Student Updates

BUMC Faculty Appointments and Promotions – June 2023

Congratulations to the following Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine faculty on their recent appointment or promotion.

Professor

Vladimir Botchkarev, PhD, Dermatology, studies the cell signaling, transcriptional control and epigenetic regulation of skin development and regeneration. He has successfully established a new unique mammalian model of aging, the naked mole-rats, allowing in-depth molecular studies on cutaneous aging, as well as cancer developments. Also, Dr. Botchkarev and colleagues established the BUMC Center for Aging Research, in which he serves as co-director. These activities bring together researchers from more than 30 different laboratories to promote interactions and inter-disciplinary activities in addressing fundamental questions in aging research toward the development of novel approaches to retard aging and improve quality of life in the elderly population.

Tara Galovski, PhD, Psychiatry, focuses on increasing the flexibility and potency of evidence-based practices for psychiatric and psychological conditions to achieve more holistic mental health outcomes for trauma survivors. This research has primarily been conducted in the field of trauma recovery within underserved populations and, more recently, within the Veteran population. Outcomes from her trials have transformed the way that cognitive processing therapy (CPT) is delivered globally, including varying length of treatment to best meet patient needs; allowing for the addition of emergency sessions; and including flexible approaches to accommodate co-morbid conditions. She recently has started testing the ability of peer social support and interpersonal connection to mitigate the effects of risk factors such as loneliness and isolation on the mental health of women Veterans. While serving as director of the Women’s Health Sciences Division of the VA’s National Center for PTSD, she also has founded and directed the internationally recognized Women Veterans Network (WoVeN), which serves more than 4,000 women Veterans.

Associate Professor

Sabrina Assoumou, MD, MPH, Medicine/Infectious Diseases, is a physician-scientist and the inaugural Louis W. Sullivan, MD, Professor of Medicine. She is a thought leader in research focused on infectious diseases complications of substance use including hepatitis C and HIV. Her research uses health economics including cost-effectiveness analysis to inform guidance panels on the best approach to improve the uptake and implementation of evidence-based interventions. She also works on developing evidence-based interventions to improve outcomes. Her findings have been included in recommendations by national guidance panels such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Infectious Diseases Society of America. She has received research honors that include the school’s Evans Junior Faculty Research Merit and Evans Investment awards and the Massachusetts Infectious Disease Society’s Finland Award for Research Excellence as well as teaching awards, including Boston Medical Center’s Excellence in Teaching Hospital-Based Faculty Award and the school’s Distinguished Faculty of the Month, April 2020.

Clinical Associate Professor

Ryan Chippendale, MD, Medicine/Geriatrics, is a clinician-educator who serves as the geriatric medicine fellowship program director, geriatric oncology fellowship co-director and core faculty and the geriatrics subspecialty education coordinator for the internal medicine residency program at Boston Medical Center. She co-founded and co-directs a national virtual education platform, GERIAtrics Fellows Learning Online and Together (Geri-a-FLOAT). This curriculum delivers critical, but underrepresented, topics in geriatric medicine, including social determinants of health and health inequities to an international audience of learners. Clinically, she cares for complex, frail older adults in home care, geriatric assessment clinic and inpatient settings.

Megan Leo, MD, Emergency Medicine, is a clinician-educator who serves as medical director for quality and patient safety for the department of emergency medicine. She was formerly the director of emergency ultrasound at Boston Medical Center for 10 years where she was responsible for the training and credentialing of attending and resident physicians within the department. Dr. Leo has held several national leadership positions including past president of the Academy of Emergency Ultrasound (AEUS), past secretary of the Society of Clinical Ultrasound Fellowships (SCUF), past chair of the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM) international ultrasound interest group. She also has experience in international ultrasound education curriculum development and training experience in Rwanda and Kenya. Her academic interests surround point-of-care ultrasound education research and the development of artificial intelligence to aid in point-of-care ultrasound interpretation.

