Associate Faculty
KSG Associate Faculty
Jonathan Crocker, MD
Director, KSG program
Dr. Jonathan Crocker is a hospitalist at BIDMC and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Formerly a Boston-based primary care physician, and then global health physician in Malawi, Africa, Dr. Crocker joined the BIDMC faculty in 2009. He completed the Rabkin Fellowship in Medical Education in 2012 and is a clinician educator in the medicine residency program at BIDMC, where he serves as an Assistant Program Director. He directs the Global Health Track within the residency program, and established the Global Health Fellowship in Medicine at BIDMC. He received the 2017 Society of Hospital Medicine's Excellence in Humanitarian Service award, and was also the KSG Faculty award recipient the same year.
Mark Aronson, MD
Dr. Aronson is a general internist and primary care physician in Healthcare Associates at BIDMC. He is a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and a Master of the American College of Physicians. His career has focused on innovating more cost-effective ways to provide healthcare, with a general interest in quality improvement. He is the Vice Chair for Quality in the Department of Medicine. He serves as Co-Editor-in-Chief of Adult Medicine and Primary Care and the Editor-in-Chief of the Hospital Medicine sections of UpToDate in Medicine, the most widely used electronic textbook in the world.
Annie Banks, MSW, LICSW
Ms. Banks is a Senior Social Worker at BIDMC who has been practicing in the field of medical social work for more than 20 years. Ms. Banks spearheaded the medical center's Bereavement Program, and developed the Palliative Care Volunteer Visitor Program aimed at relieving the feelings of loneliness many patients experience in the hospital. Along with fellow KSG Associate Faculty, Julie Knopp, NP, Ms. Banks developed and coordinates Intern Forum, a monthly support and discussion group for medical trainees. She is a recipient of the Kenneth Schwartz Compassionate Caregiver Award.
Carol Bates, MD
Dr. Bates has been on the BIDMC primary care faculty since 1988. She served as the Program Director for the Internal Medicine Residency Program's Primary Care Program from 1992-2011, and is currently Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs at HMS. Though her primary appointment is now at HMS, she continues to practice at BIDMC and believes that care from the doctor who knows the patient best when they are at their sickest is a hallmark of compassionate care. She also holds a strong professional interest in reflective practice, and believes that art and the humanities are an important and helpful way to deal with the distress and sadness that often accompany serious illness.
Sigall Bell, MD
Dr. Bell is the OpenNotes Director of Patient Safety and Discovery at BIDMC and an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Bell is passionate about patients and families feeling heard, and encouraging them to participate in their care. With her team, she developed a tool that asks patients to give feedback on notes from their doctors' visits. She is also interested in the patient and family experience after harmful events, and has helped train over 1000 clinicians in proper error-reporting practices. She is a recipient of a Gold Professorship in humanism.
Robert Brown, MD
Dr. Brown is an Associate Professor of Medicine at HMS and Associate Chief for Academic Affairs in the Nephrology Division at BIDMC. He served as Clinical Chief of Nephrology for over 40 years and is a valued educator at BIDMC. He started a nonprofit, The Organization for Renal Care in Haiti, to bring treatment for kidney disease to patients in Haiti. He is a member of many medical societies, including Alpha Omega Alpha and the Gold Humanism Honor Society. Among his honors is the ACGME Parker J. Palmer "Courage to Teach"; Award.
Glenn Bubley, MD
Dr. Bubley is a member of the Division of Hematology/Oncology, an Associate Professor of Medicine at HMS, and the Director of Genitourinary Oncology at BIDMC. His primary clinical focus is in prostate cancer, an area in which he is a renowned expert. He is an active researcher and heads numerous clinical trials. He currently co-directs a course for clinicians and patients called "The Art of Oncology," which is aimed at helping new clinical oncologists and their patients cope with the emotional burden of cancer.
Adam Cheifetz, MD
Dr. Cheifetz is the Director of the Center for Inflammatory Bowel Disease at BIDMC and Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School. He specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, and other forms of inflammatory bowel diseases. Dr. Cheifetz is an active member of the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA) and serves as the current Chairman of the New England chapter medical advisory committee. He is the Director of the HMS Gastroenterology Clerkship Elective and Assistant Director of the Advanced Fellowship in Inflammatory Bowel Disease at BIDMC.
