Charged: Stories from the Women Leading Health Care

Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) have faced more than 6,000 hate incidents since the start of the pandemic, which is about a 149% rise since the last year. The racially motivated incidents range from verbal harassment virus to physical attacks. In this special episode of Charged, a panel of guests discuss the history of racism against the AAPI community, how the pandemic has fueled it and why this group has been widely excluded from conversation and policy intended to foster racial equality.

The WHO reports that almost 1/3 of women have experienced physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner. Eve Valera, PhD, neuroscientist, has spent more than 20 years researching the prevalence of TBI resulting from intimate partner violence and the impact these injuries can have. In this episode of Charged, Dr. Valera explains the impairments that women endure due to TBIs resulting from intimate partner violence and the barriers she's faced.

Rachel Sisodia, MD, gynecologic oncologist and surgeon, believes that it is critical to strike a balance between doing what is needed to treat someone's cancer and honoring what is most important to them. She partners with each patient to fight cancer together as a team. In this episode of Charged, Dr. Sisodia talks about her experience caring for women with cancer, her efforts to promote women into leadership positions, and her work leading the Mass General Brigham patient reported outcomes program.

Happy Mother’s Day from the Charged team at Massachusetts General Hospital! In honor of this special day, we are celebrating the many amazing mothers at Mass General. In this episode, we asked a few of our most recent guests to share their stories about parenting, the importance of having a community of support and how healthy habits can help to ensure that working parents (moms and dads!) do not miss the small moments of joy. We hope you enjoy this special episode with the mothers of Charged!

When Galit Alter, PhD, immunologist and virologist, began her career during the peak of the HIV/AIDS crisis, there were few researchers who were studying the immune system in the context of infectious diseases. She quickly became curious about how the human immune system fights different viruses and how uncovering this knowledge could significantly impact the way vaccines are developed. In this episode of Charged, Dr. Alter, a self-described "virus hunter," talks about the mechanisms by which the immune system fights disease, how she and her team created a novel serology tool that profiles the body's antibody response to both viruses and vaccines, and how this tool was employed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr. Leigh Anne Dageforde first realized her passion for transplantation surgery during a moment in her residency when she witnessed the immediate result a kidney transplant surgery provided to a patient. Over the course of her career, her dedication to the field has only grown. The field of transplant surgery is special to her because doctors can give their patients something new, and in turn, give them back their life. In this episode of Charged, Dr. Dageforde shares her experience working in a what is still considered a young field and learning from role models who have forged the path ahead for transplant surgeons like herself. She discusses the unique nature of the field, the personal connections she has with patient and donor communities and the collaborative nature of transplantation.

Migraine is a leading cause of disability worldwide and women make up 85% of migraine sufferers. Despite its prevalence and known associations with an increased risk of other health complications, there are many questions still unknown. In this episode of Charged, Dr. Andrea Harriott, discusses the associations between migraine and other health complications, the significant gender disparity amongst migraine sufferers, and her work in the lab and at the bedside of patients with migraine disorders.

As our world becomes increasingly virtual, the field of medicine has also followed suit. Today, more than 40% of health care consumers use social media as a source for important health care information—and this number is only expected to grow. In this special episode of Charged, some of our past guests share their perspectives on social media’s place in medicine, its impact on patient care and how they use it personally and professionally.

Infertility is more common than many people might think. And yet, many people are hesitant to discuss their struggles. This is exactly why Irene Souter, MD, has dedicated her career to helping couples facing infertility find the best way to grow their family. In this episode of Charged, Dr. Souter discusses the various options for how to have a healthy baby as well as her participation in a 20-year study that investigates the impact of environmental, nutritional and lifestyle factors on fertility.

Dr. Uma Naidoo, developed a passion for food and cooking at a young age—a deep interest that persisted throughout her career as a practicing psychiatrist. Eventually, it led her to wonder if food and diet can somehow be used in mental health medicine. Dr. Uma is a leading expert and pioneer in the field of nutritional psychiatry, a new area of research and clinical practice that looks at how food influences brain function. In this episode of Charged, Dr. Uma talks to us about how she built her career in this niche, how she helps patients foster healthy diets to improve their mental health and her experience implementing this knowledge in her own life.