Jodi Wenger, MD, Pediatrics, as a chief resident at Boston Medical Center (BMC), co-created the Amion website for resident call schedules that is used nationally and internationally. She served as medical director of the Spark Center, a program supported by BMC Pediatrics that provides therapeutic and educational services to young children with high medical complexity. Currently she is an attending physician in the department’s Comprehensive Care and Grow programs. She has leveraged her considerable expertise in health information technology to develop algorithms for specific conditions and issues impacting complex children. She is leading the effort to develop a transition medicine pathway for young adults with neurodevelopmental disabilities entering adult care and assisting with the development of a formal transition clinic for these patients by the leadership of general internal medicine’s primary care clinic at BMC and has lectured, published and advocated on this topic.

BUMC Faculty Appointments and Promotions – May 2023

Congratulations to the following Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine faculty on their recent appointment or promotion.

Clinical Professor

Barbara Walsh, MD, Pediatrics, uses simulation as a tool to advance clinical skills for medical students and residents among many disciplines. Dr. Walsh is director of pediatric emergency in situ and mobile simulation and a master educator. She created and implemented a robust curriculum of pediatric emergency simulation cases for various bootcamps and resident training. She developed the COMET program – Community Outreach Mobile Education Training – where she brings in situ simulation training to the community setting to bridge gaps in care, test systems and identify latent safety threats. Dr. Walsh focuses her current work on using simulation for patient quality and safety, which has been presented at meetings around the world, including the Annual Meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies, the International Meeting on Simulation in Health Care and the International Pediatric Simulation Society Workshop.

Clinical Associate Professor

Ezra Cohen, MD, Pediatrics, is the chief of pediatric rheumatology and has developed the division as a resource for Boston Medical Center (BMC) clinicians and community health center referrals by introducing musculoskeletal ultrasound to enhance diagnostic options and establishing a young adult clinic in the adult rheumatology program. He also serves as medical director of the pediatric infusion unit at BMC, which serves patients who require infusions for complex chronic inflammatory diseases. Dr. Cohen strives to improve the care of children with pain syndromes and has instituted new therapies, including auricular vagal nerve stimulation, acupuncture and microcurrent therapy.

James Hudspeth, MD, Medicine, is a clinician educator with expertise for learners at every stage of training. He has taught Introduction to Clinical Medicine for nine years and Return to the Clinic for eight years for MD/PhD students. Since 2018 he has supervised and taught third- and fourth-year medical students during their inpatient rotations and served as a field specific advisor for students applying into internal medicine since 2018. In his roles as medical director of General Medicine Inpatient Teams and associate director of the Hospital Medicine Unit, Dr. Hudspeth has led a range of initiatives to improve patient care and the educational experience in the inpatient context. During the COVID-19 pandemic he organized the ward teams, coordinating the efforts of his residents, medicine faculty and more than 100 residents and faculty outside of the department of medicine to expand the medicine teams’ coverage to match the surge of need.

Kerry McCabe, MD, Emergency Medicine, is a clinician-educator who co-created a longitudinal curriculum for emergency medicine interns to address the role of shame and resilience in learning, and to cultivate a community of vulnerability, inclusion and support. She also co-created curricula to improve communication, foster inclusivity and develop confidence and tools for navigating unexpected difficult conversations. She has spoken nationally on resident attrition, interrater agreement on ACGME milestones assessments, and the role of emotion in the medical educational process. Dr. McCabe has been a faculty sponsor in developing curriculum for and administering the department’s residency Peer Support program, as well as the residency Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion committee. She has served as the department’s vice chair for education since 2019 as well as a preceptor since 2003 and a field specific advisor since 2005.

