|
January Updates from the Mongan Institute
| |
Mongan ReflectionsFrom the Director
| |
With the turn of the new year, it is impossible not to look back on the events of the past months without experiencing apprehension about the future of our society and nation. We remain in the grips of a pandemic that has highlighted longstanding health disparities for people of color, the elderly, people with low socioeconomic means, and people with disabilities. We have witnessed the polarization and political divisions in our country tragically escalate to the recent shocking display of violence and insurgency at our nation’s capital. The need to restore trust and integrity in institutions that are essential to our collective welfare could not be more pressing. At the same time, there is also reason to view the new year with hope for new beginnings, including those for faculty and programs of the Mongan Institute aimed at achieving transformative change and health equity.
December’s “Reflections” highlighted the appointment of Dr. Rochelle Walensky, Chief of MGH Infectious Diseases and a faculty member of the Mongan Institute, as the incoming Director of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the work of the Medical Practice Evaluation Center. This month’s reflections feature the transition of another Mongan faculty member, Dr. Joseph Betancourt, Founder and Senior Advisor of the Disparities Solutions Center. In May 2019 Dr. Betancourt was appointed as MGH’s first Vice President and Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer, expanded this month to MGH/MGPO Senior Vice President for Equity and Community Health. Among Dr. Betancourt’s many national contributions include the Institute of Medicine’s 2002 report Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Health. Locally Dr. Betancourt recently led MGH’s COVID equity and community health response and developed MGH’s Structural Equity 10-Point Plan focused on eliminating racism and advancing equity. These efforts could not be served by a more passionate or better advocate and leader advancing the cause of health equity.
Following Dr. Betancourt’s transition, we have been fortunate to have the outstanding work of the Disparities Solutions Center (DSC) continue to flourish at the Mongan Institute under the dedicated direction of Aswita Tan-McGrory, MBA, MSPH, who is the current Director of the DSC. She also serves as the Mongan Institute’s Administrative Director. At a national level, the DSC has had a major impact on advancing equity in health care by providing trainings and consultations to health care systems across nation through the Disparities Leadership Program. The DSC’s Annual Report on Equity in Health Care Quality established Mass General as an early national leader in measuring health disparities and led to recognition as the inaugural recipient of the American Hospital Association Equity of Care Award. Most recently at the local level, the DSC has been instrumental in advancing equity and diversity in research careers including co-sponsoring the innovative COVID Corps program at the Mongan Institute, along with leading the Mongan Institute’s Diversity and Equity initiative. Despite the many challenges of the past year, we look with optimism and excitement to 2021 as an opportunity for the Mongan Institute to further advance and accelerate its mission “dedicated to achieving health equity and improving the lives of people with complex needs through research and training in population and health care delivery team science.”
- Steve Bartels, MD, MS
| |
Dear Colleague,
In this newsletter you will find:
Mongan Institute News and Events
- Call for MGH/BWH Employee Participants: DISCOVER COVID-19 Study
- Joseph Betancourt, MD, MPH, Named MGH/MGPO Senior Vice President for Equity and Community Health
- Elyse Park, PhD, MPH, Promoted to Professor at Harvard Medical School and Awarded American Psychosocial Oncology Society's Ruth McCorkle Excellence in Research Mentorship Award
- Tracey Simon, MD, MPH, Promoted to Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School
- Awards & Honors
- Margarita Alegría, PhD, Received Massachusetts Psychological Association's Kenneth D. Herman, PhD, JD, Career Contribution Award
- Esther Freeman, MD, PhD, Named to Medscape's Rising Stars List of 2020
- Fatima Cody Stanford, MD, MPH, MPA, Received Obesity Society's Clinician of the Year Award
- Alexander Tsai, MD, Recommended for Membership in the American Society for Clinical Investigation
- In the News
- Recent Publications
- Job Opportunities
- Social Media Highlight
News and Events from Our Partners
- RSVP: Health Care Disparities in the Asthma and Allergy Community
- Apply: Seeking Candidates Underrepresented in Academia for Nutrition Obesity Research Center at Harvard's Diversity Research Supplements
| |
Call for MGH/BWH Employee Participants: DISCOVER COVID-19 Study
| |
Chana Sacks, MD, MPH, is leading the DISCOVER COVID-19 Study (Determining the Incidence of SARS-CoV-2 Occurrence after Vaccination in Early Recipients of COVID-19 Immunication) as the principal investigator of a collaborative effort by multiple researchers at MassGeneral Brigham. Trials have demonstrated that COVID-19 vaccination prevents symptomatic COVID-19 infections, but whether the vaccine prevents asymptomatic infection (and transmission) is unknown. The purpose of the study is to compare rates of asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 PCR positivity before and after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination.
