Lung Health Research Team

Dr. Rice is a pulmonary critical care physician and the Director of the BIDMC Institute for Lung Health and an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. She is the Director of Research for the division of pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine at BIDMC. Her area of investigation focuses on the influence of environmental exposures, especially air pollution, and climate change, on the respiratory health of children and adults. She is developing new applications for portable monitoring technology and non-invasive sampling of the upper respiratory tract to improve our understanding of how indoor exposures affect respiratory symptoms, and how indoor air quality can be improved for lung health. She chaired the American Thoracic Society's Environmental Health Policy Committee 2018-2021 and is the co-chair of the Environmental Sustainability Committee of BIDMC. In 2020, she received the Jo Rae Wright Award for Outstanding Science from the American Thoracic Society, a national award recognizing tomorrow's leaders in science, and was selected as one of Medscape's 25 Rising Stars in Medicine.

Research Profile
Email Mary Rice, MD, MPH

Dr. Synn is the Associate Director of the BIDMC Institute for Lung Health, an attending physician in the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine at BIDMC, and an Instructor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School. His research focuses on quantitative imaging biomarkers of pulmonary vascular disease, with a particular interest in leveraging computed tomography (CT) scans to identify individuals at higher risk for progressive lung disease. His work is supported by the NIH, he American Lung Association and the Parker B. Francis Family Foundation.

Research Profile
Email Andrew Synn, MD

Dr. Nassikas is an attending physician in the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine at BIDMC and an Instructor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School. His research focuses on how climate change affects the respiratory health of children and adults. Dr. Nassikas is also a member of the American Thoracic Society’s Environmental Health Policy Committee.

Research Profile
Email Nicholas Nassikas, MD

Dr. Baptiste is an attending physician in pulmonary and critical care medicine at BIDMC and an Instructor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Her clinical research interests include: the diagnostic performance of lung cancer screening methods in specific patient populations and COPD, as it relates specifically to lung cancer risk. Dr. Baptiste is developing a collaborative research effort with the Lung Cancer Screening program at BIDMC.

Research Profile
Email Janelle Baptiste, MD, MPH

Dr. Beach is an attending physician in the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine at BIDMC and an Instructor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School. His clinical and research interests include asthma, COPD, novel immunotherapies for the treatment of asthma, and eosinophilic lung diseases particularly eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA).

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Email Douglas Beach, MD

Dr. Flashner is a pulmonary and critical care physician at BIDMC. She is a graduate of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center internal medicine residency program and was a Chief Medical Resident here at BIDMC. She received her pulmonary and critical care fellowship training at the Harvard Combined Pulmonary Fellowship Program, which includes BIDMC and Massachusetts General Hospital. She received specialized training in interstitial lung disease (ILD), which is her area of expertise, and she currently serves as the Director of the Interstitial Lung Disease program at BIDMC. Her research interests are in the field of ILD and includes clinical and translational research. She also is a site principal investigator for clinical trials in ILD treatment. She is excited to work in a such a multidimensional research program to forward our understanding of ILD and improve treatment options for patients living with ILD.

Research Profile
Email Bess Flashner, MD

Dr. Hallowell Dr. Hallowell is a Pulmonary and Critical Care physician at the Massachusetts General Hospital, where he is the Director of the Interstitial Lung Disease Program and the Pulmonary Ambulatory Clinic. His research focuses on factors that influence outcomes in patients with various types of interstitial lung disease (ILD), particularly those associated with autoantibodies and rheumatologic disorders.

Research Profile
Email Robert Hallowell, MD

Dr. Kholdani specializes in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, is the Director of the Pulmonary Hypertension Center at BIDMC and an Instructor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School. His areas of clinical focus are the diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary hypertension and pulmonary thromboembolic diseases. His academic interests include establishing quality metrics in the care of patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Research Profile
Email Cyrus Kholdani, MD

Dr. Levy is an attending physician in the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine at BIDMC, the Medical Director of the BIDMC Pulmonary Function Laboratory. He sees pulmonary patients with a variety of pulmonary conditions in the outpatient setting and provides inpatient critical care and pulmonary services. His academic interests include sarcoidosis and other forms of interstitial lung disease, novel approaches to pulmonary function testing in non-pulmonary diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and improving equity and eliminating racial disparities in pulmonary function testing.

