Meet the Cohort

Elena Aikawa, MD, PhD
Professor, Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Elena Aikawa is professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and Naoki Miwa Distinguished Chair in Cardiovascular Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH). She is also co-director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Sciences, founding director of the Heart Valve Translational Research Program, and associate head of section of Cardiovascular Life Sciences at BWH. Aikawa is a passionate advocate for the early imaging and treatment of calcific aortic valve disease. Her research program, which has been continuously supported by NIH funding, focuses on the development of new therapies to prevent, treat, and cure calcific aortic valve stenosis, a disease that currently has no treatment options other than valve replacement. She was at the forefront in the discovery of inflammation-dependent mechanisms of cardiovascular calcification. Her studies contributed to the discovery of calcifying extracellular vesicles (exosomes) as a precursor of microcalcification. She holds editorial positions at the Cardiovascular Research, Circulation Research, Journal of Extracellular Vesicles, PLoS ONE, and Arteriosclerosis Thrombosis and Vascular Biology.

How has mentoring impacted your own career?
Mentoring has made me more inclusive, more patient, more flexible, and more kind. I have become a good listener and better communicator.

Masanori Aikawa, MD, PhD
Professor, Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Masanori Aikawa serves as director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Cardiovascular Sciences (CICS) at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH). His research interests include the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and metabolic disorders, macrophage biology, and the pro-inflammatory role of dyslipidemia. Aikawa’s ultimate goal is to translate basic research findings into clinical practice through multidisciplinary efforts. His role as founding director of CICS represents this goal, where explorations for new therapeutic targets for cardiometabolic diseases are carried out in transpacific collaboration with Kowa Company, Ltd. a Japanese pharmaceutical company. Aikawa also has a research laboratory in the Center for Excellence in Vascular Biology at BWH, primarily supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the American Heart Association, where he studies novel triggering mechanisms of macrophage activation in the contexts of atherosclerosis and metabolic disorders. He completed his clinical training at Juntendo University School of Medicine, in Tokyo, Japan, and began his initial research at the University of Tokyo.

What are you looking forward to as a mentor this year in the program?
I look forward to exchanging experiences and thoughts between my mentees and myself as a mentor. Such two-way traffic is important for both sides. It gives mentees opportunities to systematically think of their strategies and future directions. It also helps a mentor further develop her/his skills as an efficient educator.

Sarah Berry, MD, MPH
Associate Professor, Hebrew Senior Life

Sarah Berry is a geriatrician and clinical researcher at the Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Her primary research focuses on injuries in older adults, particularly in nursing homes. Much of her research has focused on the link between medications and adverse outcomes, with an emphasis on understanding the safety and efficacy of medications in older adults who have multimorbidity. Berry’s current funding includes a clinical trial to compare the effectiveness of different care models on rates of injurious falls in patients receiving post-acute care in a nursing home, as well as funding from the National Institute on Aging to conduct large, observational studies in nursing home residents.

What are you looking forward to as a mentor this year in the program?
I’m looking forward to meeting new investigators with diverse research interests. I am also looking forward to learning from the group.

Jorge Chavarro, MD, ScD
Associate Professor, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Jorge Chavarro is associate professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. His research is focused on understanding how nutrition and lifestyle impact human reproduction from pre-conception and throughout life. He conducts research aimed at understanding how different nutritional and metabolic factors influence fertility, in women and men, as well as treatment outcomes in couples undergoing assisted reproduction. In addition, he studies how nutrition and lifestyle impact health during pregnancy and how this impacts the health of mother and child after birth. Chavarro is also the principal investigator of the Nurses’ Health Study 3 – an ongoing prospective cohort of young professional women started in 2010 designed to investigate the role of lifestyle and biologic factors on women’s health. He also leads the nutritional component of the EARTH Study, an ongoing prospective cohort of couples undergoing infertility treatment at Massachusetts General Hospital. He has also served as a peer-reviewer for multiple NIH panels.

