Sadhguru Center Research Team
Our Research Team and Collaborators
Faculty
Balachundhar Subramaniam, MD, MPH, FASA
Professor of Anaesthesia, Harvard Medical School
Ellison "Jeep" Pierce Chair of Anesthesia, BIDMC
Director, Sadhguru Center for a Conscious Planet
Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA 02215
Dr. Subramaniam received his medical degree from Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER, Pondicherry, India) and completed his residency in anesthesiology at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India. He received his postdoctoral training in anesthesia at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, a Harvard Medical School-affiliated teaching hospital in Boston. Dr. Subramaniam completed fellowships in Cardiac Anesthesia, and Transesophageal Echocardiography at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. He also obtained an MPH from Harvard School of Public Health. Since 2014, he has served as the Director of the Center for Anesthesia Research Excellence (CARE). In 2019 he was appointed as the first incumbent of the Ellison "Jeep" Pierce Chair of Anesthesia at BIDMC. Dr. Subramaniam's research focuses on improving perioperative outcomes and, more recently on the benefits of mindfulness practices on health outcomes and general well-being. In October, 2020 he opened the Sadhguru Center for a Conscious Planet: Enhancing Consciousness, Cognition, and Compassion and will direct the Center.
Kestas Kveraga, PhD
Assistant Professor of Anaesthesia
Kestutis Kveraga, PhD joins our Sadhguru Center for a Conscious Planet as an Assistant Professor of Anaesthesia at HMS. Dr. Kveraga was previously a faculty member at Massachusetts General Hospital, where he held an appointment of Assistant Professor of Radiology at HMS and was the Director of the Visual Neurodynamics Lab at the Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging in the Department of Radiology. Dr. Kveraga received his undergraduate degree at the University of Massachusetts in Experimental Psychology and his PhD in Psychological and Brain Sciences at Dartmouth College. He did a fellowship in neuroimaging at HMS and MGH. Dr. Kveraga is a cognitive neuroscientist with expertise in brain imaging and recording techniques (MRI, MEG, EEG), visual psychophysics, and eye- and limb-tracking. He is also skilled in brain connectivity analyses, such as dynamic causal modeling (DCM) and phase-locking analyses.
Valluvan Rangasamy, MD
Assistant Professor of Anesthesia
Valluvan Rangasamy, MD received his MBBS from Stanley Medical College in India and his Medical Degree from All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, where he also did his residency in Anesthesiology. He pursued higher level training in the UK and served as a senior registrar in the Department of Anesthesia and Intensive Care, where he was involved in high risk surgeries, obstetric, anesthesia, and critical care. Dr. Rangasamy completed a clinical fellowship with our department in 2019. He is active in clinical research as well in areas such as perioperative outcomes, hemodynamics, and frailty.
Shahla Siddiqui, MD
Assistant Professor of Anaesthesia
Shahla Siddiqui, MBBS, DABA, MSc, FCCM received her medical degree from Aga Khan University in Pakistan and her MSc in Medical Ethics from the University Singapore. Dr. Siddiqui did her anesthesia residency at the University of Maryland and a critical care fellowship at Columbia University. In addition to her clinical work, she has had an active research career and has many areas of interest, including inter-professional education, health-science qualitative research, ICU burnout, sepsis in the ICU, the genomics of sepsis and ICU outcomes. She is also very interested in medical ethics and related topics such as compassion in medicine, an areas where she has several active projects.
Staff
Sepideh Hariri, PhD
Instructor in Anaesthesia
Program Manager
Dr. Sepideh Hariri received her PhD in Physics with a research focus in Biophysics and Medical Imaging, from University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, in 2013. Since then, she has been an active educator and researcher. Sepideh also received her BSC in Physics from Amirkabir University of Technology in Iran and her MSc in Applied Mathematics and Statistics from Iran University of Science and Technology. Following her lifelong passion for exploring the deeper dimensions of life and empowering others to find well-being, Sepideh joyfully serves the center as the Program Manager and is an Instructor of Anesthesia at HMS. Her current research is focused on the use of meditation-based interventions to better understand and enhance brain health, cognition, and optimal aging.
