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December Updates from the Mongan Institute
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Mongan ReflectionsFrom the Director
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Fundamental to the purpose of the Mongan Institute is to be an incubator for science that makes a real and rapid difference in healthcare delivery aimed at reducing health disparities. This core purpose could not be more evident this month as one of Mongan Institute’s faculty leaders, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, was selected to be the next director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). As a scientist and prior Co-Director of the Medical Practice Evaluation Center (MPEC) within the Mongan Institute, Dr. Walensky conducted groundbreaking research on the economic evaluation of HIV prevention, diagnosis, and treatment policies as a senior member of the Cost-Effectiveness of Preventing AIDS Complications (CEPAC) team. Her 2006 analysis in the Journal of Infectious Diseases was the first to determine the survival benefit of HIV treatment in the United States. In 2017 she led a study demonstrating the clinical impact and cost of achieving 90% HIV viral suppression in the U.S., and in 2019 she testified before the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform on the value of medications for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), medications which are both highly effective and very costly. She is currently serving as Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at MGH, and among her many leadership roles include past Chair of the NIH Office of AIDS Research Advisory Council, acting as an adviser to the World Health Organization and UNAIDS, and as an expert on Governor Baker’s COVID-19 Advisory Board. In her new role as Director of the CDC, Dr. Walensky will oversee a staff of over 10,000 and a budget of $12 billion, supporting programs in immunization, infectious diseases, environmental health, disease prevention, injury prevention, and public health preparedness and response. The CDC could not be more fortunate to have Dr. Walensky’s vision, expertise, and passion for advancing population-based prevention at the helm.
In the meantime, building on decades of work assessing the cost-effectiveness of different approaches to preventing and treating HIV, the MPEC team at the Mongan Institute has applied its expertise to the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the leadership of Dr. Ken Freedberg as Director and Dr. Ingrid Bassett as Co-Director, the MPEC team has built on its simulation modeling expertise to develop the Clinical and Economic Analysis of COVID-19 interventions (CEACOV) model. Among the many examples leveraging this model include: demonstrating the cost-effectiveness of screening adults in Massachusetts led by Drs. Neilan and Ciaranello; assessing the impact of different strategies for managing COVID-19 among sheltered homeless adults led by Drs. Baggett and Freedberg; a study of testing and prevention of COVID-19 on college campuses led by Drs. Losina and Freedberg; and an analysis of approaches to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in South Africa led by Drs. Reddy and Siedner. Finally, under the leadership Dr. Bassett, a multidisciplinary team at MGH has developed a detailed clinical registry of over 1400 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19 to support team-science efforts evaluating risk factors, and the acute and long-term outcomes of COVID-19.
Scholarly research has often been rightly criticized for being too siloed, too incremental, too theoretical, and “too academic” to make a real and rapid difference when solutions are urgently needed. The research on COVID-19 by MPEC and by the entire faculty of the Mongan Institute is one of many examples proving that it can be otherwise.
- Steve Bartels, MD, MS
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Dear Colleague,
In this newsletter you will find:
Mongan Institute News and Events
- Rochelle Walensky, MD, MPH, Selected to Lead CDC by President-elect Biden
- Awards & Honors
- Adjoa Anyane-Yeboa, MD, MPH, Awarded MGH/American Cancer Society Institutional Research Grant
- Andrew Chan, MD, MPH, Recognized as 2020 Highly Cited Researcher in Clinical Medicine
- Altaf Saadi, MD, MSc, Named 2020 STAT Wunderkind
- Yuvaram Reddy, MBBS, Received F32 Award from NIDDK
- In the News
- Recent Publications
- Job Opportunities
- Social Media Highlight
News and Events from Our Partners
- Register: The Impact of COVID-19 on Individuals with Disabilities
- Apply: Seeking Candidates Underrepresented in Academia for Nutrition Obesity Research Center at Harvard's Diversity Research Supplements
- Save the Date: NIMHD's Health Disparities Research Institute
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Rochelle Walensky, MD, MPH, Selected to Lead CDC by President-elect Biden
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Rochelle Walensky, MD, MPH, Chief of Infectious Diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital, has been selected by President-elect Joe Biden to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As Director of the CDC, Dr. Walensky will play a key role in containing the coronavirus pandemic, especially with vaccines on the horizon. She has already been on the front lines of the pandemic response in Massachusetts and was part of the COVID-19 Advisory Board brought together by Massachusetts' Baker-Polito administration.