What are you looking forward to as a mentor this year in the program?
I am very much looking forward to meeting my group and having a months-long conversation into their hopes and plans for their careers. Every year that I have participated in the Career Catalyst program has brought together groups with different career paths, different scientific and clinical expertise, different plans for what they hope to accomplish during the program and in their careers afterwards. One of the things that I always find exciting is seeing the group realize that despite the many differences they may identify between them, there are a lot more commonalities between them and how these relate to pursuing an academic career.

Marsha Moses, PhD
Professor, Boston Children’s Hospital

Marsha Moses is the Julia Dyckman Andrus Professor at Harvard Medical School and the director of the Vascular Biology Program at Boston Children’s Hospital. She has made significant contributions to our understanding of the biochemical and molecular mechanisms that underlie the regulation of tumor growth and progression. Named a pioneer in the field of biomarker medicine by the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, she created a proteomics initiative at Boston Children’s Hospital and has utilized its resources, including an extensive human biorepository and her significant expertise in proteomics, to discover and validate a number of novel, non-invasive, urinary biomarkers for a variety of human cancers as well as non-neoplastic diseases.

How has mentoring impacted your own career?
Mentoring aspiring young scientists and clinicians has been a priority of mine throughout my career. With that said, I have no doubt that I have learned as much from my mentees as they have from me. It continues to be a lesson in perseverance, diligence, and generosity of spirit.

Ken Mukamal, MD
Professor, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Ken Mukamal serves as associate chief for the research section of the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Division of General Medicine and as site director for the T32 general medicine fellowship program.  His main interests are in cardiovascular and neurocognitive epidemiology, especially related to the pathways by which lifestyle factors lead to clinical outcomes.  Mukamal also has a substantial interest in teaching research methodology, having served for several years as associate program director for the large internal medicine residency.

How has mentoring impacted your own career?
I have been fortunate to have devoted and caring mentors at every stage of my career (including the present). Although they sometimes gave me advice that proved to be incorrect, I never felt that I had to make decisions alone or that they didn’t have my best interests at heart. Several of my longest-serving mentors remain very close friends, although I have drifted away from others, and that process has enabled me to identify potential new mentors as my needs and plans changed and matured. I don’t think it’s ever too late to profit from strong mentoring, nor is it ever too early to think about what kind of mentor we might want to be ourselves.

Andrew Onderdonk, PhD
Professor, Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Andrew Onderdonk recently stepped down as director of clinical microbiology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He now works part-time teaching residents and mentoring young scientists. He has a lifelong interest in the role of microorganisms in human health and disease. He continues to collaborate with a number of investigators within Harvard University and its affiliates on various aspects of the human microbiome.

What are you looking forward to as a mentor this year in the program?
Helping our young scientists recognize and use all of the resources available to them. By sharing my experiences with them, I hope to provide answers to some of their questions about a scientific career path.

Paola Pedrelli, PhD
Associate Professor, Massachusetts General Hospital

Paola Pedrelli is associate director of the Depression Clinical Research Program at Massachusetts General Hospital and an associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. She is a leading scientist in the development of digital tools for the long-term monitoring of depression, leveraging artificial intelligence and wearable and mobile sensors. Her commitment to improving clinical care for depression drives her research into innovative treatment methods. She has developed several face-to-face cognitive behavioral therapy approaches for depression, both in isolation and in conjunction with heavy episodic drinking. Additionally, she has conducted clinical trials on novel digital health interventions for depression. More recently, Pedrelli’s work has centered on investigating the effectiveness of ketamine-based treatments for depression and suicidal thoughts and behaviors, as well as the underlying mechanisms of these conditions. Her research has been supported by the NIH and DARPA, and various foundations and industry partners. Pedrelli has been invited to speak at national and international scientific meetings and has been featured in numerous media outlets. She has authored more than 70 peer-reviewed publications and chapters.