Marc Cohen, MD
Dr. Cohen is a member of the Division of General Medicine and Primary Care, where he is a general internist in Healthcare Associates (HCA). He has held various teaching roles at BIDMC and Harvard Medical School, and been a dedicated leader of quality improvement and faculty education efforts at HCA for many years. He has been an integral part of HCA's efforts to become a patient-centered medical home, helping to pioneer the center's "team approach" and innovate ways to encourage cooperation, communication and team spirit. He is passionate about improving communication between patients and providers and between interdisciplinary providers, keeping in mind a goal of providing seamless care for patients with complex health histories.
Robert Cohen, MD
Dr. Cohen is a member of the Nephrology Division at BIDMC, where he serves as the Director of Education. He has developed a novel curriculum to teach communication skills to nephrology fellows at the Harvard teaching hospitals. He is passionate about the importance of decision-making conversations with vulnerable patients who have advanced kidney disease and about teaching trainees and colleagues about the intersection of palliative care and nephrology.
Michael Curry, MD
Dr. Curry is Medical Director of Liver Transplantation at BIDMC and Assistant Professor of Medicine at HMS. He cares for a large population of patients with end-stage liver disease, evaluating patients for liver transplantation and caring for liver transplant recipients. He teaches medical students, internal medicine residents, and gastroenterology and hepatology fellows, and co-directs the advanced hepatology fellowship program at BIDMC. He has served on the United Network for Organ Sharing Liver and Intestinal Committee and also the New England Consortium for liver transplantation. Dr. Curry received the KSG Faculty Award in 2011.
Tom Delbanco, MD
Dr. Delbanco is the Richard and Florence Koplow-James Tullis Professor of General Medicine and Primary Care at HMS. He was Chief of the Division of General Medicine and Primary Care for more than 30 years. Dr. Delbanco is a Master of the American College of Physicians, and he received the 2003 Robert J. Glaser Award, the highest honor from the Society of General Internal Medicine. In 2006, HMS gave him the William Silen Lifetime Achievement in Mentoring Award. Dr. Delbanco co-founded "OpenNotes," a national effort in transparent healthcare that invites patients to read and contribute to their medical records.
Reed Drews, MD
Dr. Drews is the Director of the Hematology-Oncology Fellowship Program at BIDMC and serves as Associate Director of Education for the Hematology-Oncology Division. He's the recipient of the S. Robert Stone Award for Excellence in Teaching at BIDMC and the Stephen H. Robinson, MD Memorial Teaching Award for Excellence in Teaching in Hematology-Oncology. In 2005 he became a Fellow of the American College of Physicians (ACP). Since 1998, he has served as Section Editor of Complications of Cancer for UpToDate in Oncology.
Leonor Fernandez, MD
Dr. Fernandez is a general internist in the Division of General Medicine and Primary Care and Assistant Professor in Medicine at HMS. She plays a leading role in teaching medical residents, and teaches the cultural competence curriculum for the Harvard Combined Orthopaedic Residency Program. Dr. Fernandez is Medical Director of Schwartz Rounds at BIDMC, an interdisciplinary forum on the human and social dilemmas in healthcare. She has particular expertise in the areas of health disparities and immigrant health, and speaks several languages.
Michael Gavin, MD, MPH
Dr. Gavin is a member of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at BIDMC and medical director of the Division's new Cardiac Direct Access Unit, created to offer immediate care to patients with heart conditions as a more effective alternative to emergency rooms. His recent search interests focus on possibilities for and benefits of emergency and inpatient services for patients with cardiovascular conditions. He is also involved with efforts to improve the care of patients with heart failure, including readmission reduction initiatives and a standardized order set.
Jerome Groopman, MD
Dr. Groopman holds the Dina and Raphael Recanati Chair of Medicine at HMS and is Chief of the Division of Experimental Medicine at BIDMC. In 2000, he was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. Dr. Groopman's research has focused on blood development, cancer, and AIDS. He writes regularly about biology and medicine for lay audiences as a staff writer at The New Yorker magazine, and co-authored a book for patients with complex healthcare situations called Your Medical Mind: How to Decide What's Right for You with wife and colleague Pamela Hartzband, MD.