Research Profile
Email Sean Levy, MD

Dr. Mein is a fellow at the Harvard Combined Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellowship Program. He is interested in studying associations between health disparities and lung health. He previously completed research evaluating the effects of air pollution on lung development. His research now focuses on the impact of national health policy initiatives on healthcare spending, disparities, and outcomes among patients with obstructive lung disease.

Research Profile
Email Stephen Mein, MD

Dr. Munchel is an attending physician in the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine at BIDMC and an Instructor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Her research focuses on better understanding the pathogenic mechanisms of diseases that result in progressive pulmonary fibrosis, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), connective tissue disease related ILD (CTD-ILD), and vasculitis.

Dr. Saeed is a medical graduate of King Edward Medical University in Pakistan. He currently works as a post-doctoral research fellow at ILH with the plan to apply into internal medicine residency for the year 2023. At ILH, he is primarily working on the APECS trial conducting participant visits, collecting specimens, recruiting participants as well as collaborating with partner institutions and research sites. Simultaneously, he is working on a publication of the official protocol for the APECS trial. In his free time, he loves to follow sports and play chess.

Dr. Zetlen is a pulmonary and critical care fellow at the Harvard Combined Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellowship Program. She graduated from the University of Washington School of Medicine, and obtained a Master of Public Health in Environmental and Occupational Health from the University of Washington School of Public Health. She is interested in the effects of environmental exposures, particularly air pollution, on pulmonary disease. Her current research is focused on the effects of air pollution on the development of respiratory disease in children and adults, as well as the investigation of novel methods of air pollution exposure assessment.

Cailey Denoncourt joined the Institute for Lung Health in the spring of 2022 as a clinical research assistant on the Air Purification for Eosinophilic COPD Study (APECS). She recently graduated from Northeastern University with a Bachelor’s of Science in Bioengineering and Biochemistry. When not driving to home visits or assembling air samplers, she loves running, hiking, cycling, or anything in the outdoors.

Ella DiTomaso joined the Institute for Lung Health in the Fall of 2023. She is a recent college graduate from the University of New England (UNE) with a background in Neuroscience and Mental rehabilitation Tech/Community. During her time at UNE, she worked in laboratory research studying chemogenetic silencing of amygdalar CRF neurons in a rodent model. Outside of research, Ella enjoys being active, spending time with family and friends, and reading.

Dr. Elfeshawy is a post-doctoral research fellow at ILH currently working on the APECS trial. His duties include conducting patient visits, recruiting participants and analyzing data. He received his medical degree from Tanta University in Egypt, and he plans to apply for an internal medicine residency in 2024. Dr. is an avid basketball fan and enjoys cooking and lifting heavy weights on his broad shoulders in his free time.

Dr. Morejón is a medical graduate of Universidad San Francisco de Quito in Quito, Ecuador. He currently works as a post-doctoral research fellow at ILH with the plan to apply to internal medicine residency programs for the year 2024 then ultimately apply to a Pulmonary & Critical Care fellowship. At ILH, he is primarily working on the APECS trial conducting participant visits, collecting specimens, recruiting participants as well as collaborating with partner institutions and research sites. Dr. Morejón was integral to translating the APECS protocol into Spanish. He recently published his first ILH paper on clinical medicine and climate change and he continues to further work on APECS trial projects. In his free time, he loves running, playing tennis, pickleball, and enjoys exploring the Boston area.

Dr. Ni is currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at ILH. She completed her PhD in Environmental Epidemiology at Ludwig-Maximilian University of Munich and Helmholtz Munich, Germany. Prior to this, she pursued her Master’s degree in Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Peking University, China. Her current research interests lie in understanding the effects of climate change and air pollution on the development of respiratory diseases in both children and adults. Outside of her professional life, Dr. Ni enjoys exploring museums and reading history books in her spare time.