How has mentoring impacted your own career?
Mentoring has been instrumental in shaping my career, providing invaluable guidance and numerous opportunities for growth. Through the support of my mentors, I have navigated complex challenges and gained insights that have significantly enhanced my professional development. Recognizing the profound impact mentorship has had on my journey, I am committed to offering the same support and opportunities to others. By mentoring, I aim to empower individuals to achieve their potential and succeed in their careers. This reciprocal exchange of knowledge and experience enriches both the mentor and mentee, fostering a collaborative and supportive professional community.

Dan Press, MD
Associate Professor, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Dan Press is chief of the division of cognitive neurology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and is a member of the Parkinson’s disease and Movement Disorders Center. He’s interested in neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and Lewy Body diseases. His current research is funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Harvard Center for Neurodiscovery, along with other foundations.

What are you looking forward to as a mentor this year in the program?
I look forward to meeting my group and seeing how we can work together to brainstorm strategies. There are always recurring themes to the challenges, but also new aspects that require us to all work together to think of how to face them.

Yakeel T. Quiroz, PhD
Associate Professor, Massachusetts General Hospital

Yakeel Quiroz-Gaviria is associate professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Neurology at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). She is also the director of the MGH Familial Dementia Neuroimaging Lab and the Multicultural Alzheimer’s Prevention Program. Additionally, she serves as director of the MGH Multicultural Assessment and Research Center and the MGH postdoctoral and predoctoral training programs in multicultural neuropsychology. Her research interests include brain imaging, genomics, early detection and preclinical biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. She is the principal investigator of two NIH NIA R01 grants and co-investigator of both the Harvard Aging Brain Study and the Alzheimer’s Clinical Trials Consortium. Quiroz-Gaviria’s work has provided evidence of brain abnormalities in cognitively intact individuals at genetic risk for Alzheimer’s disease, decades before their clinical onset. Her findings have helped the field to re-conceptualize Alzheimer as a sequence of changes that begins decades before cognitive decline. She earned her master’s degree in cognitive neuroscience and PhD in clinical psychology from Boston University.

How has mentoring impacted your own career?
I believe that mentoring is a bi-directional process. My mentees have contributed to my personal and scientific growth. I encourage them to provide continued feedback and do my best to integrate their recommendations.

Richa Saxena, PhD
Professor, Massachusetts General Hospital

Richa Saxena is an investigator in the Center for Genomic Medicine, a professor of anesthesia and the Nathaniel M. Sims Endowed Chair in Anesthesia Research at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). Additionally, she is vice chair for research and innovation in the Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine. Saxena’s lab uses genetics to discover and elucidate biological and physiologic mechanisms underlying circadian rhythm and sleep disorders as well as adverse pregnancy outcomes. The lab aims to illuminate causal links between sleep/circadian disruption or disorders of pregnancy and cardio-metabolic and neurodegenerative outcomes, to catalyze new therapeutic avenues. She received her BA in biology and chemistry from Cornell University and her PhD in biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Saxena led some of the first collaborative genome-wide association studies during her postdoctoral research work at MGH and the Broad Institute. She received the MGH Claflin Distinguished Scholar Award (2011), Phyllis and Jerome Lyle Rappaport MGH Research Scholar Award (2017-2023), and the Harvard Medical School Clifford Barger Excellence in Mentoring Award (2023).

How has mentoring impacted your own career?
Mentoring from my advisors, senior colleagues, and departmental leadership has been critical throughout my career. In the beginning, mentors generously guided me on scientific research and training, as well as successfully participating in and leading scientific collaborations. In later years, my mentors helped me in career transitions in and out of industry, helped me to write successful grant applications, supported me with effort on their projects, advised on the timing of my promotions and created opportunities for leadership and to enhance my scientific impact.