Pamela Hartzband, MD
Dr. Hartzband is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Harvard Medical School and Attending Physician in the Division of Endocrinology at BIDMC. Dr. Hartzband is a noted endocrinologist and educator specializing in disorders of the thyroid, adrenal, and pituitary glands and in women's health. She is a prolific writer and often publishes in journals like the New England Journal of Medicine, and co-authored a book to help patients navigate complicated health issues entitled Your Medical Mind: How to Decide What's Right for You with husband and colleague Jerome Groopman, MD.
J. Thomas Lamont, MD
Dr. Lamont is the Chief of the Gastroenterology Division at BIDMC and the Rabb Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. He is an active inpatient and outpatient attending and has a referral practice for patients with complex diarrheal diseases. He serves as a mentor for young scientists and faculty members and a resource for manuscript and grant preparation, and career planning for trainees. He currently serves as Associate Editor for GI and Liver Diseases at the New England Journal of Medicine, and as Editor-in-Chief for Gastroenterology for "UpToDate in Medicine."
Wendy McHugh, RN, MS
Ms. McHugh is an Associate Director of Ethics Programs at BIDMC and was an ICU nurse for many years. She provides ethics consultation to patients, their families, and staff, and co-ordinates a variety of teaching opportunities in ethics. Ms. McHugh is attuned to issues of moral distress; her goal is to assist patients and staff to make the best decisions possible. She is a strong advocate for multi-disciplinary collaboration and advocates for comprehensive, compassionate care for patients with complex needs.
Jennifer Potter, MD
Dr. Jennifer Potter is an Associate Professor of Medicine and the Advisory Dean and Director of the William B. Castle Society at HMS. An international expert on women's and LGBTQ health, Dr. Potter's work enhances care for underserved or marginalized. She founded and directs women's health programs at BIDMC and Fenway Health, and is the Director of Women's Health Research at The Fenway Institute. She is a founding member of the American Association of Medical Colleges' AXIS Committee, which published groundbreaking medical education guidelines to improve care for people with diverse sexual orientations, gender identities, and sex development.
Deepa Rangachari, MD
Dr. Rangachari is a thoracic and breast oncologist in the Division of Hematology/Oncology, Associate Chief of the Tullis Firm for the Internal Medicine Residency program, and Associate Program Director for the Hematology/Oncology Fellowship Program. She is committed to the compassionate and comprehensive care of patients with all stages of disease and the pursuit of personalized approaches to the care of individuals with cancer. As an educator, she is focused on developing novel educational programs and strategies that are mindful of the changing landscape of oncology.
Laura Rock, MD
Dr. Rock is an Instructor of Medicine at HMS and an attending physician in the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine at BIDMC. She is the Director of the Simulation Core Faculty in the Department of Medicine and is a co-investigator and faculty director for a simulation-based course to teach residents leadership and communication skills for family meetings in the Medical Intensive Care Unit. The course, and related research projects, emphasizes strategies to improve empathy and patient-centered medicine. She was selected as the 2011-2012 Putnam Scholar, a scholarship of the American Academy on Communication in Healthcare.
Richard Schwartzstein, MD
Dr. Schwartzstein is the Vice President for Education at BIDMC and Director of the Shapiro Institute for Education and Research. He oversees both undergraduate and graduate medical education. His interests include teaching residents how to communicate with families of patients in the intensive care unit. His team has developed a curriculum that has improved resident empathy and communication about critically-ill patients, which have resulted in enhanced family satisfaction. One focus of the curriculum is to improve resident ability to elicit the values of patients and their families when considering changes in goals of care.
Ronald Silvestri, MD
Dr. Silvestri is a senior physician in the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Division. He has tried to teach, model, and advocate for compassionate medical care to trainees at all levels, but he has been best able to do this in his role as site director of the BIDMC Patient-Doctor II and Practice of Medicine courses for the past 30 years. These courses teach early HMS students the essentials of respectful communication and other important bedside clinical skills. He has also been a member of the Ethics Committee and the Henry Hardy Lecture in Bioethics and Public Policy Committee.