Harvard Health Experts and Contributors

Kristin Hung, MD

Contributor

Dr. Kristin Hung is board-certified in urogynecology and reconstructive pelvic surgery (URPS). She is an attending urogynecologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, and serves as division director of quality and clinical operations and instructor at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Hung treats patients with pelvic organ prolapse and urinary incontinence. She specializes in minimally invasive surgical approaches, including vaginal surgery, traditional laparoscopy, and robotic surgeries. Dr. Hung completed her fellowship in URPS at Massachusetts General Hospital and her residency in OB/GYN at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, both in Boston. She obtained her medical degree from the University of Michigan and graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College with a bachelor's in history and science. Dr. Hung is a member of the American Urogynecologic Society and serves on its diversity, equity, and inclusion committee. Her research focuses on shared decision-making tools to improve patient care and outcomes, and health disparities in the treatment of pelvic floor conditions.

Nasrien Ibrahim, MD

Contributor

Nasrien Ibrahim, MD, is a board certified cardiologist in the Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Section within the Division of Cardiology at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and an Instructor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School. She is also Associate Director of the Resynchronization & Cardiac Therapeutics Program at MGH. Dr. Ibrahim takes care of patients with advanced heart failure, left ventricular assist devices, and heart transplants. She completed her internal medicine residency and general cardiology fellowship at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center in Cincinnati, OH. Next, she completed a fellowship in advanced heart failure and cardiac transplant at the University of Colorado in Denver, CO. Following that, Dr. Ibrahim completed a fellowship in clinical research at MGH. She is involved in several research studies in heart failure involving biomarkers and participate in several clinical trials all aimed at improving the management and outcomes of patients with heart failure.

Lisa I. Iezzoni, MD, MSc

Contributor

Lisa I. Iezzoni, MD, MSc, is a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, and is based at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Dr. Iezzoni studies health care experiences of persons with disability. She is a member of the National Academy of Medicine in the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, and the author of Making Their Days Happen: Paid Personal Assistance Supporting People with Disabilities Living in Their Homes and Communities.

James P. Ioli, DPM

Contributor

James P. Ioli, DPM, is Chief of Podiatry at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. He is an Assistant Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at Harvard Medical School and has been a practicing podiatrist for over 30 years.

Eric Isselbacher, MD, MSc

Contributor

Dr. Eric Isselbacher is an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and holds the Edmund N. Ansin Endowed Chair in Healthcare Transformation. He is also senior director of the Healthcare Transformation Lab and co-director of the Thoracic Aortic Center at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). Dr. Isselbacher is the co-founder and co-principal investigator of the International Registry of Acute Aortic Dissection, the world's largest registry of patients with aortic dissection. Dr. Isselbacher received his medical degree from Harvard Medical School and completed both a residency and fellowship at MGH.

Brian C. Jacobson, MD, MPH, FASGE, AGAF

Contributor

Dr. Brian C. Jacobson is a gastroenterologist and the director of program development for the gastroenterology division at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Jacobson cares for people with a broad range of gastrointestinal problems, and has expertise in advanced endoscopic procedures for the diagnosis and management of gastrointestinal cancers. His current research focuses on several aspects of colonoscopy quality and effectiveness. In addition to publishing numerous research articles and book chapters, Dr. Jacobson has co-authored several guidelines and standards of practice for the gastroenterology community. He has also served in leadership roles within several gastroenterological organizations, and has received many awards for teaching, mentoring, quality improvement, and clinical care excellence. Dr. Jacobson received his undergraduate degree from Amherst College, his medical degree from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and a master's in public health from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. When not working, Dr. Jacobson enjoys woodworking, baking, reading, and being part of a close-knit family.

Ted A. James, MD

Contributor

Dr. Ted James is the Chief of Breast Surgical Oncology and Co-Director of the Breast Care Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. He is an advocate of patient-centered care and believes that treatment should always incorporate the individual priorities and values of each patient. Dr. James works with national health organizations to improve outcomes and ensure that patients receive the best care possible.

