Gene F. Kwan MD, MPH
Assistant Professor, Cardiovascular Medicine
88 E. Newton St | (617) 638-8760gene.kwan@bmc.org
genekwan@bu.edu
Sections
Cardiovascular Medicine
Centers
Evans Center for Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research
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.
Education
Medicine-Internal, MD, University of California, San Diego, 2006
Public Health, MPH, Harvard School of Public Health, 2014
Cell & Molecular Biology, BA, University of California, Berkeley, 2002
Publications
Kwan GF, Davila-Roman VG. Uncovering Endemic Heart Failure and Hypertension in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Challenges and Opportunities. Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes. 2023 Feb; 16(2):e009611. PMID: 36472191.
Published on 8/15/2022Klassen SL, Dusingizimana W, Ngoga G, Kamali I, Dusabeyezu S, Ntaganda E, Kwan GF. Using Point-of-Care Ultrasound in Heart Failure Diagnosis and Management in Rural and Resource-Limited Settings. CASE (Phila). 2022 Aug; 6(6):259-262. PMID: 36036046.
Published on 5/11/2022Calixte D, Haynes NA, Robert M, Edmond C, Yan LD, Raiti-Palazzolo K, Toussaint E, Isaac BD, Fenelon DL, Kwan GF. Online team-based electrocardiogram training in Haiti: evidence from the field. BMC Med Educ. 2022 May 11; 22(1):360. PMID: 35545788.
Published on 9/30/2021Gupta N, Mocumbi A, Arwal SH, Jain Y, Haileamlak AM, Memirie ST, Larco NC, Kwan GF, Amuyunzu-Nyamongo M, Gathecha G, Amegashie F, Rakotoarison V, Masiye J, Wroe E, Koirala B, Karmacharya B, Condo J, Nyemazi JP, Sesay S, Maogenzi S, Mayige M, Mutungi G, Ssinabulya I, Akiteng AR, Mudavanhu J, Kapambwe S, Watkins D, Norheim O, Makani J, Bukhman G. Prioritizing Health-Sector Interventions for Noncommunicable Diseases and Injuries in Low- and Lower-Middle Income Countries: National NCDI Poverty Commissions. Glob Health Sci Pract. 2021 09 30; 9(3):626-639. PMID: 34593586.
Published on 9/1/2021Asfaw MT, Holtzman DL, Kwan GF, Oyewusi LT, Mitnick CD, Seung KJ. INCIDENCE OF HIGH GRADE QTCF PROLONGATION AND ITS MANAGEMENT AMONG PATIENTS UNDERGOING TREATMENT FOR DRUG RESISTANT TUBERCULOSIS (DR-TB): CASE SERIES. Afr J Infect Dis. 2021; 15(2 Suppl):38-41. PMID: 34595385.
Published on 8/16/2021Coates MM, Ezzati M, Robles Aguilar G, Kwan GF, Vigo D, Mocumbi AO, Becker AE, Makani J, Hyder AA, Jain Y, Stefan DC, Gupta N, Marx A, Bukhman G. Burden of disease among the world's poorest billion people: An expert-informed secondary analysis of Global Burden of Disease estimates. PLoS One. 2021; 16(8):e0253073. PMID: 34398896.
Published on 8/6/2021DeWyer A, Scheel A, Kamarembo J, Akech R, Asiimwe A, Beaton A, Bobson B, Canales L, DeStigter K, Kazi DS, Kwan GF, Longenecker CT, Lwabi P, Murali M, Ndagire E, Namuyonga J, Sarnacki R, Ssinabulya I, Okello E, Aliku T, Sable C. Establishment of a cardiac telehealth program to support cardiovascular diagnosis and care in a remote, resource-poor setting in Uganda. PLoS One. 2021; 16(8):e0255918. PMID: 34358281.
Published on 7/25/2021Polsinelli VB, Dantil KR, DeGennaro V, Fénelon DL, Louis DP, Izzo JL, Kwan GF. Cardiovascular Health in a Single Community in Rural Haiti: A Cross-sectional Study. Caribb Med J. 2021 Sep; 83(3). PMID: 34621104.
Published on 6/1/2021Huffman MD, Kwan GF. RESPONSE: Multilateral Cardiovascular Education and Training in Haiti. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2021 06 01; 77(21):2752-2753. PMID: 34045030.
Published on 5/10/2021Coates MM, Sliwa K, Watkins DA, Zühlke L, Perel P, Berteletti F, Eiselé JL, Klassen SL, Kwan GF, Mocumbi AO, Prabhakaran D, Habtemariam MK, Bukhman G. An investment case for the prevention and management of rheumatic heart disease in the African Union 2021-30: a modelling study. Lancet Glob Health. 2021 07; 9(7):e957-e966. PMID: 33984296.