Dr. Christine Ritchie is the Kenneth L. Minaker Chair in Geriatrics and Director of Research for the Division of Palliative Care and Geriatric Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). She is a board-certified geriatrician and palliative care physician and conducts research focused on optimizing quality of life for those with chronic serious illness and multimorbidity. She co-leads the NINR-funded Palliative Care Research Cooperative and the national Home-based Primary Care and Palliative Care Consortium, which seeks to improve our understanding and care of the homebound population. Dr. Ritchie will be establishing a Center for Aging and Serious Illness Research within the MGH Mongan Institute. The Center is designed to bring together researchers who will focus on improving the well-being of older adults and enhancing the lived experience of those with advanced illnesses, applying methods from intervention, implementation, population health, and health policy research.

Dr. Louisa Sylvia is a staff psychologist and Associate Director at Dauten Family Center for Bipolar Treatment Innovation at Massachusetts General Hospital, Director of the Office of Women's Careers at Massachusetts General Hospital, and an Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Sylvia's major research interests are developing resiliency and wellness programs for individuals with mood disorders.

Dr. Sarah Bannon is a clinical psychologist at Mount Sinai. She completed her predoctoral and postdoctoral fellowships within MGH CHOIR at MGH/HMS (2019-2021). Dr. Bannon has clinical and research experience in both couple and family psychology and brain injury rehabilitation. In addition, she has growing expertise in employing qualitative and mixed methods techniques to inform intervention development and adaptation. Clinically, Dr. Bannon works as an outpatient clinical psychologist at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, where she delivers evidence-based therapies to patients and their informal caregivers. She is committed to improving the inclusiveness and fit of psychotherapy resources for historically excluded and/or marginalized groups . When she is not working, she enjoys dancing (Zumba) and learning to play piano.

Affiliated with the Departments of Psychiatry and Medicine (Channing Division of Network Medicine) at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Dr. Olivia Okereke focuses her research on finding modifiable health and lifestyle factors that translate to prevention of cognitive decline and depression in late-life. Much of Dr. Okereke’s work applies similar epidemiological methods that have been successful in identifying prevention strategies for cardiovascular disease, but have been largely absent from Alzheimer’s disease and depression studies. Using large, cohort databases, Dr. Okereke focuses on metabolic and modifiable lifestyle factors—such as diabetes, insulin levels, physical activity and diet—that she hypothesizes may contribute to late-life cognitive decline and depression. Her efforts centered on the epidemiology of cognitive decline and depression will ultimately help guide prevention strategies for millions of older adults.

Dr. A. Rani Elwy, PhD is a health psychologist, health services researcher and implementation scientist who examines Veterans’ access to mental health care and communication between patients, families and providers.Dr. Elwy is also an Investigator at the Center for Healthcare Organization and Implementation Research (CHOIR), a VA Health Services Research and Development Center of Innovation, based at the Boston and Bedford VA Medical Centers. At CHOIR, she directs the Health Communications Research focus area, and within the VA Healthcare System, she has spearheaded the "Disclosure Technical Assistance and Support Program", a communication program developed from health services research evidence and implementation science strategies. Now funded by VA Clinical Operations, Dr. Elwy and her colleagues provide verbal and written communication expertise to facilities needing to disclose information about healthcare to patients, families, employees and the public.

Cale is an Assistant Professor at the University of Kentucky. His research career has been dedicated to gaining a more thorough understanding of the knee and hip throughout a person’s lifespan. Previous investigations have included instrumented methods to quantify patient function and knee joint laxity, and how these factors relate to both patient-reported outcomes and postoperative satisfaction after knee and hip procedures. Additional research endeavors have included the effects of patient factors, peri-operative pain protocols, surgical technique, rehabilitation, and implant design on postoperative satisfaction and patient-reported outcomes, as well as anatomic, biomechanical, and kinematic differences between sexes and how these relate to injury and/or postoperative outcomes.

Dr. Burbridge has been a staff psychologist in the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) Program at Massachusetts General Hospital since 2006; and currently holds a faculty appointment as an instructor at Harvard Medical School. She received her Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) from Washington University in St. Louis, with a specialty in neuropsychology; and completed a clinical internship and post-doctoral fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital/ Harvard Medical School. In addition, Dr. Burbridge has a private practice in the greater Boston area, which focuses on cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and behavioral medicine-based interventions for anxiety, depression, ADHD, and related conditions. Her clinical and research interests include CBT/ behavioral medicine for individuals with neurological conditions and attention disorders as well as behavioral medicine for women’s reproductive health.

Dr. Jacobs is a clinical psychologist at the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, where she provides individual cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for cancer patients and survivors; and is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Currently, Dr. Jacobs is conducting a study, funded by the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health (NCI NIH), to develop an intervention to improve symptom management, distress, and adherence to endocrine therapy for breast cancer survivors. She also serves as a co-investigator for a study testing a psychosocial intervention for caregivers of patients who are undergoing stem cell transplants. In addition, she teaches the Mind, Brain & Behavior seminar course “Fighting Cancer with the Mind” at Harvard University.Description text goes here

Dr. Traeger is a psychologist at the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and Behavioral Medicine Program; assistant professor in psychology at Harvard Medical School; associate director of the Qualitative Research Unit; and member of the Cancer Outcomes Research Program. She specializes in adults with chronic medical conditions and her research focuses on improving health behaviors and quality of life in those affected by cancer. Dr. Traeger also conducts research on stress and resilience in oncology clinicians. Finally, she is a member of the Psychology Intern Selection and Training Committee; and provides clinical supervision to psychology interns and post-doctoral fellows as well as clinical research mentorship to interns, fellows, and junior faculty.