James Januzzi, MD

Contributor

James L. Januzzi, MD, is the Hutter Family Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, a staff cardiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, and Senior Cardiometabolic Faculty at Baim Institute for Clinical Research. After completing his undergraduate studies at Holy Cross College in 1988, Dr. Januzzi graduated at the top-ranked student at New York Medical College, and subsequently performed a residency in Internal Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and fellowship in Cardiology and Cardiac Ultrasound at the Massachusetts General Hospital. He joined the Cardiology Division at MGH in 2000. Dr. Januzzi is a clinician, teacher and clinical trialist. His research has contributed to the understanding of cardiac biomarker testing, where his studies have set international standards for use in diagnosis, prognosis, and management of patients suffering from acutely decompensated heart failure, chronic heart failure as well as those with acute coronary syndromes. Dr Januzzi has published more than 500 manuscripts, book chapters and review articles, has edited two text books on cardiac biomarker testing and the MGH Cardiology Board Review Textbook. He is among the top 1% most cited researchers, according to Clarivate/Web of Science. He is an Associate Editor at both Journal of the American College of Cardiology and Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Heart Failure. He is currently the chair of the American College of Cardiology Task Force on Expert Consensus Decision Pathway Documents and will join the Board of Trustees of the American College of Cardiology in 2019. He has participated in numerous guideline and consensus documents in cardiovascular medicine. Since 2005, Dr. Januzzi has also served on the Medical Staff of the Boston Red Sox Baseball Club.

Sogol Javaheri, MD, MPH

Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing

Dr. Sogol Javaheri is an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School and a physician in the division of sleep and circadian rhythm disorders at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. She graduated from Case Western Reserve University with her MD as well as a masters in bioethics. She completed an internal medicine residency and a sleep fellowship at Brigham and Women's, and subsequently obtained her MPH at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. In addition to seeing patients, she serves as the director of the Atrial Fibrillation Center of Excellence Sleep Clinic, and as associate program director for the MGB Clinical Sleep Fellowship program. Her primary research focus is sleep disorders and cardiovascular disease, and she is currently leading a clinical trial among patients with obstructive sleep apnea and atrial fibrillation.

Jeff Meade

Health Writer

Jeff Meade is a health writer and editorial consultant with interests in consumer health and health policy. He is a former news director for the Webby Award–winning intelihealth.com, and senior editor/producer for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

Contributing Editor

Ashish K. Jha, M.D., M.P.H. is Director for the Harvard Global Health Institute, K.T. Li Professor of International Health & Health Policy at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and a practicing Internal Medicine physician at the VA Boston Healthcare System. Dr. Jha received his M.D. from Harvard Medical School and trained in Internal Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco where he also served as Chief Medical Resident. He completed his General Medicine fellowship from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School and received his M.P.H. from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Dr. Jha’s major research interests lie in improving the quality and costs of healthcare with a specific focus on the impact of policy efforts. His work has focused on a broad set of issues including transparency and public reporting of provider performance, financial incentives, health information technology, and leadership, and the roles they play in fixing healthcare delivery systems.

Tien Jiang, DMD, MEd

Contributor; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing

Tien Jiang, DMD, MEd, is an assistant professor in the department of oral health policy and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM). As a prosthodontist, Dr. Jiang teaches in the HSDM predoctoral preclinic and clinic, and practices in Littleton, MA. Dr. Jiang’s interests include interprofessional education and practice, health literacy, patient education, and curricular reform. Dr. Jiang is the 2023 recipient of the Harvard School of Dental Medicine Fellowship in honor of Aina M. Auskaps, DMD, for her work in health communication and patient education. Dr. Jiang earned her doctor of dental medicine degree at HSDM. Afterward, she moved to the Midwest to specialize in prosthodontics at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Dr. Jiang also completed a master's of education in instructional leadership at UIC College of Education.

Anthony Joseph, MD

Contributor

Anthony Joseph, MD, specializes in the medical, laser and surgical treatment of conditions that affect the retina and vitreous. His areas of expertise and interest include macular degeneration, diabetic eye disease, retinal vascular occlusions, macular holes, epiretinal membranes, retinal detachments, and proliferative vitreoretinopathy. Prior to medical school, Dr. Joseph attended Stanford University where he earned bachelor’s degrees with distinction in both Biological Science and Economics. He also earned his Master’s degree in Information Science from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Joseph received his medical degree from Duke University School of Medicine. He completed his Internship in ophthalmology at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor, MI and his ophthalmology residency at the Jules Stein Eye Institute, University of California at Los Angeles. He went on to complete his fellowship training in vitreoretinal surgery at Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston and the New England Eye Center at Tufts Medical Center. Dr. Joseph is a Board-certified ophthalmologist and member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the American Medical Association, the American Medical Informatics Association, and the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology. He has authored numerous research articles and has presented his work nationally.