The study team is inviting all employees at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital who have undergone or plan to undergo employee-sponsored COVID-19 in Waves A, B, or C of the MassGeneral Brigham Vaccination plan to participate in the study. Visit the website below to learn more and enroll.
Dr. Sacks is an internist at MGH, Co-Director of the MGH Center for Gun Violence Prevention, and a faculty member at the Mongan Institute. The co-investigators of the DISCOVER COVID-19 Study are Robbie Goldstein, MD, PhD, Michael Dougan, MD, PhD, and Crystal North, MD, MPH. Dr. North is also a faculty member at the Mongan Institute, in the Medical Practice Evaluation Center.
| |
Joseph Betancourt, MD, MPH, Named MGH/MGPO Senior Vice President for Equity and Community Health
| |
Joseph Betancourt, MD, MPH, who previously served as the first MGH Vice President and Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer, has been named to the expanded role of MGH/MGPO Senior Vice President for Equity and Community Health, effective January 1, 2021.
A letter from MGH President Peter Slavin, MD, and MGPO CEO Timothy Ferris, MD, described Dr. Betancourt as a "creative, compassionate, and visionary" leader and a "fierce advocate" for his patients and their communities.
Dr. Betancourt is also Founder, Senior Advisor, and Faculty at the Disparities Solutions Center; a faculty member at the Mongan Institute; and Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.
| |
Elyse Park, PhD, MPH, Promoted to Professor at Harvard Medical School and Awarded American Psychosocial Oncology Society's Ruth McCorkle Excellence in Research Mentorship Award
| |
Elyse Park, PhD, MPH, has been promoted to Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Park is a clinical health psychologist and health services researcher who focuses on understanding and improving health-related behaviors and quality of life functioning across the continuum of patients at risk for cancer through to cancer survivors.
Dr. Park has also been awarded the Ruth McCorkle Excellence in Research Mentorship Award by the American Psychosocial Oncology Society (APOS). The Award honors an APOS or community member who has demonstrated a longstanding commitment to making a significant positive impact on their mentees’ education and career, nurturing intellectual growth, career development, professional guidance, and positive role modeling in the field of psychosocial oncology.
Dr. Park is also Director of Behavioral Sciences at the Tobacco Research and Treatment Center at the Mongan Institute at MGH, Director of Behavioral Health Research at the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind-Body Medicine, and Associate Director of Survivorship Research and Psychosocial Services for the MGH Cancer Center.
| |
Tracey Simon, MD, MPH, Promoted to Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School
| |
Tracey Simon, MD, MPH, has been promoted to Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Simon is a gastroenterologist who has been a member of the Clinical & Translational Epidemiology Unit at the Mongan Institute at MGH since 2015. She has developed a productive and innovative research program in the epidemiology and prevention of liver cancer. Her work has already been published in leading journals, including the Annals of Internal Medicine and the New England Journal of Medicine. She has received research funding from the NIDDK and the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.
| |
Margarita Alegría, PhD, Received Massachusetts Psychological Association's Kenneth D. Herman, PhD, JD, Career Contribution Award
| |
Margarita Alegría, PhD, received the Kenneth D. Herman, PhD, JD, Career Contribution Award from the Massachusetts Psychological Association (MPA). This award honors individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the advancement of psychology as a science and a profession, and as a means of promoting human welfare. She was presented this award as part of MPA’s 2020 virtual Annual Conference on Saturday, December 5, 2020.
Dr. Alegría is Chief of the Disparities Research Unit and Harry G. Lehnert, Jr. and Lucille F. Cyr Lehnert Endowed MGH Research Institute Chair.
| |
Esther Freeman, MD, PhD, Named to Medscape's Rising Stars List of 2020
| |
Esther Freeman, MD, PhD, has been named to Medscape’s Rising Stars List of 2020. The list recognizes 25 young physicians who are rising stars in medicine, poised to become future leaders of their fields. This list of 25, narrowed down from hundreds of candidates, is pushing medicine forward in new ways, though they are no more than 10 years out of training. They have demonstrated leadership and innovation in patient care, particularly for underserved patient populations.
Dr. Freeman is Director of Global Health Dermatology at Massachusetts General Hospital and an Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School.
| |
Fatima Cody Stanford, MD, MPH, MPA, Received Obesity Society's Clinician of the Year Award
| |
Fatima Cody Stanford, MD, MPH, MPA, has been honored with the Clinician of the Year Award from the Obesity Society. The award was founded in 2015 by the Clinical Management of Obesity Section of the society to recognize significant contributions for the evidenced-based treatment of obesity.