Dr. Millstein is a clinical health psychologist with a Master’s of Health Science (MHS) in epidemiology. Her work focuses on health behavior change, specifically behavioral and environmental approaches to physical activity promotion and obesity prevention. Currently, Dr. Millstein is a clinical and research post-doctoral fellow in the Cardiac Psychiatry Research Program at Massachusetts General Hospital/ Harvard Medical School (MGH/ HMS). Here, she researches psychological and behavioral techniques to promote physical activity among cardiac patients (NHLBI R01, PI: Jeff Huffman). Furthermore, Dr. Millstein’s K23 award is aimed at developing a multilevel intervention for promoting physical activity among primary care metabolic syndrome patients at MGH/ HMS. She also has received numerous awards and recognition from national organizations; and has authored more than 50 peer-reviewed articles. Additionally, Dr. Millstein is an active member on student boards of the Society for Behavioral Medicine and the American Psychological Association. Previously, her work at the University of California San Diego, under the mentorship of Drs. Jim Sallis and Kevin Patrick, focused on building environment assessment; advocacy for physical activity and nutrition; environment and policy change; and multilevel interventions to promote physical activity. Her former research also emphasized food environment, geographic information system (GIS) mapping, and clinical/ behavioral obesity interventions.

Dr. Morrill is a staff psychologist in the Couple and Family Therapy Program at the Child and Adolescent Outpatient Psychiatry Department of Massachusetts General Hospital/ Harvard Medical School (MGH/ HMS). She also holds a faculty appointment as an instructor at Harvard Medical School. Her research primarily focuses on risk and protective factors for families, with the goal of preventing psychiatric and physical illness in vulnerable parents and children. Dr. Morrill earned her Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in clinical psychology at Clark University; and competed a NRSA T32 post-doctoral fellowship in biological and social/ developmental psychiatry at MGH/ HMS. More recently, she developed a parenting initiative at MGH/ HMS, designing technology-based physical activity interventions for at-risk mothers and fathers to prevent postpartum depression and relationship dysfunction. Dr. Morrill also has a private practice in downtown Boston, where she focuses on couples and parenting interventions, and regularly participates in consultation. In her free time, Dr. Morrill enjoys biking and spending time with family and friends.

Dr. Ishikawa is a clinical psychologist in the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital/ Harvard Medical School (MGH/ HMS). She provides empirically supported cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for anxiety, mood, sleep, and traumatic stress disorders. Her most recent publication is “Removing Obstacles To Eliminating Racial And Ethnic Disparities In Behavioral Health Care”.

Dr. Blackburn is a medical orthopedics resident who is visiting from the United Kingdom for six months. She has a research-focused Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree and was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to work with Dr. Ana-Maria Vranceanu here at the Integrated Brain Health Clinical & Research Program (IBHCRP). Her research will specifically look at decision aid (DA) and mind-body skills intervention to improve pain and functional outcomes in patients with de Quervain's tenosynovitis (a condition causing wrist pain). Dr. Blackburn enjoys walking and, having hiked a small part of the Appalachian Trail in the White Mountains, is keen to explore more beautiful areas of New England.

Dr. Canenguez is a bicultural/ bilingual (Spanish) pediatric psychologist in the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital for Children; and is an instructor at Harvard Medical School. Her clinical interests and expertise revolve around the practice of pediatric behavioral medicine. In her clinical work, she is actively involved in providing treatment for patients of diverse backgrounds, who are afflicted by anxiety, depression, trauma, adjustment issues, and with co-morbid medical conditions. Dr. Canenguez’s research interests include: behavioral health disparities, resilience, community mental health, global health, evidence-based interventions to promote well-being, and research for policy change. Moreover, she emphasizes the intersection of physical and mental health and education; and creating effective prevention and intervention programs that are culturally sensitive. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, volunteering in youth programs (especially mentoring), and spending quality time with friends and family.

Dr. Joshua Roffman is a psychiatrist and neuroscientist who studies the biological underpinnings of serious mental illness (SMI). His longstanding goal has been to develop improved interventions for SMI through multimodal brain imaging, genomics, and clinical trials. Following work by Dr. Roffman and his team that demonstrated neuroprotective effects of folic acid in both schizophrenia and normal brain development, his focus has shifted primarily to prevention. An Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Roffman also co-directs Mass General Neuroscience and the MGH Division of Psychiatric Neuroimaging, founded the Translational Neuroscience Training for Clinicians T32 fellowship, and serves as Editor in Chief of the Harvard Review of Psychiatry.

Dr. Paul Lerou is a neonatologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, where he serves as Division Chief of Neonatology and Newborn Medicine for MassGeneral Hospital for Children. He is also an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Lerou graduated from Jefferson Medical College and did his residency and chief residency at Boston Children’s Hospital, followed by fellowship in the Harvard Neonatal-Perinatal Fellowship Training Program. He did his post-doctoral research in the George Daley Laboratory at Boston Children’s Hospital. Lerou's research is focused on using stem cells to better understand how genetic disorders and prematurity affect a child's development over the course of his or her lifetime and to ultimately develop new treatment strategies. Currently his lab is using tracheal aspirate-derived lung progenitor cells to study bronchopulmonary dyplasia, a chronic lung disease that is one of the most common complications of premature birth.