Genevieve Preer, MD, Pediatrics, is a primary care pediatrician at Boston Medical Center (BMC) and the medical co-coordinator of the hospital’s Child Protection Team. For more than 12 years, Dr. Preer has delivered a core third-year clerkship lecture on recognizing and reporting child maltreatment and teaches fourth-year students who rotate with the Child Protection Team on a one-month elective. She has developed curricula to train learners in all areas of the hospital in the basics of child maltreatment, with a focus on the impacts of systems of oppression on patients and families. Since 2017, she has co-led the BMC Pediatric Immigrant Health Task Force, which works to improve care for immigrant patients by sharing resources, engaging in advocacy, and providing opportunities for members of the multidisciplinary team to support one another. She also is a member of the department’s Council on Social Justice, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

Jordan Spector, MD, Emergency Medicine, has dedicated his career to mentoring the next generation of emergency medicine physicians. He is the current residency program director for emergency medicine at Boston Medical Center, a role he assumed in 2019 after nearly five years as associate director. The department established the Jordan A. Spector Residency Appreciation Award in his honor for steadfast excellence in mentorship, leadership and achievement. He has mentored more than 200 residents and medical students over his career. On the national level, Dr. Spector is an active member of the Council of Residency Directors in Emergency Medicine (CORD-EM), fulfilling several roles during his career. He also serves as an examiner for the American Board of Emergency Medicine oral board certification exam.

BUMC Faculty Appointments, Promotions – April 2023

Congratulations to the following Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine faculty on their recent appointment or promotion.

Clinical Professor

Mark Bernstein, MD, Radiology, joins the school from New York University/Langone Medical Center and Bellevue Hospital where he was on the faculty since 2003. While at NYU, Bernstein focused his efforts on streamlining trauma imaging by developing and implementing CT imaging protocols across the network’s multiple sites. A member of the American Society of Emergency Radiology (ASER) since 2002, he served in various capacities, including as president from 2015-16. Bernstein received the 2018 ASER Gold Medal, an honor bestowed upon a select few radiologists to recognize distinguished and exemplary service to the society and the field of emergency radiology. He is known as a passionate and engaging teacher and has inspired many to pursue the subspecialty. For his teaching achievements, he received the NYU Teacher of the Year Award in 2017.

Clinical Associate Professor

Nir Ayalon, MD, Medicine/Cardiology, is an interventional cardiologist with expertise in heart failure and invasive hemodynamics. Ayalon initiated and is the director of the Heart Failure Remote Monitoring Program and co-director of the Invasive Physiology and Hemodynamics Lab (IPH-lab). He divides his clinical time between attending the CCU, HF consult service, catheterization lab and the IPH-lab. At the IPH-lab, he strives to provide high-quality, state-of-the-art and personalized cardiac hemodynamic evaluations to optimize diagnosis and treatment for patients with otherwise unexplained dyspnea on exertion and exercise intolerance. Ayalon mentors and advises residents, fellows and APPs. He teaches and supervises medical students, residents and fellows from diverse specialties. He has been an educator for the school's and the department's advanced cardiac hemodynamics program since becoming an assistant professor in 2017. In 2019, Ayalon received the department of medicine’s Joel Caslowitz Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Ramon Bonegio, MBBCh, PhD, Medicine/Nephrology, is associate chief of the renal section in the department of medicine at the VA Boston Healthcare System (VABHS) and director of its Jamaica Plain and West Roxbury dialysis units. He played a key role in establishing a tele-nephrology program at VABHS that has expanded to the national level and led to his appointment as co-director of the Tele-nephrology Enterprise-Wide Initiative and VISN1 Tele-nephrology Program. Prior to his assignment at VABHS, Bonegio helped establish and co-directed multi-disciplinary lupus and glomerular diseases clinic at Boston Medical Center. He has taught a variety of classes at the school, including the renal module in the Doctoring course from 2017-2021 where he introduced a two-hour module to discuss systemic racism in currently used treatment algorithms and what could be done to mitigate this. He received the department of medicine’s Clinical Excellence Award in October 2022 for his contributions to patient care for the past 20+ years at BMC and VABHS.