Dr. Stanford is an adult and pediatric obesity medicine physician in the MGH Weight Center, Department of Medicine-Gastroenterology, and Department of Pediatrics-Endocrinology.
| |
Alexander Tsai, MD, Recommended for Membership in the American Society for Clinical Investigation
| |
Alexander Tsai, MD, has been recommended for membership in the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI), with a formal vote to follow in January and induction in April. The ASCI is an honor society of approximately 3,000 physician-scientists dedicated to the advancement of research as well as improving the treatment of human diseases. No more than 80 new members, aged 50 years and younger, are elected annually on the basis of significant research accomplishments.
Dr. Tsai is the 20th psychiatrist, and the first psychiatrist from Mass General, to be inducted into the ASCI. Other Mongan faculty and affiliates include Drs. Katrina Armstrong, Andrew Chan, Ken Freedberg, Lisa Iezzoni, Louise Ivers, Jennifer Temel, and Rochelle Walensky.
Dr. Tsai is Associate Director for Trainee Development in the Division of Global Psychiatry at MGH, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, a faculty member at the Mongan Institute, and a faculty affiliate at the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies.
| |
Margarita Alegría, PhD, discussed the factors behind especially high rates of psychological distress among Latino adults during COVID-19 and policies that could make a difference in the months ahead on “Public Health on Call,” a podcast by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
| |
Kim Blumenthal, MD, MSc, spoke with WHDH 7News Boston to reassure that the COVID-19 vaccines can be administered safely to people with allergies.
| |
Lisa Iezzoni, MD, MSc, spoke with NPR about unconscious bias and physicians’ perceptions of quality of life for people with disabilities. Read the article, titled “As Hospitals Fear Being Overwhelmed By COVID-19, Do The Disabled Get The Same Access?”
| |
Nancy Rigotti, MD, spoke with CBS Boston about the best ways to quit smoking.
| |
Fatima Cody Stanford, MD, MPH, MPA, was interviewed by the Capsule Blog about her work advocating for person-first language, combating racial disparities in healthcare, and taking legislative action to fund better treatments for obesity.
| |
Erica Warner, ScD, MPH, wrote about delays and declines in cancer screenings caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in an article titled "COVID-19-Related Disruptions in Cancer Screenings," published on ASCO Daily News.
| |
Recent Publications
Below are a few publications recently published by Mongan Institute investigators. Please find a more comprehensive list of publications from the past 3 months on our website.
- Associations Between Trauma, Sleep, and Cognitive Impairment Among Latino and Asian Older Adults
Saadi A, Cruz-Gonzalez M, Hwang A, Cohen L, Alegria M. Associations Between Trauma, Sleep, and Cognitive Impairment Among Latino and Asian Older Adults. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2021 Jan 5. doi: 10.1111/jgs.16986. [Epubahead of print]
- Association of Diet and Lifestyle With the Risk of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease Symptoms in US Women
Mehta RS, Nguyen LH, Ma W, Staller K, Song M, Chan AT. Association of Diet and Lifestyle With the Risk of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease Symptoms in US Women. JAMA Intern Med. 2021 Jan 4. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2020.7238. [Epub ahead of print]
- Carotid Physiology and Neck Restraints in Law Enforcement: Why Neurologists Need to Make Their Voices Heard
Berkman JM, Rosenthal JA, Saadi A. Carotid Physiology and Neck Restraints in Law Enforcement: Why Neurologists Need to Make Their Voices Heard. JAMA Neurol. 2020 Dec 28. doi: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2020.4669. [Epub ahead of print]
- Temporal trends in severe COVID-19 outcomes in patients with rheumatic disease: a cohort study
Jorge A, D’Silva KM, Cohen A, Wallace ZS, McCormick N, Zhang Y, Choi HK. Temporal trends in severe COVID-19 outcomes in patients with rheumatic disease: a cohort study. The Lancet Rheumatology. 2020 Dec 24. doi: 10.1016/S2665-9913(20)30422-7.
- Massachusetts general hospital Covid-19 registry reveals two distinct populations of hospitalized patients by race and ethnicity
Bassett IV, Triant VA, Bunda BA, Selvaggi CA, Shinnick DJ, He W, Lu F, Porneala BC, Cao T, Lubitz SA, Meigs JB, Hsu J, Foulkes AS. Massachusetts general hospital Covid-19 registry reveals two distinct populations of hospitalized patients by race and ethnicity. PLoS One. 2020 Dec 22;15(12):e0244270. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0244270.
| |
Please visit our website to stay updated on all open positions at the Mongan Institute and our centers/programs. To apply, visit the MGH Careers website and search the job number listed.