Preeti U. Reed, MBBS, MPH, DIPPM
Instructor in Anesthesia
Staff Scientist
Preeti completed her residency in Internal Medicine at Kathmandu University before shifting her focus to pursue a career in global health. Preeti has a Masters of Public Health from the University of Sydney and a Diploma in Global Project Management from Torrens University with an emphasis on leadership and management. She joined Dr. Subramaniam’s lab in July 2019 as a Clinical Research Fellow where she executed study design & implementation, data analysis, and project management for mind-body intervention (MBI) research. Her work in these trials has resulted in multiple publications in reputed peer-reviewed journals along with articles in the Harvard Health Blog. Her current research focuses on the impact of MBI on various clinical populations (e.g.: Long Covid & Parkinson's Disease). She aspires to eventually impact policy changes to address disparities in access to holistic healthcare.
Tulsi Mehta Chase, EdM
Head of Education and Outreach
Tulsi Mehta Chase, EdM is an International wellness educator with over 2,000 hours of training from the renowned Classical Hatha Yoga School at Isha Yoga Centre, India. With a BA in Movement Studies from Pomona College and an EdM from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, she has designed and facilitated wellness workshops and trainings for more than seven years. Tulsi has led numerous wellness initiatives for people ages 7-75, in various communities from small towns in India to big cities in the United States, including for leaders at Harvard, Google, and Amazon. She brings creativity, passion, and a strong spiritual foundation to her work in education, community outreach, and to her art.
Priyam Mathur, MS
Project Manager
Ms. Mathur graduated from Purdue University with a BS in Biology and a BA in Communication and Media studies. She continued to Indiana University, where she completed her Master's in Health Informatics. Priyam's interest in data management led her to an internship with Dr. Subramaniam's lab where she then worked as the project lead for the NIH-funded Dynamic Biomarkers trial. She is currently a Project Manager with Sadhguru Center. Her expertise is in data management of complex biomarker datasets and large grant-funded clinical trials.
Nashaw Jafari, MA
Project Administrator
Nashaw graduated from Emperor’s College with a Master of Acupuncture (MAc) with a Chinese Herbal Medicine specialization. She received her MA degree in Clinical Psychology from Alliant International University. She graduated from Soka University of America with a BA degree in Liberal Arts and a concentration in Social and Behavioral Sciences. Nashaw supports with outreach, research, and administration.
Rashmi Borah, MS
Regulatory Specialist
Rashmi Borah has an MS in Regulatory Affairs from Northeastern University, an MS in Microbial Technology from Amity University in Uttar Pradesh, India and a BS in Zoology from the University of Delhi in India. She has worked as a regulatory project manager at Aleon Pharma International, Inc in Parsippany, NY, a clinical research assistant at the Health Technology Laboratory at Northeastern University, and a clinical/regulatory intern at Nocion Therapeutics in Waltham, MA.
Morgan McCarthy
Communications Specialist
Morgan McCarthy received her BS in Sociology from Salem State University. She has previously worked as a Social Media Specialist and a Social Media and Marketing Manager. Morgan supports communication efforts at the center focusing on social media and marketing.
Maria Gonçalves, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Dr. Gonçalves is a chemist, neuroscientist and educator who holds a PhD degree in Neurosciences with a focus on Neuropsychiatry (Federal University of São Paulo, Brazil, 2018). Her main scientific interest is to better understand how the brain, the gut and the immune system respond to external factors such as stressful routines and eating habits. She is passionately moved by the purpose of offering integrative approaches to reduce neuropsychiatric symptoms and to promote mental health and wellbeing to those in need. Dr. Gonçalves is currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow studying the gut-brain connection.
Rushil Vladimir Ramachandran, MBBS
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Rushil received his medical degree (MBBS) from the Jawaharlal Institute of Post-graduate Medical Education and Research and completed his residency in Anesthesiology, Pain Medicine and Critical Care from All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India. He worked as a senior resident in Anesthesia, heading the team in settings of routine as well as emergency surgeries, intensive care units, preoperative assessment, respiratory assessment, code-blue, labor analgesia, etc. His research activities during his residency involved labor analgesia. His research interests include perioperative outcomes, delirium, total intravenous anesthesia, cognition and labor analgesia.