Ansu Noronha, MD, Medicine/Gastroenterology, is an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) specialist. Currently serving as the interim chief for gastroenterology, she is a lead clinician in the department’s high-volume Crohn’s & Colitis Program, which incorporates a ‘medical home’ model for IBD care. She led the development of novel medication monitoring protocols with pharmacy staff to optimize patient care and safety while on potent medications and also worked with the infusion center and IT department to streamline infusion therapy order sets to expedite patient care while receiving biologic therapy. As medical director for the Center for Digestive Disorders, she has led the development of a referral triage pathway and GI e-consults to improve the experience for both referring physicians and patients.

Megan Young, MD, Medicine/Geriatrics, provides home-based care to frail older adults in the communities of Dorchester, Mattapan and Hyde Park, in addition to being an attending physician on the inpatient geriatrics service at Boston Medical Center. The passion for her clinical practice is intertwined in her teaching and scholarship. She not only cares for the patients clinically, she also guides medical students and trainees to learn how to care for this highly complex patient population by leading challenging family meetings and focusing on transitions of care. She served as one of the doctoring course directors in the medical education office from 2014-2019 and subsequently became the clerkship director for geriatrics in 2019. Since that time, she has provided mentorship for other faculty members to develop a formal curriculum around social determinants of health. Young has been an assistant dean for student affairs since 2016 and is the diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility champion for the geriatrics section. She was recently elected to the board of the American Geriatrics Society.

BUMC Faculty Appointments, Promotions – February & March 2023

Congratulations to the following Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine faculty on their recent appointment or promotion.

Professor

Camron Bryant, PhD, Pharmacology, is director of the Laboratory of Addiction Genetics whose research approach spans multiple disciplines, including genetics, pharmacogenomics, neurobiology, psychology, addictive disorders and pain. His research goal is to improve our understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms of addiction and translate these findings into new and more effective treatment and prevention strategies in humans. Dr. Bryant’s lab continues to focus on psychostimulant and opioid use disorders as well as binge eating. More recently, they have been developing and characterizing models for neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome for use in assessment of experimental therapeutics and improving long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes.

Thea James, MD, MPH, MBA, Emergency Medicine, has spent her career interrogating the root causes of perpetual low health status among patients in safety net health-care systems. Her work has evolved to understand the role that health-care systems, health providers, payors and structural policies play in creating inequities that drive predictable low health status, with economic exclusion being most profound. She championed social justice and social determinants of health before they became national concerns. Her extensive work led to a new discipline, Social Emergency Medicine. Dr. James received the AMA Excellence in Medicine Award in 2018. The American College of Emergency Physicians established the Dr. Thea James Social Emergency Medicine Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020 in recognition of her contributions, and she was named the first recipient. She is a founding member of the Health Alliance for Violence Intervention.

Lynn Moore, DSc, MPH, Medicine/Preventive Medicine & Epidemiology, focuses on the epidemiology of nutritional and metabolic disorders throughout the lifespan. Her findings that excess vitamin A caused birth defects led to changes in manufacturing and clinical practice. She also has studied the evolution of cardiometabolic dysregulation among children and adolescents, the effects of a DASH eating pattern in free-living adults and children on cardio metabolic outcomes, the role of dietary protein on functional outcomes in older adults, and weight change patterns and chronic disease outcomes including cancer, hypertension, and diabetes. Dr. Moore has a long record of teaching at Boston University. In her earlier faculty years, she taught two methodologic courses in epidemiology (an introductory course and an intermediate methods course) and then later served for several years as a facilitator in the school’s Integrated Problems curriculum for MD and MD/PhD students. Since 2016, she has been director of the Graduate Medical Sciences Nutrition & Metabolism programs.

