Harvard Health Blog Experts

Joseph Nowinski, Ph.D., is a nationally known clinical psychologist with more than 20 years’ experience working with individuals and families. With psychologist Barbara Okun, he wrote Saying Goodbye, a 2011 book from Harvard Health Publishing. His next book for Harvard Health Publishing, Almost Alcoholic, written with Robert Doyle, M.D., will be published in April 2012.

Martha Herbert, M.D., is an assistant professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School and a pediatric neurologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, where she directs the TRANSCEND Research program. She also sits on the advisory committee for Autism Speaks.

Daniel Pendick is the former executive editor of the Harvard Men’s Health Watch. He has previously served as editor and chief writer for the Cleveland Clinic Men’s Health Advisor and Mt. Sinai School of Medicine’s Focus On Healthy Aging. Dan earned a master of art’s degree in the history of science and medicine from the University of Wisconsin in 1992, and was a Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT in 1998-99. He is also a lecturer in the Professional Writing Program at the University of Maryland, College Park, where he teaches the next generation of physicians and biomedical researchers how to communicate more effectively with each other and the general public.

Stephanie Watson was the Executive Editor of the Harvard Women’s Health Watch from June 2012 to August 2014. Prior to that, she has worked as a writer and editor for several leading consumer health publications, including WebMD, A.D.A.M. (MedlinePlus), BabyCenter, Momentum magazine, and Lupus Now magazine. She also served as executive editor for Focus on Healthy Aging, a publication of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Stephanie has written and edited more than two dozen books, including Understanding Obesity: The Genetics of Obesity and Scientific American Critical Perspectives on Pollution. She is a graduate of Boston University, with a degree in Mass Communications and English. Before embarking on her medical writing career, she was a writer/producer for The Travel Channel and Weather.com.

Holly Strawbridge was the executive editor of the Harvard Heart Letter from May 2012 to June 2013.

Heidi Godman is the executive editor of the Harvard Health Letter. Before coming to the Health Letter, she was an award-winning television news anchor and medical reporter for 25 years. Heidi was named a journalism fellow of the American Academy of Neurology, and has been honored by the Associated Press, the American Heart Association, the Wellness Community, and other organizations for outstanding medical reporting. Heidi holds a bachelor of science degree in journalism from West Virginia University.

Dr. William Kormos is a primary care physician at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and an Instructor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Kormos is the Director of Education at MGH’s John D. Stoeckle Center for Primary Care, where his current projects include implementing novel methods for patient education and developing education programs for primary care physicians. Dr. Kormos has served as the associate director for the hospital’s internal medicine residency program. He has received the Alfred Kranes Award, the Primary Care Program Teaching Award, the Bigelow Attending Teaching Award, and the Ambulatory Teaching Award from the MGH house staff. He earned his medical degree from the University of Miami School of Medicine and completed his internal medicine residency and fellowship at MGH.

Dr. Reena Pande is a cardiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and an instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School. Her research focuses on the mechanisms by which exercise benefits people with cardiovascular disease.

Anne Densmore, Ed.D., is a certified speech pathologist as well as a speech and play therapist. She as also the author of Your Successful Preschooler, a Harvard Health Publishing book published by Jossey-Bass (2011).

Nancy L. Keating, M.D., M.P.H., is an associate professor of medicine and health care policy at Harvard Medical School and an associate physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Dr. Edward M. Phillips is an assistant professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Harvard Medical School, and the founder and director of the Institute of Lifestyle Medicine at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston. He’d like to see you end your war with food by tuning into the new WBUR podcast “Food, We Need to Talk,” an Apple Podcasts favorite. He is also co-host of the award-winning WBUR podcast “The Magic Pill.” Connect with him on Twitter @EddiePhillipsMD.

Dennis Rosen, M.D. is a pediatric pulmonologist and sleep specialist at at Boston Children’s Hospital, where he is the associate medical director of the Center for Pediatric Sleep Disorders. He is also an assistant professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Rosen is author of Successful Sleep Strategies for Kids (Harvard Medical School Guide) and Vital Conversations: Improving Communication Between Doctors and Patients

Daniel J. DeNoon is the former executive editor of the Harvard Heart Letter. He was senior medical writer for WebMD for 14 years. He was founding editor of the newsletter AIDSWeekly and covered the HIV/AIDS pandemic for this and other publications. DeNoon’s work has won a number of journalism awards, including several of the Society of Professional Journalists’ Sigma Delta Chi awards. He has served as a board member of ServeHaiti, a nonprofit group bringing healthcare to a remote region of Haiti. DeNoon is a graduate of Emory University, where he received a BA in psychology and religion.

Peter Wayne, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and the Director of Research for the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, jointly based at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He is also author of The Harvard Medical School Guide to Tai Chi.

