Michael E. Charness, MD

Professor, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

Biography

Dr. Charness earned his B.Sc. in Psychology from McGill University and his M.D. from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He is board certified in Internal Medicine and Neurology and current serves as a Professor of Neurology as well as the assistant dean to the VA Affairs of School of Medicine.
Dr. Charness served as Chief of Neurology at the Brockton-West-Roxbury VA and the VA Boston Healthcare System for several years. He became Chief of Staff in 2003. Additionally, Dr. Charness has served as a member of numerous advisory boards including the National Institutes of Health (NIH, served as president of the Research Society on Alcoholism (RSA), and chaired the Alcohol-Toxicology 3 Study Section. His research interests include researching alcohol's effect on the nervous system as well as the development of drugs that block alcohol toxicity. He currently directs the NIAAA-funded Collaborative Initiative on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders and chairs the external advisory board for the NIH-funded Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development (ABCD) study.

Publications

  • Published 12/18/2024

    Chen P, Charness M, Reisman A. VA Writes: A Reflective Writing Workshop to Improve Well-Being in Health Care Employees. NEJM Catal Innov Care Deliv. 2024; 6(1).

    Read at: Custom

  • Published 9/25/2024

    Riley EP, Pfefferbaum A, Sullivan EV, Charness ME. Memorial of Kenneth R. Warren, 1943-2024. Alcohol Clin Exp Res (Hoboken). 2024 Nov; 48(11):2200-2201. PMID: 39322616.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 4/5/2024

    Charness ME, Gupta K, Linsenmeyer K, Strymish J, Madjarov R, Stack G. Evidence from whole genome sequencing of aerosol transmission of SARS-CoV-2 almost 5 hours after hospital room turnover. Am J Infect Control. 2024 Jul; 52(7):849-851. PMID: 38583778.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 1/22/2024

    Connolly SL, Sherman SE, Dardashti N, Duran E, Bosworth HB, Charness ME, Newton TJ, Reddy A, Wong ES, Zullig LL, Gutierrez J. Defining and Improving Outcomes Measurement for Virtual Care: Report from the VHA State-of-the-Art Conference on Virtual Care. J Gen Intern Med. 2024 Feb; 39(Suppl 1):29-35. PMID: 38252238.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 7/13/2023

    Connolly SL, Charness ME, Gifford AL, Miller CJ. Discipline-level differences in mental health provider perceptions of video and phone telehealth. Psychol Serv. 2024 Aug; 21(3):473-477. PMID: 37439733.

    Read at: PubMed

Other Positions

  • Assistant Dean, VA Affairs, Dean’s Office
    Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
  • Chief of Staff
    VA Boston Healthcare System

Education

  • Johns Hopkins University, MD
  • McGill University, BSc