Gene F. Kwan, MD, MPH

Associate Professor, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

Biography

I am a cardiologist and global health researcher developing expertise in the intersection between these two fields. My primary professional goal is to push the frontier of global cardiovascular disease epidemiology and health service delivery (implementation) research through the development, implementation, evaluation, improvement and dissemination of integrated chronic care programs targeted to overcome specific barriers in rural low- and middle-income countries (LMIC).

My research stems from experience in the field in rural Rwanda and Haiti since 2008 in collaboration with local Ministries of Health and the non-governmental organizations Partners In Health and Zanmi Lasante. I have developed and implemented care models using the strategy of task-shifting: training in-country nurses and generalist physicians in simplified protocols to aid in specialty care for the diagnosis and management of non-communicable diseases (NCD) including hypertension, diabetes, heart failure, stroke, and respiratory disease. My research has helped determine that heart failure in rural Rwanda and Haiti is generally from endemic causes (as opposed to coronary heart disease) and a leading cause of hospitalization. In addition, we demonstrated that nurse-directed management improves control of blood pressure for patients with hypertension and improves symptoms for those with heart failure. I also study the prevalence of poverty among patients with NCDs and develop approaches to overcome poverty-related barriers. My long-term goal is to develop and utilize evidence-based approaches for the understanding of cardiovascular disease in LMICs and influence programmatic development, implementation and policy.

I have active academic collaborations with projects in Haiti, Rwanda, Malawi, Liberia, and India. I am one of the principal authors of the implementation guide and clinician handbook The Partners In Health Guide to Chronic Care Integration for Endemic Non-Communicable Diseases. I have presented my work at several American Heart Association conferences including the Annual Scientific Sessions, Epidemiology, Nutrition, Prevention and Metabolism, and Quality and Clinical Outcomes Research sessions. I have also been an invited speaker both nationally and in Haiti and Rwanda. I continue to serve as an Advisor for Non-Communicable Diseases at Partners In Health in Boston, Haiti and Rwanda.

Publications

  • Published 4/17/2025

    Dawson C, Morris SM, Toussaint E, Fénelon DL, Banigbe B, Kwan GF. Text message reminders for visit adherence among non-communicable disease patients in Haiti: A pilot study. PLOS Glob Public Health. 2025; 5(4):e0004376. PMID: 40244981.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 9/25/2024

    Kwan GF, Basow E, Isaac BD, Fenelon DL, Toussaint E, Calixte D, Ibrahim M, Hirschhorn LR, Drainoni ML, Adler A, Clisbee MA, Bukhman G. Heart Failure Care Facilitators and Barriers in Rural Haiti: A Qualitative Study. Ann Glob Health. 2024; 90(1):60. PMID: 39345843.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 6/26/2024

    Klassen SL, Okello E, Ferrer JME, Alizadeh F, Barango P, Chillo P, Chimalizeni Y, Dagnaw WW, Eiselé JL, Eberly L, Gomanju A, Gupta N, Koirala B, Kpodonu J, Kwan GF, Mailosi BGD, Mbau L, Mutagaywa R, Namuyonga J, Pfaff C, Piñero D, Pinto F, Rusingiza E, Sanni UA, Sanyahumbi A, Shakya U, Sharma SK, Sherpa K, Sinabulya I, Wroe EB, Bukhman G, Mocumbi A. Correction: Decentralization and Integration of Advanced Cardiac Care for the World's Poorest Billion Through the PEN-Plus Strategy for Severe Chronic Non-Communicable Disease. Glob Heart. 2024; 19(1):54. PMID: 38947254.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 4/4/2024

    Yan LD, Sufra R, St Sauveur R, Jean-Pierre MC, Apollon A, Malebranche R, Théard M, Pierre G, Dévieux J, Lau J, Mourra N, Roberts NLS, Rasul R, Nash D, Pirmohamed AM, Devereux RB, Lee MH, Kwan GF, Safford MM, Adrien L, Alfred JP, Deschamps M, Severe P, Fitzgerald DW, Pape JW, Rouzier V, McNairy ML. Spectrum of prevalent cardiovascular diseases in urban Port-au-Prince, Haiti: a population-based cross-sectional study. Lancet Reg Health Am. 2024 May; 33:100729. PMID: 38590326.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 3/27/2024

    Klassen SL, Okello E, Ferrer JME, Alizadeh F, Barango P, Chillo P, Chimalizeni Y, Dagnaw WW, Eiselé JL, Eberly L, Gomanju A, Gupta N, Koirala B, Kpodonu J, Kwan G, Mailosi BGD, Mbau L, Mutagaywa R, Pfaff C, Piñero D, Pinto F, Rusingiza E, Sanni UA, Sanyahumbi A, Shakya U, Sharma SK, Sherpa K, Sinabulya I, Wroe EB, Bukhman G, Mocumbi A. Decentralization and Integration of Advanced Cardiac Care for the World's Poorest Billion Through the PEN-Plus Strategy for Severe Chronic Non-Communicable Disease. Glob Heart. 2024; 19(1):33. PMID: 38549727.

    Read at: PubMed

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Other Positions

  • Member, Evans Center for Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research
    Boston University

Websites

Education

  • University of California, San Diego, MD
  • Harvard School of Public Health, MPH
  • University of California, Berkeley, BA

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