Lori Tishler, MD MPH is a general internist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School. In addition to caring for a large panel of patients, Dr. Tishler is the medical director of the hospital’s largest practice. Clinically, her interests include preventive medicine, the interface between physical and behavioral health, and culturally competent, humanistic care. Dr. Tishler’s non clinical work is focused on improving care delivery, value, and operational efficiency. She also thinks a lot about improving physician quality of life, decreasing burnout, and improving resiliency. She teaches and mentors residents and medical students. Outside of work, Dr. Tishler loves to spend time with her family, travel, do puzzles, and read.

Beverly Merz is Executive Editor of Harvard Women’s Health Watch, a publication she helped start in 1993. Before coming to Harvard she was an Associate Editor of JAMA, Managing Editor with the Union of Concerned Scientists, and held editorial positions at Encyclopedia Britannica and World Book Encyclopedia. She was also a founding editor of Cardio, a newsmagazine for cardiologists and SusanLoveMD.org. Beverly has contributed to a variety of general and health publications including The New England Journal of Medicine, Good Housekeeping, and The Chicago Tribune. She is a graduate of The University of Colorado.

2 Minute Medicine® is an independent, physician-led medical media group that produces original, curated reports on the latest high-impact medical studies for the public, physicians and health professionals. The organization retains strong ties with top hospitals and medical schools around the world, from which their over 70-person editorial team of practicing health professionals hail. Select content published by 2 Minute Medicine appears periodically on Harvard Health Publishing to further facilitate the distribution of the latest medical news to the public. You can view their daily medical reports and thousands of others at www.2minutemedicine.com. (2 Minute Medicine® is a registered trademark of 2 Minute Medicine, Inc. All rights reserved. Used here with permission.)

Harvard Women’s Health Watch offers timely information in the new age of women’s health and medicine. New prevention strategies, new diagnostic techniques, new medications and treatments. From heart disease in women to breast cancer, from diet and nutrition to vitamins and supplements, from hormone therapy to exercise and strength training, this award-winning monthly newsletter focuses on health from a woman’s perspective.

Charlie Schmidt is an award-winning freelance science writer based in Portland, Maine. In addition to writing for Harvard Health Publishing, Charlie has written for Science magazine, the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Environmental Health Perspectives, Nature Biotechnology, and The Washington Post.

Dr. Gregory Curfman is Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and former editor-in-chief of Harvard Health Publishing. He is also on the affiliated faculty of Harvard Law School. Before joining Harvard Health Publishing, Dr. Curfman was the Executive Editor of The New England Journal of Medicine, which has the highest impact factor of any medical journal.

Dr. Curfman is board certified in internal medicine and cardiology. He earned his medical degree from Harvard Medical School, and trained in internal medicine and cardiology at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He directed the Coronary Care Unit at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Cardiovascular Health Center, a heart disease prevention program at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Claire McCarthy, MD, is a primary care pediatrician at Boston Children’s Hospital and an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. In addition to being a senior faculty editor for Harvard Health Publishing, Dr. McCarthy writes about health and parenting for Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston.com, and the Huffington Post.

Twitter: @drClaire

Jake Miller is a writer and editor for Harvard Medical School’s Office of Communications and External Relations. He covers research, education, and care delivery, with a particular focus on global health and health care policy. Jake has written about science, nature, culture and health for newspapers, magazines and digital media since 1992. He is also the author of more than 30 books for children. He earned his Bachelor of Arts from Brown University and Master of Arts from New York University.

Hope A. Ricciotti, MD, is Editor in Chief of the Harvard Women’s Health Watch. She is an Associate Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Biology at Harvard Medical School and leads the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Biology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

Dr. Anant Mandawat has been a medical columnist for several years translating scientific papers for the public. He graduated with a MD with honors from Yale. He completed his residency at Massachusetts General Hospital, a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School, and is currently a cardiology fellow at Duke. His research interests are in clinical and economic outcomes for the elderly using large datasets. He has multiple publications in the field and has received the Marvin Moser Award and Bechtel Award for his research.

Dr. Deepak Bhatt is a cardiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and VA Boston Healthcare and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. He serves as the Chief of Cardiology at VA Boston Healthcare and is the Director of the Integrated Interventional Cardiovascular Program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and VA Boston Healthcare. Dr. Bhatt’s research focuses on preventive cardiology and best practices for managing heart attack and other acute coronary syndromes. He is the author or coauthor of more than 500 publications. Dr. Bhatt earned his medical degree from Cornell University and a masters of public health from the Harvard School of Public Health. He completed his internship and residency in internal medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, and was a fellow in interventional cardiology and cerebral and peripheral vascular intervention at the Cleveland Clinic.