When Dr. Inga Lennes was in medical school, she aspired to be a physician that strives to listen to patients’ voices. A practicing thoracic medical oncologist, Dr. Lennes has become a leader in the management of lung and esophageal cancer, enhancing quality and safety measures, and improving the patient experience. In this episode of Charged, Dr. Lennes explains her approach to caring for patients with a serious prognosis and her passions for practicing medicine and evoking change as an administrator.

According to the NIMH, nearly one in five adults in the US lives with mental illness. As a clinical psychologist, Dr. Luana Marques, believes that everyone should be equipped with the skills to help them manage and overcome mental health challenges. In this episode of Charged, Dr. Marques shares the anxiety-management skills she learned while growing up in Brazil, what drove her to pursue a career in psychology and how cognitive behavioral therapy can be used to treat many mental health disorders.

Happy New Year from the Charged team at Massachusetts General Hospital! In honor of the new year, we are listening back to last year's bonus episode when we asked some of our past guests about their New Year's resolutions. We hope this inspires you as you think about your own plans for the new year.

Dr. T. Salewa Oseni, breast surgical oncologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, knows that when a team caring for patients of all backgrounds does not also reflect the same inclusivity amongst its members, the quality of care suffers. As the co-director of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee in the Mass General Department of Surgery, much of Dr. Oseni’s work is dedicated to changing the face of medicine, to become more reflective of the diverse patient population it serves. On this episode of Charged, Dr. Oseni talks to us about her 13-year background as a surgeon in the Navy, her work to change the face of medicine and how to eliminate health care disparities.

Miho Tanaka, MD, a sports medicine surgeon, was 11 years old when she knew that she wanted to become a doctor who treats athletes. As a former athlete herself, Dr. Tanaka routinely felt there was one thing lacking in her health care experience: a shared passion and motivation for a speedy return to the sports she loved. In this episode of Charged, Dr. Tanaka talks about why she chose sports medicine, pursuing a career in a male-dominated field and the importance of research and education for athletes.

As chief of the Mass General Infectious Diseases Division and one of five members on the Boston COVID-19 Advisory Board, Rochelle Walensky, MD, MPH, has witnessed the transformation of the landscape for viral diseases. Recently, Dr. Walensky was nominated by President-elect, Joe Biden, to serve as the next director of the CDC. In this episode of Charged, Dr. Walensky discusses how she has worked to help expand access to care for HIV patients and her willingness to understand patients’ struggles.

As an emergency medicine physician and associate chief quality, officer at Mass General, Emily Aaronson, MD, works to ensure that patient safety and clinical quality are implemented across all operations. In this episode of Charged, Dr. Aaronson discusses how she helped lead Mass General’s efforts to improve patient safety, her role integrating palliative care in the emergency department during COVID-19 and how communication makes all the difference in caring for patients with serious illnesses.

As associate chief of the Infection Control Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital, Erica Shenoy, MD, PhD, focuses on infection prevention and control, with a special interest in preparedness and response to emerging infectious diseases. In this episode of Charged, Dr. Shenoy talks about what drove her to pursue a career in infection control, her unique experience of being a key leader and advisor in the hospital’s planning and response to the COVID-19 pandemic, what she and her team have learned since the first surge and how they are preparing for the future.

Christine Ritchie, MD, MSPH, a geriatrician and palliative care specialist, has worked throughout her career to strengthen the quality of care for patients with serious illnesses and expand the breadth of research on aging and chronic illness in an effort to close the current gaps in care of older adults. In this episode of Charged, Dr. Ritchie discusses how her upbringing in South Korea ignited her passion for geriatric medicine and research, her experience as a personal caregiver and the impact of COVID-19 on the older population.

Joan Quinlan, MPA, has dedicated her entire career to advocating for the underserved. As the current vice president for community health at Massachusetts General Hospital and founding director of the Center for Community Health Improvement, Joan has strived to improve the health status of underserved communities and their access to health care. In this episode of Charged, Joan shares the unexpected way in which she developed her career in community health, the initiatives that she helped Mass General develop and the thread of social justice that has run throughout her career.