Associate Professor

Lewina Lee, PhD, Psychiatry, is a clinical geropsychologist and principal investigator at the National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder ─ Behavioral Science Division at VA Boston Healthcare System. She investigates the role of psychosocial stress exposure in aging and health, and mechanisms which transit or alter the effects of stress on health across the lifespan. Dr. Lee's scientific contributions include elucidating psychosocial and biological pathways linking adverse and favorable early-life experiences to later-life health, documenting individual differences in long-term adaptation following traumatic exposures, and identifying psychosocial factors which facilitate successful aging against a background of adversity.

Sabrina E. Sanchez, MD, MPH, Surgery, studies long-term and patient-centered outcomes related to trauma and emergency surgery, health-care disparities, and geriatric and palliative surgical care. She is particularly interested in the care of vulnerable populations, including the elderly, seriously ill, underserved and minority communities. Her research focuses on different aspects of patient-centered care in these vulnerable populations and how to improve it, including through the assessment and addressing of factors that differentially affect them, quality efforts in the care of older adults and the use of shared decision making in surgery. Academically, Dr. Sanchez is involved in multiple diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, and works tirelessly toward a more diverse and inclusive surgical workforce as a key aspect of providing just and equitable surgical care.

Clinical Professor

Wendy Bernstein, MD, MBA, Anesthesiology, is an academic and clinical anesthesiologist who specializes in medical simulation. She joins BU/Boston Medical Center from St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Brighton, where she was chief of anesthesiology. Prior to that Dr. Bernstein was professor of anesthesiology, chief of cardiothoracic anesthesiology and vice chair of education at the University of Rochester School of Medicine.

Frantz Gibbs, MD, Emergency Medicine, is a clinician-educator who comes to BU/Boston Medical Center from Brown University Warren Alpert Medical School and Lifespan Rhode Island Hospital where he served for 20 years in a variety of roles, including assistant medical director of emergency medicine and physician administrator triage officer of the day for the Lifespan Epicenter Interhospital Transfer System. He was the creator and first director of the Point of Care Ultrasound Program in the Emergency Department at Rhode Island Hospital.

Clinical Associate Professor

Isidore Berenbaum, MD, Psychiatry, is a long-term practitioner, administrator and teacher. He joined BU/Boston Medical Center as an attending psychiatrist in 1980. He has served as assistant director of the Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry Service since 1990 and currently is assistant director of the Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry Fellowship, having previously served as Program Director from 2004-2021. For 43 years he has promoted and been involved in the wellness and care of physicians, residents, medical students, nurses and other medical-surgical staff.

Joanne Favuzza, DO, Surgery, specializes in Colon and Rectal Surgery. Appointed Surgery Clerkship Director in 2020, she also serves as the department’s field-specific advisor for third- and fourth-year medical students. Dr. Favuzza was interim chief of colon and rectal surgery from June 2022-March 2023. She has mentored more than 30 current and former students since joining the Chobanian & Avedisian SOM faculty in 2019. An advocate for enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocols, which optimizes perioperative management and patient outcomes, Dr. Favuzza’s improvements have included updating colorectal surgery order sets and providing education for nursing and residents.

Shamaila Khan, PhD, Psychiatry, is a clinical psychologist with an expertise in trauma, multiculturalism, diversity and social justice. She is director of the Center for Multicultural Training in Psychology Program and director of the Center for Multicultural Mental Health at Boston Medical Center. Dr. Khan also directs the hospital’s Family Support Center, where she has helped provide crisis intervention and psychological first aid to survivors and families affected by the pandemic since 2020 and supported survivors of the Boston Marathon Bombings prior to that. She also leads multiple DEI initiatives including co-chair of the DEI committee, Diversity & Equity Council member of BUMG, Diversity Champion for the Department of Psychiatry, and inclusive pedagogy initiatives at BU.

