Harvard Health Experts and Contributors

Annie Brewster is an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, and a practicing internist at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston. She is also a patient, diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2001. She has been collecting and sharing patient stories since 2010. In 2013 she founded Health Story Collaborative, a nonprofit organization committed to empowering patients and their loved ones, building community, strengthening patient-provider connections, and ultimately transforming healthcare through storytelling. Dr. Brewster is the author of The Healing Power of Storytelling: Using Personal Narrative to Navigate Illness, Trauma, and Loss. Twitter: @HealthStoryCo Instagram: @healthstorycollaborative Facebook: Health Story Collaborative

Dr. Ryan Brewster is a first-year pediatrics resident in the combined residency program at Boston Children's Hospital and Boston Medical Center as part of the Urban Health and Advocacy Track and Global Health Pathway. His work focuses on building and scaling low-cost technologies to address health inequities. Dr. Brewster earned his MD from the Stanford University School of Medicine.

Lori Brightman, PT, MPT, CLT, is a clinical specialist physical therapist working at MGB Spaulding Outpatient Center in Plymouth, MA. She has specialized certifications in pelvic and obstetric physical therapy through the American Physical Therapy Association, as well as Certified in Lymphedema Therapy (CLT) training. Lori enjoys working with patients to improve their functional outcomes and improve their quality of life.

Since 1985, Melissa has served as a mediator, facilitator and trainer in the field of dispute resolution. She has worked in private practice, helping clients to engage in effective communications and problem solving while navigating high impact work and family issues. She has also worked with numerous academic institutions, health care organizations, Fortune 500 companies; state and federal agencies; and non-profit groups. Melissa has served as Executive Director of the Massachusetts Association of Mediation Programs and Practitioners, Director of The Children’s Hearings Project and mediator of educational appeals for the Massachusetts Department of Education. She is the recipient of numerous awards in her field and holds an MEd from Harvard University and a BA from Amherst College.

Barbara Brody is the executive editor of Harvard Health Publishing's Special Health Reports. In this role, she creates in-depth guides designed to help readers lead healthier lives. Previously, Barbara spent many years as an independent writer and editor. Her work has appeared in WebMD, Prevention, Health, Fortune Well, Health Central, and AARP, among other outlets. She has also written for the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation, the Global Healthy Living Foundation, and medical schools including Mount Sinai, Columbia, and NYU. Earlier in her career, Barbara served as Health Director at Shape. She is a member of the Association of Health Care Journalists (AHCJ) and a graduate of Cornell University.

Kemar J. Brown, MD, is a clinical and research fellow in cardiovascular medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Harvard Medical School. He completed his undergraduate education at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, received his medical degree from Stony Brook University School of Medicine, and thereafter completed his residency training in Internal Medicine at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in 2018. Dr. Brown has a clinical interest in heart failure and cardiac transplant. As a postdoctoral research fellow, his work focuses on understanding the fundamental molecular and cellular mechanisms of heart disease. He also studies social determinants of health and predicators of telemedicine use in ambulatory cardiovascular care. Follow Dr. Brown on Twitter @kemar_MD.

Lou Ann Bruno-Murtha, DO, is Division Chief of Infectious Diseases and Medical Director of Infection Prevention at the Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA). She chairs the Infection Prevention Committee and co-directs the Antibiotic Stewardship Team.   She has an appointment at Harvard Medical School as an Assistant Professor and teaches residents and medical students.   Dr. Bruno-Murtha received her DO degree at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-School of Osteopathic Medicine. She completed an Internal Medicine residency at St. Vincent’s Hospital and Medical Center in Manhattan and a fellowship in Infectious Diseases at Boston University Medical Center. She is board certified in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases.   She has conducted clinical research on antibiotic cycling, the molecular epidemiology of MRSA and complicated skin infections. Quality improvement interests have included optimizing and maintaining exceptional hand hygiene compliance, assessing and improving environmental cleanliness, evaluating the utility of UV disinfection in the OR, implementing a process for total body cleansing with chlorhexidine for selected surgical patients, improving appropriateness of urine cultures and initiating a strategy to reduce hospital-onset C. difficile infections.   Dr. Bruno-Murtha served on the Massachusetts Expert Panel on Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs), whose work culminated in guidelines for infection prevention programs in Massachusetts and formulated the basis for public reporting of selected HAIs. She is currently serving on the Massachusetts Healthcare Associated Infection/Antibiotic Resistance Technical Advisory Group, whose charge is to facilitate improving antibiotic use across the continuum of care. Dr. Bruno-Murtha is a member of the Society of Healthcare Epidemiology task force on community-based healthcare epidemiologists.   She has published original research, reviews, case reports and abstracts and has lectured both regionally and nationally. Dr. Bruno-Murtha has received awards for excellence in teaching, collaboration, and in clinical care. She is a member of the Society of Healthcare Epidemiology of America, the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the American College of Physicians.