Zaid Hussain, MBBS
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Dr. Zaid Hussain received his MBBS from Kasturba Medical College in Manipal Academy of Higher Education in India. During his medical education, he also worked as a Research Intern in Cleft and Craniofacial Research at Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research in Chennai, India and thereafter as the research coordinator at the Cleft & Craniofacial Centre in Chennai. He has also worked as an emergency room physician at the Sundaram Medical Foundation in Chennai and hopes to train in the fields of emergency and critical care medicine.
Alkananda Behera, MD
Research Fellow
Alkananda received her medical degree (MBBS) and completed her residency in Anesthesiology, Pain Medicine and Critical Care from All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, India. She underwent further training as a Senior Resident in Anesthesia, independently involved in pediatric, obstetric, critical care, trauma and other high-risk surgeries, from the same institute. She joined SCCP in August 2021 as a Clinical Research Fellow under the mentorship of Dr. Subramaniam. Her research interests include perioperative outcomes, cognition studies, regional anesthesia and pain management.
Enas Mohamed, MD, MMSc-GHD
Clinical Research Fellow
Enas Mohamed graduated from the University of Technological Science in Sudan. She practiced medicine in Sudan and the United Arab Emirates. In May 2021, Enas earned her Master's degree in Social Medicine and Global Health Delivery from Harvard Medical School. She currently works as a research assistant at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Enas is passionate about topics related to social medicine and uses her qualitative research skills to understand different communities' perspectives toward wrong cultural practices that can cause harm to their health. Currently, Enas advocates against female genital mutilation in USA.
Riku Ihalainen, PhD, MSC
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Dr. Riku Ihalainen holds a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Kent and an MSc. in Cognitive Neuropsychology from the University of Sheffield, City College. His work focuses on brain connectivity and understanding the interplay between neural activity, cognition, behavior, and consciousness. His main scientific interests include altered states of consciousness, neuroimaging, statistical methods, and music cognition.
Hibiki Orui, MA
Biostatistician
Hibiki Orui graduated from Boston University with a Masters of Arts in Biostatistics. He is interested in analyses of clinical research and observational studies. His main focus is to ensure the research project/studies are appropriately designed, properly analyzed, and suitably interpreted for the collaborators.
Akila Rayapuraju, BA
Project Administrator
Akila completed her BA with a major in Cell Biology & Neuroscience and a minor in Creative Writing at Rutgers University, New Brunswick. During her time at university, she worked on various research projects ranging from the effects of oxytocin receptors in the spinal cord and DRG on tactile sensitivity, to the impact of mindfulness-based practices on student wellbeing and perception of social groups in higher education. She also served on the executive board of Active Minds, the largest student-run mental health organization at Rutgers University. Akila is interested in studying mind-body therapies as a way to promote mental health and overall well-being.
Akshaj Joshi, BA
Clinical Research Coordinator
Mr. Joshi completed his BA with a major in Neurobiology and a minor in Mandarin Chinese at the University of California, Berkeley. During his time at the university, he founded a student organization offering a student-taught course on the mind-body problem and also interned at the University of California, San Francisco researching glial function. He is interested in studying the science and philosophy of consciousness.
Ashwin Swaminathan, BS
Clinical Research Coordinator
Ashwin completed his BS with a major in Biomedical Engineering on the pre-medical track at the University of Virginia in 2022. He joined the team in June 2022 as Clinical Research Assistant on the meditation team. He has prior research experience in nephrology, diabetes, and cell engulfment, with an undergraduate capstone project on detecting biomarkers for acute kidney injury in cardiac surgery patients. Ashwin is interested in exploring the mind-body connection as a highly accessible form of therapy for disadvantaged patients.
