Society of Anesthesiologists. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Abraham Mandel Award for Excellence in Resident Performance and the International Society of Heart and Lung Transplant Anesthesiology and Critical Care Professional Community Award for Excellence.

Christine Ament, MD, Ophthalmology, is a clinician educator whose areas of interest include cornea, optics, comprehensive ophthalmology and resident physician education. In addition to her clinical work, Dr. Ament has dedicated herself to the advancement of the department’s educational programs, vastly improving the didactic curriculum and the experience of resident trainees. She is an assistant Residency Program director in charge of educational curriculum for residents, she mentors medical students and residents, and she coordinates board and in service exam review for resident physicians. She shows exceptional dedication to her patients. Particularly unique is her dedication to serving patients in their native language. She speaks Spanish, Portuguese and basic Haitian Creole, and continues to study these languages outside of work hours in order to care more completely for her non-English-speaking patients.

Jennifer Pfau, MD, Family Medicine, is a clinician educator who served as the department’s Maternal Child Health director for eight years (2016-24), leading a group of 30 family physicians working in Labor and Delivery, the Postpartum Unit and the Nursery, and helping to support a broader network of family medicine providers providing outpatient prenatal/postpartum/newborn care. Dr. Pfau recently transitioned to a new role within the department, director of postpartum and newborn services. She is core faculty in the Family Medicine Residency Program. Dr. Pfau precepts residents at NeighborHealth in East Boston where she worked as a primary care provider for 12 years, caring for a primarily Spanish-speaking immigrant, underserved patient population. Dr. Pfau is also associate program director for the Preventive Medicine Residency Program (co-founder of the HRSA-funded Community Prevention and Maternal Health Equity Track). She is passionate about medical education and global health, and has blended these interests through volunteer work in Nicaragua, Peru, Honduras, the Dominican Republic, Lesotho and Cambodia.

Nicole Siegel, MD, Ophthalmology, is a vitreoretinal surgeon, whose research has focused on addressing healthcare disparities, medical education, and structural and visual outcomes following retinal surgery. She serves as the vice chair of education in the department of ophthalmology and is the program director of the Ophthalmology Residency. She has a robust record of mentoring medical students, residents and fellows in clinical care, leadership and research. She is co-PI of the international trial, Evaluation of the Impact of Semaglutide on Diabetic Retinopathy. She is a member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the Association of University Professors of Ophthalmology, the American Society of Retina Specialists, Women in Retina, the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, the Massachusetts Medical Society and the New England Ophthalmological Society.