Glenn K. Buchberger, MD is a primary care physician for children and adults practicing at the CHA Everett Care Center in Everett, Massachusetts. He earned an A.B. in English Literature at Dartmouth College and completed his Medical Doctor degree and residency training in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry in Rochester, New York. As a resident he was involved in several projects to raise awareness of the dangers posed by excess sugar consumption. In addition to his primary care practice he provides office based treatment for opioid use disorder at a sister clinic in Revere, Massachusetts several times each month.

Kaitlyn Buckwell is a certified strength and conditioning coach for Mass General Brigham (MGB)'s Center for Sports Performance and Research. She earned her BS in exercise science from Eastern Michigan University, where she competed as a Division-1 swimmer from 2010 to 2014, and received her MS in sports medicine from The University of Pittsburgh in 2017. She has been a strength and conditioning coach for over eight years, working with various types of athletes including youth, high school, colligate, and military. Prior to MGB she worked as a strength and conditioning specialist with the United States Army at Fort Jackson, SC.

Dr. Andrew E. Budson is chief of cognitive & behavioral neurology at the Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System, lecturer in neurology at Harvard Medical School, and chair of the Science of Learning Innovation Group at the Harvard Medical School Academy. Graduating cum laude from Harvard Medical School in 1993, he has given over 750 local, national, and international grand rounds and other talks; published over 125 scientific papers, reviews, and book chapters; and co-authored or edited eight books. His book Seven Steps to Managing Your Memory: What’s Normal, What’s Not, and What to Do About It explains how individuals can distinguish changes in memory due to Alzheimer’s versus normal aging; what medications, vitamins, diets, and exercise regimens can help; and the best habits, strategies, and memory aids to use; it is being translated into Chinese and Korean. His book Memory Loss, Alzheimer’s Disease, and Dementia: A Practical Guide for Clinicians has been translated into Spanish, Portuguese, and Japanese. His book Six Steps to Managing Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia: A Guide for Families teaches caregivers how they can manage all the problems that come with dementia — and still take care of themselves. His latest book, Why We Forget and How to Remember Better: The Science Behind Memory, explains the science of memory and how to use that knowledge to improve our ability to remember in daily life. Website: Andrew Budson, MD Facebook: Andrew Budson, MD Twitter: @abudson

Dr. Christopher Bullock, MD, MFA (1947–2018), was an assistant clinical professor (part-time) of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, a psychoanalyst affiliated with the Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute, and a teaching associate at the Cambridge Health Alliance, where for 20 years he was the senior attending physician on an outpatient team working intensively with the chronically mentally ill. He maintained a private practice in Newton, Massachusetts. He won multiple teaching awards, was a founding faculty member in the team that developed the innovative Cambridge-Harvard Medical School Longitudinal Third Year Clerkship, worked in pioneering projects integrating behavioral health care into primary care medicine, taught for many years in the HMS Healer’s Art seminars, and lectured nationally on psychiatric education.

Julia Martin Burch, PhD, is a staff psychologist in the McLean Anxiety Mastery Program at McLean Hospital. Dr. Martin Burch works with children, teens, and parents, and specializes in cognitive behavioral therapy for anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, and related disorders. She also provides training for clinicians, parent groups, and schools on working with anxious youth as part of the McLean School Consult Service. Dr. Martin Burch completed her training at Fairleigh Dickinson University and Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School.