Sophia Schortmann joined the Institute for Lung Health in 2021 and works as a research assistant in the Air Purification for Eosinophilic COPD Study (APCES). She graduated from Boston College in 2023 with a BS in Biology and she hopes to attend Medical School in the future. Sophia's roles on the APECS Study include managing the student interns, recruitment, data collection, and conducting patient visits. In her free time, she enjoys reading, running, and trying recipes.

Alexandra Purcell joined the Institute for Lung Health in February 2022. In her role as a research assistant, she works on recruitment and data collection for the Air Purification for Eosinophilic COPD Study. She is currently a junior at Harvard College concentrating in Environmental Science and Public Policy with a specialty field in public health. In the future, she plans on applying to medical school and pursuing a career related to environmental health and health policy. Outside of school and work, Alexandra enjoys hiking, playing sports, reading, and baking.

Serena Shim joined the Institute for Lung Health in Fall 2023 as an undergraduate research assistant. She is a senior at Boston University pursuing her undergraduate degree in Human Physiology. Serena plans to attend medical school in the future and is therefore excited to take part in clinical research at the ILH that focuses on improving the health outcomes of individuals with pulmonary diseases. Her main role is centered on recruitment for the Air Purification for Eosinophilic COPD Study (APCES). In her free time, Serena also enjoys exploring restaurants, weightlifting, and cooking.

Dr. Aglan was a research fellow working on the APECS trial at the Institute for Lung Health where he worked on the APECS trial and led a project investigating the effect of physical activity on personal exposure to pollutants among COPD patients who participated in the SPACE study. He has since moved on as internal medicine resident at Lahey Health in 2022. He graduated from Tanta University School of Medicine in Egypt, and previously worked with the Egyptian Ministry of Health on environmental health projects.

Dr. Alvarez was a research fellow at the Institute for Lung Health, where she worked on the Air Purification for Eosinophilic COPD Study (APECS). She led a project to investigate the impact of clinical and demographic characteristics on the nasal microbiome of COPD patients in which she received a 2021 American Thoracic Society Minority Trainee award. She graduated from Universidad Central de Venezuela, and received her Master in Public Health at Harvard Chan School of Public Health in 2021.

Dr. Scheerens, is a Belgian health sociologist and post-doctoral researcher, focusing on environmental (lung) health and health equity. At BIDMC's Institute for Lung Health, she studied the association between personal ambient and outdoor temperature on lung function and COPD symptoms, using SPACE study data. She is currently working as coordinator of CliMigHealth, an international academic network housed at Ghent University. Her PhD tested integrated care models for COPD of which one study (published in the ERJ) received the second prize 2019 Prof. Romain Pauwels Award by the Belgian Respiratory Society.

Dr. Aglan was a research fellow at the Institute for Lung Health, where he primarily worked on the APECS trial and led a project on the impacts of air pollution on daily changes in respiratory symptoms and oxygen saturation among COPD patients, using data from SPACE study. He moved on to become an internal medicine resident at Lahey Hospital and Medical Center starting in 2021. He graduated from Tanta University School of Medicine in Egypt, and previously worked in the Department of Public Health, Environmental, and Social Determinants of Health at the World Health Organization.

Kelly Chen joined the Institute for Lung Health in 2021. Her roles included data manager of the Air Purification for Eosinophilic COPD Study (APECS) and biostatistician for the SPACE study for which she led a project on physical activity, air pollutant exposure, and lung function outcomes. She received her Master of Science in Environmental Epidemiology and Risk from Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health in 2021. She is interested in the relationships between climate and health, particularly to provide clinically and policy-relevant evidence that can improve health in an environmentally-just manner.

Anna Lee joined the Institute for Lung Health in 2020 and was the Project Manager for the Air Purification for Eosinophilic COPD Study (APCES). She holds an MPH from Boston University School of Public Health with certificates in Epidemiology and Biostatistics and Environmental Health. She was also working on several other projects, including investigation of biomarkers of air pollution exposure in the nasal lining fluid of COPD patients, and collaborations with investigators at VA on air pollution exposure and the respiratory health of COPD patients.

Lina Nurhussien was the biostatician for the Institute for Lung Health (ILH), where she focused on data management, cleaning, and analysis of various projects. She has an MPH in Epidemiology and Biostatistics and Monitoring and Evaluation from Boston University School of Public Health.