Linda Piwowarczyk, MD, MPH, Psychiatry, focuses on psychiatric care and human rights advocacy for refugees, torture survivors and asylum seekers. Her work includes clinical treatment, research, advocacy and education on behalf of these unique populations. Dr. Piwowarczyk has served as director/co-director of the Boston Center for Refugee Health and Human Rights since 1998 and is senior advisor of the Immigrant and Refugee Health Center at Boston Medical Center.

BUMC Faculty Appointments, Promotions – January 2023

Congratulations to the following Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine faculty on their recent appointment or promotion.

Professor

Ekkehard Kasper, MD, PhD, Neurosurgery, is a clinician-scientist who focuses on brain tumors, radiosurgery and functional disorders such as lesional epilepsy. He has collaborated on experimental studies of DNA repair and cancer biology, and works on genetic analysis of intrinsic brain tumors to predict their response to various treatments. Since 2021, Dr. Kasper is chief of regional neurosurgery services for Stewart Medical Group and chief of neurosurgery at St. Elizabeth's Medical Center in Brighton. Previously, he served as an attending neurosurgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Mount Auburn Hospital, and Hamilton Health Sciences/Juravinski Cancer Center in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

Clinical Professor

David Lichtenstein, MD, Medicine/Gastroenterology, specializes in therapeutic endoscopy, specifically in pancreaticobiliary tract malignancies and calculus disorders, advanced polyp resection techniques, Barrett’s ablation, GI bleeding, small bowel enteroscopy, palliation of malignant enteral obstruction, and endoscope reprocessing/safety. He is a master educator in endoscopy technical skills, training generations of gastroenterologists across the United States in innovative endoscopic approaches to treat GI disorders throughout the GI tract. Dr. Lichtenstein has made significant contributions to the advancement of endoscopic technologies and training in the U.S., and has chaired national committees on this topic for the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and American Board of Internal Medicine. For more than 20 years, he was the director of endoscopy for the GI Section at Boston Medical Center (BMC), during which time he brought many new technologies to the BMC patient population. He also led the design and build of the new endoscopy unit in 2017, and chaired or sat on hospital committees for colorectal cancer screening, infection control and patient safety. In 2019 he was appointed director of advanced endoscopy, overseeing recruitment of new faculty, training in new techniques, and determination of which devices warrant inclusion in the BMC care pathway.

Howard Wolpert, MBBCh, Medicine/Endocrinology, Diabetes and Nutrition, focuses on diabetes technology and care delivery innovation. He joined BU/Boston Medical Center in July 2021 from Eli Lilly where he served as vice president of medical innovation for five years. Prior to that he was senior physician at Joslin Diabetes Center and associate professor at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Wolpert is a pioneer in the development and clinical use of Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM). He was a member of the three guideline committees regarding the use of CGM in diabetes management and the senior author publishing Consensus Guidelines for Continuous Glucose Monitoring in 2008, the Endocrine Society Guidelines on Continuous Glucose Monitoring in 2011 and Continuous Subcutaneous Insulin Infusion Therapy and Continuous Glucose Monitoring in Adults in 2016. He is the inventor of three issued patents; one of them – a decision support tool that has been incorporated into the Abbott Libre CGM system, one of the two dominant clinical CGM devices in the United States – is in clinical use.

Clinical Associate Professor

Uri Avissar, MD, Medicine/Gastroenterology, is a clinician-educator who specializes in hepatology and management of end-stage liver disease. On staff at South Boston Community Health Center, during the transition of treatment of chronic viral hepatitis to a community-based program, he led the GI Section’s integration of these treatments into community practice. Dr. Avissar serves as the section’s Subspecialty Education Coordinator and is actively involved in the training of fellows, residents and medical students. He also serves as the Education Director of the Massachusetts Gastroenterology Association.