After spending almost 15 years in the U.S. Navy, with multiple deployments in support of the Global War on Terrorism, Christopher Burns, MD, now practices trauma and acute care surgery, along with burn surgery, and surgical critical care at both the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the South Shore Hospital. Dr. Burns is the Vice-Chair of Critical Care at South Shore Hospital, and an Instructor in Surgery at Harvard Medical School.

Katsiaryna Bykov, PharmD, ScD, is a pharmacoepidemiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and an instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School. Originally trained as a pharmacist, she completed her research doctorate in epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and has been conducting research on medication use, safety, and effectiveness for more than a decade.

Dr. A. Enrique Caballero is an endocrinologist, clinical investigator, and educator. He works in the Office for External Education at Harvard Medical School, directing the development of programs in the field of diabetes and related disorders that benefit health care professionals and patients around the world. Dr. Caballero has had a strong and long commitment to help underserved populations. He founded the Latino Diabetes Initiative at the Joslin Diabetes Center, and the diabetes program within the Spanish Clinic at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, both affiliated with Harvard Medical School. Through multiple activities in the areas of patient care, patient education, community outreach, clinical research, and professional education, his work has favorably impacted the lives of thousands of people and families with diabetes or at risk for the disease. His research interests include type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease prevention, as well as management of diabetes in racial/ethnic minorities. He has been a co-investigator of the National Diabetes Prevention Program, the LookAhead Program, and the Diabetes Education Study, all sponsored by the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Caballero has written numerous publications on how diabetes affects the Latino/Hispanic community, diabetes prevention, obesity, and the link between diabetes and cardiovascular disease. He is also a reviewer for multiple prestigious medical journals. Dr. Caballero frequently lectures nationally and internationally in the areas of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes in minorities. He has been the chair for the Latino Diabetes Education Program for the American Diabetes Association, vice chair of the Health Care Disparities Committee of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, and has worked closely with other national and international organizations. He has also been a tutor of the Culturally Competent Care Curriculum at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Caballero graduated from the National University of Mexico Medical School, where he was awarded with the Gabino Barreda Medal for being the top student and achieving the highest academic level his class. He then completed his residency in internal medicine and fellowship in endocrinology at the National Institute of Nutrition in Mexico, and went on to complete a master’s degree in clinical epidemiology in Mexico. In addition, he completed a fellowship program in endocrinology and metabolism at the Lahey Clinic/Deaconess Hospital/Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston and the Program on Clinical Effectiveness at the Harvard School of Public Health. He has received local, regional, national, and international recognitions and awards. Dr. Caballero is the recipient of the 2009 Alberto Houssay Award by the National Minority Quality Forum, the 2011 award by the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists for his work on health care disparities and with underserved populations, the 2012 Distinguished Community Service and Leadership Award by ALPFA Health Care, and a special recognition from the Latin American Diabetes Association. He has been recognized for several years as one of the 100 most influential people in the Latino community according to El Planeta newspaper. Recently, Dr. Caballero received a special recognition from the city of Boston and the government of Mexico for his continuous effort and commitment to help underserved populations.

Alice Cai is a clinical sleep fellow at Clinical Sleep Fellow in the combined Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital program. She is a recent graduate from the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania’s Neurology residency, and has previously contributed to publications on intracerebral hemorrhage, toxic causes of delirium, impact of anesthesia on preoperative memory, and parasomnias. She previously helped investigate targets for non-opioid pain medicines in the area of pharmacology. Currently, her primary academic interests lie in overlap areas between Neurological conditions and sleep, including long term impacts of sleep deprivation on development of dementia. She earned her medical degree at Washington University in St. Louis, and a bachelor of science in Biochemistry as well as Molecular Biology at the University of Arizona.

Christine Caiati is a licensed occupational therapist and Certified Hand Therapist at Spaulding Outpatient Rehabilitation in Gloucester and Salem, MA. She earned her master of science in occupational therapy at the Boston School of Occupational Therapy at Tufts University in1993.