Richard Joseph, MD

Contributor

Dr. Richard Joseph is the founder of VIM Medicine, cofounder of Vital CxNs, a practicing clinician in the Center for Weight Management and Wellness at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, MA, and a faculty member at Harvard Medical School. He completed his residency in primary care/internal medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital after receiving his medical and business degrees from Stanford University. Dr. Joseph designed and currently conducts an intensive group-based lifestyle program, and is a coauthor of The Lifestyle Medicine Handbook: An Introduction to the Power of Healthy Habits. Prior to his medical training, Dr. Joseph worked as a CSCS-certified personal trainer, helping numerous clients toward their health and fitness goals. His background in athletics and performance training, combined with his practice of lifestyle medicine and weight management, informs his vision of holistic health and well-being. Dr. Joseph aspires to help bridge the gap between the health and fitness industry and traditional health care to create a prevention-oriented, performance-focused, community-centric, and equitable model of care.

Stephen Juraschek, MD, PhD

Contributor

Dr. Stephen Juraschek is a physician investigator at Beth Isreal Deaconess Medical Center and an associate professor of medicine at both Harvard Medical School and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health's department of nutrition. His research focuses on healthy food, food insecurity, blood pressure variability outside of the clinic, orthostatic hypotension, gout, and falls. Dr. Juraschek received his medical degree from The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and earned a doctorate in cardiovascular disease epidemiology from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Michaela Kane

Contributor

Michaela Kane is an intern with Harvard Health Publishing. Prior to working at Harvard, she was a writing intern at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital Communication and Public Affairs office. Michaela received her B.A. from the University of Arizona where she studied journalism and neuroscience, and she recently earned her master’s degree in science journalism from Boston University.

Tsuyoshi Kaneko, MD

Contributor

Tsuyoshi Kaneko, MD, is a cardiac surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) and an assistant professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Kaneko received his medical degree from Keio University School of Medicine in Tokyo. He then completed three residency programs: one at Keio University, another in surgery at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and the third in cardiothoracic surgery residency at BWH. He also completed a cardiothoracic surgery fellowship at BWH. He is board certified in general surgery. He specializes in endovascular approaches in cardiac surgery, including transcatheter aortic valve replacements—a catheter-based, minimally invasive surgical procedure for high-risk patients diagnosed with severe aortic stenosis—and thoracic endovascular aortic aneurysm repairs for thoracic aortic aneurysms. Dr. Kaneko also specializes in open aortic surgery and minimally invasive valve surgeries utilizing smaller incisions. His research focuses on the clinical outcomes of aortic and valvular disease.

Sunil Kapur, MD

Contributor

Dr. Sunil Kapur is an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, and a staff cardiologist/cardiac electrophysiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) in Boston. He completed his undergraduate degree in biomedical engineering and his medical doctorate at Northwestern University, and his postgraduate training in internal medicine, cardiovascular medicine, and clinical cardiac electrophysiology at BWH. Dr. Kapur's research interests include clinical innovation in invasive electrophysiology and the genetics of atrial arrhythmias.

Martin Kathrins, MD

Contributor

Dr. Martin Kathrins is an associate surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and assistant professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School. He is director of the men’s health center in the Brigham and Women’s department of urology. Dr. Kathrins received his undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He received his medical degree from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, and completed his urology residency at the University of Pennsylvania. He subsequently completed a fellowship in male infertility, andrology, and microsurgery at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He is board certified in urology. Dr. Kathrins’ clinical interests include male infertility, hypogonadism, sexual dysfunction, and voiding dysfunction. Dr. Kathrins’ research focuses include severe male factor infertility and genitourinary cancer survivorship.

Jeffrey Katz, MD, MS

Contributor

Jeffrey N. Katz, MD, MS, graduated from Princeton University in 1980, attended Yale Medical School, and completed a medical residency at Yale-New Haven Hospital and a rheumatology fellowship at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH). He received an MS in 1990 from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Dr. Katz is professor of medicine and orthopaedic surgery at Harvard Medical School, and professor of epidemiology at Harvard T.H. Chan. He holds the Clement B. Sledge and Thomas S. Thornhill Distinguished Chair in Orthopedic Surgery at BWH. Dr. Katz is director of research in the department of orthopedic surgery at BWH, and director of the Office of Scholarly Engagement at HMS. Dr. Katz has focused his research on outcomes of musculoskeletal disorders, including carpal tunnel syndrome, lumbar spinal stenosis, osteoarthritis, meniscal tear, and interventions for these conditions including physical therapy, knee arthroscopy, and joint replacement. He is principal investigator of two NIH-funded multicenter trials of therapies for patients with meniscal tear and osteoarthritis. Dr. Katz is deputy editor for methodology of the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, and associate editor of Osteoarthritis and Cartilage.