Christopher Shanahan, MD, Medicine/GIM, is a long-contributing clinician-educator concentrating in three domains: clinical and research medical informatics/information technology, substance use disorders and safer prescribing of opioid medications for the treatment of chronic pain, and community medicine as both a clinician in a community health center and expertise in community-engaged collaboration with organizations, clinicians, and patients. A primary care physician at the Mattapan Community Health Center for 25 years, Dr. Shanahan was the founding medical director of the Massachusetts Consultation Service for Treatment of Addiction & Pain, which serves as model for other consultative programs across the country. He is the 2021 recipient of the American College of Physicians award for Distinguished Contributions to Behavioral Medicine.

Amy Silberbogen, PhD, Psychiatry, is a clinician-educator at the VA Boston Healthcare System (VABHS) where she is a clinical psychologist, assistant chief of psychology and psychology program manager on the mental health and psychology service. Since 2007 she has been training director of the VA Boston Psychology Postdoctoral Fellowship Program. Dr. Silberbogen has served as a member of and chair of the national VA Psychology Training Council, which advises on the structure and practices in psychology training nationwide within the VA and has held various elected roles for the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Center (APPIC), which has influence on all advanced training programs in psychology, both in and out of the VA. Since 2018, she has served as a site visitor for the American Psychological Association, the accrediting agency for psychology training programs. In addition, she is a mentor for psychologists nationwide who are seeking board certification in clinical health psychology.

Colleen Sloan, PhD, Psychiatry, is a clinician-educator specializing in the areas of LGBTQ+ health, with a particular focus on transgender and gender diverse health, minority stress, Prolonged Exposure for PTSD, and dialectical behavioral therapy. She is training director for the Clinical Psychology Internship Program at VA Boston Healthcare System (VABHS) and is clinically based within the Women's Trauma Recovery Team, which serves women veterans with trauma-related mental health problems. Until earlier this year, she served as the chair of the VABHS Interdisciplinary Transgender Treatment Team and the LGBTQ+ Veteran Care Coordinator. She co-chairs the VABHS Psychology Diversity and Inclusion Committee, within which she co-developed a multicultural clinical consultation team, which has received considerable positive feedback for its utility to clinicians seeking to provide more culturally responsive mental health care to veterans with diverse cultural identities.

H. Christian Weber, MD, Medicine/Gastroenterology and Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, focuses on the clinical conditions associated with gastrointestinal (GI) hormones and motility. He spent the early part of his career investigating gastrointestinal peptides at the NIH, and in recent years has pivoted to integrate this knowledge into managing Functional GI Disorders (FGID), acid-related disorders and neuroendocrine tumors. He serves as associate chief and clinical director of the Section of Gastroenterology & Hepatology at VA Boston Healthcare System (VABHS), where he oversees clinical care for veterans with gastrointestinal conditions and supervises clinical teaching in gastroenterology for residents and fellows from training programs at Boston Medical Center and Brigham & Women's Hospital.

SPH Faculty Appointments, Promotions Announced

Congratulations to the following BU School of Public Health faculty on their recent promotion.

Associate Professor

Megan Cole, PhD, MPH, Health Law, Policy & Management, specializes in how Medicaid policy and care delivery models affect quality of care, access to care and racial equity of care for Medicaid and other low-income, safety-net populations, especially those served by federally qualified health centers (FQHCs). She studies these topics using methods from health services research and econometrics. A Peter Paul Assistant Professor of Health Law, Policy & Management, she is co-director of the BU Medicaid Policy Lab. Her work has been cited in Congressional testimony. Dr. Cole is incoming co-editor-in-chief for the Journal of Ambulatory Care Management and she serves on the editorial board of Health Services Research.

Jessica Liebler, DrPH, Environmental Health, is an environmental epidemiologist with expertise in environmental risk factors for zoonotic disease emergence and chronic kidney disease of non-traditional origin (CKDnt). She has successfully led large field epidemiological studies in the U.S. and Central America with diverse populations, including agricultural workers, persons experiencing homelessness and young children. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Leibler led research on health disparities that supported the Massachusetts Department of Public Health in vaccine allocation programs. She currently is investigating environmental causes of renal dysfunction among youth in Nicaragua.