Jordan Peck, BA
Clinical Research Assistant II
Jordan completed her BA in international development with minors in cell biology, Chinese, and French at Tulane University. In her time in college, she worked on a variety of research and community health projects including a Parkinson’s study at Washington University in Saint Louis and information management at a pain management practice. Her program at Tulane culminated in a thesis evaluating perceptions of osteopathic versus allopathic medicine in the New Orleans Vietnamese-American community. Jordan is interested in accelerating community development via culturally-informed health research.
Van Nguyen
Clinical Research Assistant
Van Nguyen received her BS in Biochemistry from Emmanuel College in Boston. Prior to joining our department, she has worked as a research assistant and tutor at Emmanuel College and a pharmacy technician at CVS.
Sruthi Ganesh
Clinical Research Assistant
Sruthi Ganesh joins the Sadhguru Center as a Clinical Research Assistant. Sruthi has previously worked as a medical assistant at Silver Spring Primary Care in Silver Spring, Maryland and a research assistant at the Gender Culture Health Lab and Neurocognitive Development Labs at the University of Maryland in College Park. She received a dual BS in Physiology/Neurobiology and Psychology at the University of Maryland.
Braiden DeSchryver
Clinical Research Assistant
Braiden DeSchryver received his BS in Human Physiology from the University of Iowa in Iowa City, IA. He has worked as a lead undergraduate research assistant at the Medical Research Center in Iowa City and an assistant laboratory technician at Core Laboratories in Iowa City.
Morgan Pratt
Clinical Research Assistant I
Morgan Pratt received her BS in Biology, with a
Neuroscience concentration, along with minors in Italian and Business from The Pennsylvania State University at State College. As an undergraduate, she studied emotion regulation and human development in the Cole Emotion Regulation Lab at Penn State. Her current interest is in the exploration and application of mind-body interventions in autonomic nervous system disorders.
Collaborators
- Senthil Sadhasivam, MD, MPH, MBA
Vice-Chair, Research, Indiana University, IN - Tracy F.H. Chang, PhD
Associate Professor, Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations, Brunswick, NJ - Raj K. Maturi, MD
Ophthalmology, Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital and St Vincent Indianapolis Hospital & Heart Center, IN - Mayur Mudigonda, PhD
Research Affiliate, Berkeley National Lab, CA - Miguel Angel Armengol de la Hoz, PhD
Research Affiliate, Critical Data LCP at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MA - Vijayendran Chandran, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, University of Florida, School of Medicine, FL
PANDORA* Collaborators
- Daniel S. Talmor, MD, MPH (BIDMC, HMS, Boston)
- Edward R. Marcantonio, MD, SM (BIDMC, HMS, Boston)
- Olawaseun Johnson-Akeju, MD (Mass General Brigham, HMS, Boston)
- Kathirvel Subramaniam, MD, MPH (UPMC, Pittsburgh)
- Daniel Muehlschlegel, MD (Brigham and Women's Hospital, HMS, Boston)
- Amit Bardia, MD (Yale University)
- Jean-Francois Pittet, MD (University of Alabama, Birmingham)
*Prophylactic 6-hourly Intravenous Acetaminophen to Prevent Postoperative Delirium in Older Cardiac Surgical Patients (PANDORA)
PATHFINDER* Collaborator
- Emery N. Brown, MD, PhD (MIT and MGH)
*Perioperative Multimodal General Anesthesia Focusing on Specific CNS Targets in Patients Undergoing Cardiac Surgeries (PATHFINDER)
Signal Analysis Collaborators
- Ary L. Goldberger, MD (BIDMC, HMS, Boston)
- Madalena Costa, PhD (BIDMC, HMS, Boston)
Prehabilitation Collaborator
- Brian P. O'Gara, MD, MPH (BIDMC, HMS, Boston)
Cognition Biomarker Collaborators
- Edward R. Marcantonio, MD, SM (BIDMC, HMS, Boston)
- Towia Libermann, PhD (BIDMC, HMS, Boston)
Sadhguru Center Research Team Photo Gallery
Sadhguru Center Research Team faculty and staff gather outside.