Johanna Calderon, PhD, is an assistant professor in the department of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and a research associate at Boston Children’s Hospital. She works on the neurodevelopmental and psychiatric outcomes of pediatric populations, primarily youth with congenital heart disease. She earned her PhD in neuropsychology from Paris Descartes Sorbonne University, and completed her postdoctoral research training at the French Institute of Health and Medical Research in France and at the Cardiac Neurodevelopmental Program at Boston Children’s Hospital.

Steve Calechman is a contributing editor for Men’s Health, a writer for MIT’s Industrial Liaison Program, and his work has appeared in The Boston Globe Magazine, Greentech Media, Fatherly, and BabyCenter. For over 25 years as a journalist, he’s written about everything from handling stress like an Alaska bush pilot to computational neuroscience to how to change your mind mid-sentence with your child. If you’d like to visit his website at stevecalechman.com, he won’t try to stop you.

Dr. Marcelo Campos works as a primary care doctor at Atrius Health. He is a lecturer at Harvard Medical School and a clinical assistant professor at Tufts University School of Medicine. Dr. Campos completed medical school in Brazil and a family medicine residency at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX. He is the chief of internal medicine and family medicine at the downtown Boston location of Harvard Vanguard. His interests are immigrant health, LGBTQ health, opioid use disorders, and lifestyle medicine.

Dr. Christopher P. Cannon is editor in chief of the Harvard Heart Letter. He is a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, and senior physician in the Preventive Cardiology section of the Cardiovascular Division at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. Dr. Cannon earned his MD from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York, and did his internal medicine residency at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center and a cardiovascular fellowship at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He has published more than 1,000 original articles, reviews, or book chapters in the field of acute coronary syndromes and prevention, and has authored or edited 20 books. He has received numerous awards, including leadership awards from the American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association, and the National Lipid Association.

Dr. Cartreine is a clinical psychologist, interactive media producer, and researcher. He is an Instructor in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and teaches CBT to psychiatry residents. Dr. Cartreine is affiliated with Brigham and Women’s Hospital, the Boston VA Medical Center, and is a co-founder of The EverMind Group, LLC.

Valeria Chambers is the founder and coordinator of Black Voices: Pathways 4 Recovery (formerly Blacks United in Recovery), where she provides leadership in all aspects of the development of program, and policy initiatives. She is a senior community researcher for the Health, Equity and Research Lab at Cambridge Health Alliance, and is active on the Massachusetts Mental Health Planning Council, having completed a five-year term as co-chair of the Department of Mental Health Multicultural Advisory Committee. Chambers holds a master’s degree and certificate of advanced studies in counseling and consulting psychology. She received the National Alliance on Mental Illness–Massachusetts 2007 Heroes in the Fight Award for the Peer Specialist Certification Training Team.

Andrew T. Chan, MD, MPH is a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School (HMS), Chief of the Clinical and Translational Epidemiology Unit, and the Program Director for gastroenterology training at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). As a clinical gastroenterologist, Dr. Chan specializes in familial gastrointestinal cancer syndromes and cancer prevention. Dr. Chan is a leading investigator in the epidemiology of colorectal cancer and other digestive diseases, with a focus on chemoprevention with aspirin and the interaction of diet with the gut microbiome. An elected fellow of the American Society of Clinical Investigation, he currently supported by NCI, NIDDK, and the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation for his research. He has published over 400 papers in the field of colorectal cancer and other chronic digestive diseases in leading journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of the American Medical Association, Lancet, Science Translational Medicine, Gastroenterology and Gut. Dr Chan is a section editor for Gastroenterology, serves on the editorial board of Cancer Prevention Research and Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention, and is vice-chair of the Gastrointestinal Oncology Section of the AGA.

Dr. Michelle Chan is an infectious disease physician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and an Instructor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School. She completed her undergraduate education at Tufts University, and medical school education at Case Western Reserve University. She did her residency training at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, and fellowship training in infectious disease at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Dr. Chan's interests include general infectious diseases and infection control.