Dr. Walensky is also a member of Mass General Brigham's Board of Directors, Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and former Co-Director of the Medical Practice Evaluation Center at the Mongan Institute.
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Adjoa Anyane-Yeboa, MD, MPH, Awarded MGH/American Cancer Society Institutional Research Grant
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Adjoa Anyane-Yeboa, MD, MPH, was awarded the MGH/American Cancer Society Institutional Research Grant for a project titled "Improving Community Access to Colonoscopy for Colorectal Cancer Screening – A Pilot Program." Colorectal cancer (CRC) screening rates at community health centers (CHC) are far lower than the national rates for average-risk adults. CHCs serve a large proportion of racial and ethnic minorities and low-income patients and face unique barriers to CRC screening with colonoscopy. The aims of this study are to 1) develop a web-based/digital application platform to allow CHCs to schedule patients for colonoscopy at MGH and 2) assess feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of the web-based/digital application platform at a single community health center.
Dr. Anyane-Yeboa is an Instructor of Investigation at the Clinical and Translational Epidemiology Unit at the Mongan Institute, an Instructor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and an Assistant in Medicine at MGH.
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Andrew Chan, MD, MPH, Recognized as 2020 Highly Cited Researcher in Clinical Medicine
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Andrew Chan, MD, MPH, was recognized as a 2020 Highly Cited Researcher in Clinical Medicine, ranking in the top 1% by citations for field and year globally in the Web of Science. The Highly Cited Researchers list represents scientists and social scientists who have demonstrated significant influence through publication of multiple highly cited papers during the last decade.
Dr. Chan is Chief of the Clinical and Translational Epidemiology Unit at the Mongan Institute, Director of Cancer Epidemiology at the MGH Cancer Center, and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School (HMS).
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Altaf Saadi, MD, MSc, Named 2020 STAT Wunderkind
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Altaf Saadi, MD, MSc, was named a 2020 STAT Wunderkind for her work with asylum-seekers and immigrant populations. The honor recognizes the most impressive doctors and researchers who are on the cusp of launching their careers but are not yet fully independent. Most include postdocs, fellows and biopharma employees working with more senior scientists to blaze new trails as they attempt to answer some of the biggest questions in science and medicine.
Dr. Saadi is an attending neurologist and Physician-Investigator at Massachusetts General Hospital and an Instructor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School.
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Yuvaram Reddy, MBBS, Received F32 Award from NIDDK
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Yuvaram Reddy, MBBS, was awarded an F32 award from NIDDK for his project entitled “Novel Methods to Inform Health Care Policy in Home Dialysis.” He is a nephrology fellow at Mass General Brigham and a research fellow at the Medical Practice Evaluation Center at the Mongan Institute, where he works with Drs. Krishna Reddy, Rochelle Walensky, and Mallika Mendu.
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Margarita Alegría, PhD, spoke with KOLD News 13 about the impact of the pandemic on the mental health of Latinx children for an article titled "‘This is trauma’: Latino children face mental health struggles during pandemic." Dr. Alegría also wrote an article titled “COVID-19 and Racial Disparities: Transforming the Health of Businesses” for HIT Consultant.
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Julie Levison, MD, MPhil, MPH, discussed the challenges of COVID vaccine uptake in Boston communities on Boston 25 News.
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Fatima Cody Stanford, MD, MPH, MPA, discussed health disparities in obesity and diabetes care with The Hill as a panelist for an event titled "Innovation Forward: Technology and Diabetes Care."
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Aswita Tan-McGrory, MBA, MSPH, wrote an article for the Harvard Health Blog titled “Driving equity in health care: Lessons from COVID-19,” the last of a three-part series on the impact of COVID-19 on communities of color and responses aimed at improving health equity.