Adama Sesay, BSc(hons), MSc, PhD
Senior Staff Engineer II, Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering

Adama Sesay leads the bio sensing and diagnostic group at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering. She is an innovative engineering/scientific leader with significant expertise in bio sensing and biochemical sensing technologies, chemistry, materials, microfluidics, micro-fabrication and microsystems development. Sesay leads a dynamic team of scientist and bioengineers focused on applying and manipulating novel materials to develop biomaterials, microsystems, and analytical devices for medical/environmental diagnostics and industrial applications. Her current research interests are integrating biochemical sensing functionality into organ-on-the-chip platform, micro-bioreactors, and novel “smart” biomaterials. Previously, Sesay worked as a part of the unit of measurement technology at the University of Oulu, Finland as a project manager and principal investigator. Sesay obtained her bachelor’s degree in environmental chemistry and molecular science at University of Sussex and her MSc and PhD from the Institute of Bioscience and Technology at Cranfield University. She additionally completed an Industrial Marie Currie Postdoctoral Fellowship on rapid prototyping and micro-factories at the Danish Technological Institute.

What are you looking forward to as a mentor this year in the program?
To meet and get to know new people and provide guidance and support to young scientists and engineers as they navigate their careers at this stage.

Lijun Sun, PhD
Associate Professor, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Lijun Sun is director of the Center for Drug Discovery and Translational Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and associate professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School. He has served as the principal investigator or co-investigator for a number of translational research projects. He has a longstanding interest in the design and synthesis of bioactive small molecules and their application as pharmacological tool compounds to delineate the functions of novel biological targets. Sun has significant expertise in drug discovery and inflammatory diseases as well as drug discovery and chemical process development. His professional career in drug discovery has included leadership roles at Shionogi BioResearch, Synta Pharmaceuticals, and Theracrine. He has been granted more than 140 awards and pending U.S. patents and has discovered a number of novel small-molecule drug candidates. He received his PhD in organic chemistry from Emory University and completed postdoctoral training at the Emory University School of Medicine.

How has mentoring impacted your own career?
I have been very fortunate to collaborate with many established PI’s within the Harvard Medical School community, and through our collaboration they have provided numerous guidance and support that impacts my career until this day.

Veronique VanderHorst, MD, PhD
Associate Professor, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Veronique VanderHorst is associate professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School and staff physician in the Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC). In her current research, she integrates her clinical and neuro-anatomical/physiological experience to study connections and functions of brainstem and spinal circuitries that control muscle tone, posture, breathing and walking, in normal conditions and in disease models of dystonias, parkinsonism, and sleep apnea. She makes use of state-of-the-art chemogenetic and optogenetic technologies in combination with tract tracing and electrophysiology in animal models, while translational efforts include collaborative clinical-pathological and clinical studies. A major focus in her work is on translatable outcome measures. Her work has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Bachmann Strauss Dystonia and Parkinson Foundation, Center for Mind Brain Restoration, and the Goldberg Foundation. She earned her PhD in neuroscience from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, was awarded a fellowship from the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences and completed a neurology residency training and movement disorders fellowship at BIDMC.

What are you looking forward to as a mentor this year in the program?
I’m looking forward to sharing my career adventures with the mentees. While a science background is often very different, we all wrestle with the same central questions related to career paths and work-balance decisions.

Bruce Zetter, PhD
Professor, Boston Children’s Hospital

Bruce Zetter is the Charles Nowiszewski Professor of Cancer Biology at Harvard Medical School. Previously, he served as vice president for research and chief scientific officer at Boston Children’s Hospital. He is known for his research on cancer biology, diagnosis, and treatment. He currently works to find treatments for highly aggressive, metastatic cancers. He also serves as an advocate for young scientists and for improved academic-industry relationships.

What are you looking forward to as a mentor this year in the program?
I’m looking forward to getting to know more mentees and to exchange opinions and concerns about careers in science. Also, I’d like to keep us all focused on why we went into science in the first place and how to keep that sense of wonder and excitement.