Sabra L. Katz-Wise, PhD

Contributor

Sabra L. Katz-Wise, PhD (she/her) is an assistant professor in adolescent/young adult medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital, in pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, and in social and behavioral sciences at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. She co-directs the Harvard SOGIE (Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression) Health Equity Research Collaborative. Her research investigates sexual orientation and gender identity development, sexual fluidity, health inequities related to sexual orientation and gender identity, and psychosocial functioning in families with transgender youth. Dr. Katz-Wise also advocates to improve workplace climate, medical education, and patient care for LGBTQ individuals, as co-chair for the BCH Rainbow Consortium on Sexual and Gender Diversity, as an HMS LGBT Advisory Committee member, and as HMS Sexual and Gender Minority Curriculum Development Fellow.

Maneet Kaur, MD

Contributor

Maneet Kaur, M.D. is Associate Chief for the department of rheumatology at VA Boston Health Care System. Double board certified in internal medicine and rheumatology, she is an appointed lecturer at Harvard Medical School. In addition to practicing general adult rheumatology, she is certified in bone densitometry from International Society of Clinical Densitometry (ISCD). Dr. Kaur is passionate about educating and informing the patients she cares for and believes strongly in helping the larger community understand specific illnesses and treatment options as well as how to take an active role in one’s health care.

Nancy Keating, M.D., M.P.H.

Contributor

Nancy L. Keating, M.D., M.P.H., is a professor of health care policy and medicine at Harvard Medical School, and a physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Dr. Keating’s research examines provider, patient, and health system factors that influence the delivery of high-quality care for individuals with cancer.

Alyson Kelley-Hedgepeth, MD

Contributor

Dr. Alyson Kelley-Hedgepeth is a full-time cardiologist and co-director of the women’s program at Lown Cardiovascular Group. She has extensive experience in managing coronary artery disease, heart failure, and arrhythmias. Dr. Kelley-Hedgepeth is committed to providing personalized cardiovascular care with an emphasis on early disease detection and prevention. She specializes in cardiac lifestyle assessment and women’s cardiovascular disease. Her passion is preventive cardiovascular health and identifying how simple lifestyle changes promote healing and wellness. She trained in internal medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, and completed a fellowship in cardiology at Tufts Medical Center. Dr. Kelley-Hedgepeth is board certified in cardiovascular disease and nuclear cardiology. She is also a diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine and board eligible in echocardiography.

John F. Kelly, PhD

Contributor

Dr. John F. Kelly is the Elizabeth R. Spallin Professor of Psychiatry in Addiction Medicine at Harvard Medical School — the first endowed professor in addiction medicine at Harvard. He is also the founder and director of the Recovery Research Institute at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), and the associate director of the Center for Addiction Medicine at MGH. Dr. Kelly is a former president of the American Psychological Association’s (APA) Society of Addiction Psychology, a founding member and inaugural president of the American Board of Addiction Psychology, a Fellow of the APA, and a Diplomate of the American Board of Professional Psychology. He has served as a consultant to U.S. federal agencies and non-federal institutions, as well as foreign governments, the United Nations, and the World Health Organization. Dr. Kelly has published over 200 peer-reviewed articles, reviews, chapters, and books in the field of addiction medicine, and was an author on the U.S. Surgeon General’s Report on Alcohol, Drugs, and Health. He has won numerous state, national, and international lifetime achievements and distinguished scientist awards for his work. His clinical and research endeavors have focused on addiction treatment and the recovery process, mechanisms of behavior change, and reducing stigma and discrimination among individuals suffering from addiction.

Harvard Health Experts and Contributors

List of Experts

Kristin Hung, MD

Nasrien Ibrahim, MD

Lisa I. Iezzoni, MD, MSc

James P. Ioli, DPM

Eric Isselbacher, MD, MSc

Brian C. Jacobson, MD, MPH, FASGE, AGAF

Ted A. James, MD

James Januzzi, MD

Sogol Javaheri, MD, MPH

Jeff Meade

Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH

Tien Jiang, DMD, MEd

Anthony Joseph, MD

Richard Joseph, MD

Stephen Juraschek, MD, PhD

Michaela Kane

Tsuyoshi Kaneko, MD

Sunil Kapur, MD

Martin Kathrins, MD

Jeffrey Katz, MD, MS

Sabra L. Katz-Wise, PhD

Maneet Kaur, MD

Nancy Keating, M.D., M.P.H.

Alyson Kelley-Hedgepeth, MD

John F. Kelly, PhD