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Altaf Saadi, MD, MSc, was interviewed for an article titled "Head Injury and Persistent Headache in People Seeking Asylum: What Neurologists Need to Know" in Neurology Today and spoke on her experience working with people seeking asylum as a neurologist.
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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.
- Perceived risk, attitudes, and behavior of cigarette smokers and nicotine vapers receiving buprenorphine treatment for opioid use disorder during the COVID-19 pandemic
Streck JM, Kalkhoran S, Bearnot B, Gupta PS, Kalagher KM, Regan S, Wakeman S, Rigotti NA. Perceived risk, attitudes, and behavior of cigarette smokers and nicotine vapers receiving buprenorphine treatment for opioid use disorder during the COVID-19 pandemic. Drug and Alcohol Dependence. 2021 Jan 1;218. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2020.108438. [Epub ahead of print]
- Prolonged Increases in Public-Payer Spending and Prices After Unapproved Drug Initiative Approval of Colchicine
McCormick N, Wallace ZS, Yokose C, Jorge A, Sacks CA, Hsu J, Choi HK. Prolonged Increases in Public-Payer Spending and Prices After Unapproved Drug Initiative Approval of Colchicine. JAMA Intern Med. 2020 Nov 30. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2020.5017. [Epub ahead of print]
- Behavioral Counseling Interventions to Promote a Healthy Diet and Physical Activity for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention in Adults With Cardiovascular Risk Factors: US Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement
US Preventive Services Task Force, Krist AH, Davidson KW, Mangione CM, Barry MJ, Cabana M, Caughey AB, Donahue K, Doubeni CA, Epling JW Jr, Kubik M, Landefeld S, Ogedegbe G, Pbert L, Silverstein M, Simon MA, Tseng CW, Wong JB. Behavioral Counseling Interventions to Promote a Healthy Diet and Physical Activity for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention in Adults With Cardiovascular Risk Factors: US Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement. JAMA. 2020 Nov 24;324(20):2069-2075. doi: 10.1001/jama.2020.21749.
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- 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.
- Clinical Research Program/Project Manager - 3135108
The Mongan Institute seeks a full-time Project Manager for a large research project to determine and implement best practices in the prevention of COVID-19 for adults with serious mental illness and intellectual and developmental disabilities and the staff providing care in congregate living settings funded by the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). The project manager will work closely with the co-principal investigators (Drs. Bartels and Skotko) and senior project director (Dr. Levison) within the Mongan Institute to assume the leading role in team administration and in the execution of the goals, tasks, and milestones of this this large, multifaceted study.
- Senior Data Analyst - 3135110
The Mongan Institute at Massachusetts General Hospital is seeking a full-time Senior Data Analyst to support the research activities under Dr. Stephen Bartels. The Senior Data Analyst will work with a team of investigators on externally funded research studies that focus that range from observational large data set analyses to longitudinal intervention and implementation research studies.
- 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.
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Register: The Impact of COVID-19 on Individuals with Disabilities
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Tuesday, December 15, 2020
12:00pm - 1:00pm ET
Virtual Webinar
The Harvard Medical School Office for Diversity Inclusion and Community Partnership is pleased to present "The Impact of COVID-19 on Individuals with Disabilities," as part of the ongoing Equity and Social Justice Lectures series. Mongan Institute faculty member Lisa Iezzoni, MD, MSc, will be a panelist. Dr. Iezzoni is a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and a researcher at the Health Policy Research Center at the Mongan Institute at Massachusetts General Hospital.
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Apply: Seeking Candidates Underrepresented in Academics for Nutrition Obesity Research Center at Harvard's Diversity Research Supplements
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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.
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Save the Date: NIMHD's Health Disparities Research Institute
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The National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) will host the Health Disparities Research Institute (HDRI) virtually August 9-13, 2021. HDRI aims to support the research career development of promising early-career minority health and health disparities research scientists, and to stimulate research in disciplines supported by health disparities science. This program is intended for early-stage research investigators who have completed their terminal degree or post-graduate clinical training within the past 10 years.
Applications will be accepted from February 1 through March 8, 2021.
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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.
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