- Harvard Medical School Center for Bioethics Faculty Search
The Center for Bioethics at Harvard Medical School is recruiting faculty to expand our research portfolio in bioethics. Appointment as an Instructor, Assistant, or Associate Professor, commensurate with training, experience, and achievements, based in both the Center for Bioethics at Harvard Medical School and at the Mongan Institute. Interested individuals should submit a letter of interest and their Curriculum Vitae to: Robert Truog, Director, Center for Bioethics, Harvard Medical School, bioethicssearch@hms.harvard.edu.
- Research Program/Project Manager, Biometry Unit - 3131079
The Medical Practice Evaluation Center (MPEC) is seeking an intellectually curious and highly organized individual to serve as the Program/Project Manager of the Center’s growing Biometry Unit. The Program/Project Manager for the MPEC Biometry Unit will play a key role in research program administration through coordination of data analysis activities and oversight of Biometry Unit personnel allocations, in addition to potentially contributing to projects as a researcher, if interested. In collaboration with the Directory of Biometry, the Program/Project Manager will lead continuous process improvements to maximize efficiency, transparency, and communication among Investigators and the Biometry Unit.
- Research Data Analyst/Biostatistician - 3129496
The Medical Practice Evaluation Center (MPEC) has an opportunity for an enthusiastic and energetic individual to join our research team investigating the clinical and economic value of alternative strategies of HIV treatment and prevention, as well as modeling other diseases, as a Data Analyst/Biostatistician. The candidate should be highly motivated with experience in quantitative methods and public health research. The candidate should have solid foundation in biostatistics and statistical programming. Ideally, the candidate will have experience in mathematical model development, parameterization, and debugging.
- Data Analyst I - 3129494
The Medical Practice Evaluation Center (MPEC) is seeking a clinical research Data Analyst to join our research team. The Data Analyst will work with investigators in the Outcomes and Implementation Science Program to analyze and evaluate interventions to improve health outcomes in the United States and international settings.
- Research Assistant, Health Policy - 3140205
The Health Policy Research Center at the Mongan Institute is seeking to hire a part-time Research Assistant to assist with a number of current projects being conducted by Elyse R. Park, Ph.D., MPH. This position provides an excellent opportunity for those interested in gaining experience in behavioral health interventions and randomized clinical trials in a variety of medical settings.
- Clinical Research Coordinator - 3140852
The Center for Aging and Serious Illness (CASI) in the Mongan Institute at Massachusetts General Hospital seeks a Clinical Research Coordinator (CRC). Under the general supervision of the CASI Director, the CRC will assist with the organization and execution of the group’s clinical studies and clinical trials, with a focus on regulatory submissions.
| |
RSVP: Health Care Disparities in the Asthma and Allergy Community
| |
Tuesday, January 19, 2021
7:00pm - 8:00pm ET
Please join the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, New England Chapter for “Health Care Disparities in the Asthma and Allergy Community” on Tuesday, January 19, 2021, 7-9pm ET via Zoom. Social determinants of health, structural racism, and implicit bias play major roles in preventing health equity. Over the past decade, there have been some advances in US public policy, health care, and research, but racial gaps in asthma and allergy outcomes have not changed. Minority groups continue to bear disproportionate hardship in managing asthma and allergies.
| |
Apply: Seeking Candidates Underrepresented in Academics for Nutrition Obesity Research Center at Harvard's Diversity Research Supplements
| |
The Nutrition Obesity Research Center at Harvard is seeking to match eligible scholars from backgrounds underrepresented in academia (URiA) to research mentors at Harvard and our affiliate organizations to apply for NIH-funded Research Supplements to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research. We encourage applications from undergraduates, post-baccalaureates, graduate students, and faculty seeking a career in health-related research.
To find out more about this program and to indicate your interest in being matched with a Harvard principal investigator, visit the NORCH website and fill out the brief application form. A current list of Harvard principal investigators who have indicated an interest in an applying for an NIH supplement to mentor a diversity scholar can be found at the website.
Eligible mentors can also express interest in being matched with applicants. An example application can be made available to mentors upon request.
| |
Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay up-to-date on important news, updates, events, and publications from our researchers, and visit our website for more information! Don't forget to tag us and use our hashtag, #MonganInstitute, so we can see your posts, too.
To subscribe to our newsletter and automatically receive monthly updates, sign up here.
| |
|
|
|
|
