People
By involving clinicians, engineers, scientists, entrepreneurs, and business people in research and professional development programs, Catalyst fosters an innovation ecosystem that produces high impact people and technologies. Fellows discover and lead collaborative project teams, guided by a cadre of multiprofessional leaders and mentors.
Catalyst Fellows
Emerging biomedical innovation leaders
2022 Fellows


Akshar Abbott
2022 spring cohort
Ophthalmologist, Veterans Affairs VISN 23 Technology-based Eye Care Service program


Zachary Buono
2022 spring cohort
Biomedical Engineer at the US Army Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center


Alexandra Buscher
2022 spring cohort
Senior Manufacturing Engineer, Stryker Neurovascular


Jake Drutchas
2022 spring cohort
Master’s Candidate, MIT Integrated Design and Management


Martha Duffy, MD, MPH
2022 spring cohort
Interprofessional Advanced Fellow in Addiction Treatment and Primary Care Physician at VA Boston


Beatriz Garcia Santa Cruz, MsC
2022 spring cohort
Doctoral Candidate at the University of Luxembourg


Mani Sai Suryateja Jammalamadaka
2022 spring cohort
Graduate Research Assistant, Massachusetts Institute of Technology


Smitta Patel, MD, MPH, MBA
2022 spring cohort
Chief of Innovation, Department of Mental Health at the Greater Los Angeles VA Medical Center


Amos Raymond, MD
2022 spring cohort
Assistant Chief, Emergency Department, VA Medical Center, Memphis


Aparna Repaka, MBBS
2022 spring cohort
Staff Physician, Gastroenterologist, VA Boston Healthcare System


Debarghya Sarkar, PhD
2022 spring cohort
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital


Jonathan Sherrod, MD
2022 spring cohort
Staff Anesthesiologist, Memphis VA Medical Center


Sanjit Singh, BS
2022 spring cohort
Mixed Reality Developer, MPLEX
Current Phase 2 Fellows


Lola Baird, LICSW, ACSW
Polytrauma/TBI Social Worker at VA Boston Healthcare System


Tracy Bruen
2021 spring cohort
Clinical Assistant Professor / Director MS Clinical Nutrition and Dietetic Internship University of Memphis
Memphis


Mark Drinkwater, NP
Acute Care Nurse Practitioner at VA Boston Healthcare System in Emergency Services


Victor Ekuta
2021 spring cohort
Academic Mentoring Seminar Instructor
MIT
Boston


Rey Johnson
2021 spring cohort
Software Engineer
3M Health Information Systems
Salt Lake City


Natrina Johnson, MS
Candidate in Health Services Research at Boston University School of Public Health, and researcher in the VA Boston Healthcare System


Lars Lofgren
2021 spring cohort
Graduate Research Fellow University of Utah
Salt Lake City


Alison Quinn
2021 spring cohort
Staff Physician, Psychiatrist Memphis VA Medical Center Memphis


Ritu Raman
2021 spring cohort
Postdoctoral Fellow MIT
Boston


Jason Ramirez
2021 spring cohort
Staff Physician
Salt Lake City Veterans Health Administration
Salt Lake City




Ravi Rasalingam, MBChB
2019 spring cohort
Staff Cardiologist, Medicine/Cardiology, Boston VA Healthsystem


Fatima Shahzad
2021 spring cohort
Senior Project Manager
VA Boston HealthCare System / Boston VA Research Institute (BVARI)
Boston


Chelsey Solar, PhD
Fellow in Medical Informatics at VA Boston Healthcare System


Eric Swart, MD
Assistant Professor at University of Massachusetts


Taylor Wahlig
2021 spring cohort
Post Doc University of Utah
Salt Lake City


Tarsha Ward, PhD
2019 spring cohort
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Harvard Medical School
Fellows Alumni


Mercy Asiedu, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Massachusetts Institute of Technology


Iliyana Atanasova, PhD
2012 cohort
Associate Director of Global Oncology Forecasting at Sanofi Genzyme


Margaret Bennewitz, PhD
2012 cohort
Assistant Professor in Biomedical Imaging, West Virginia University


Soledad Betanzos-Lara, PhD
2012 cohort
Patent agent, Goodrich, Riquelme y Asociados


Vyda Bielkus, MBA
CEO Health Yoga Life, EMBA Candidate at MIT Sloan School of Management


Judith Birkenfeld, PhD
2014 cohort
MULTIPLY MSC Action Fellow at IO-CSIC, Visual Optics and Biophotonics Group


Aurelien Bourquard, PhD
2013 cohort
Chief Data Scientist and Cofounder, Leuko Labs


Ian Butterworth, MSc
2013 cohort
CTO and Cofounder, Leuko Labs


Chris Carr, ScD
2019 spring cohort
Research Fellow, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Molecular Biology


Carlos Castro González, PhD
2013 cohort
CEO and Cofounder, Leuko Labs


Jon Champagne, PA-C
2019 spring cohort
Physician Assistant, Cardiac Electrophysiology, West Roxbury VA


Ryan Coe, PhD
2013 cohort
Engagement Manager at Triangle Insights Group


Susan Conover, MS
2016 cohort
CEO and Cofounder, LuminDx


Shivang Dave, PhD
2011 cohort
CEO and Co-Founder, PlenOptika


Nicholas Durr, PhD
2011 cohort
Assistant Professor at Johns Hopkins University


Yigitcan Eryaman, PhD
2011 cohort
Assistant Professor at Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, University of Minnesota


Osasere Evbuomwan, PhD
2012 cohort
Assistant Professor of Chemistry at University of San Francisco


Berta Martí Fuster, PhD
2014 cohort
Head of Communications & Partner Relations, Oncoheroes Biosciences


Luca Giancardo, PhD
2013 cohort
Assistant Professor, University of Texas Health Sciences Center at Houston


Germán González Serrano, PhD
2011 cohort
Independent Researcher and Scientific Consultant


Tobias Hahn, PhD
2013 cohort
Director Strategic Programs, OSRAM


Amy Hanson, RN
Assistant Nurse Manager VA Boston Healthcare System



Anna Jagielska, PhD
2019 spring cohort
Research Scientist, Massachusetts Institute of Technology


Javier Jimenez Gonzalez, PhD, MBA
2012 cohort
CEO and Cofounder, NBS


Ara Kassarjian, PhD
2011 cohort
Founder and Consultant Musculoskeletal Radiologist at Elite Sports Imaging


Nahun Kim
MS Candidate at MIT’s Integrated Design + Management


Robert Karl Kosior, PhD
2011 cohort
Resident in Psychiatry at University of Manitoba


Eduardo Lage, PhD
2011 cohort
CTO and Co-Founder, PlenOptika


Wencke Lehnert, PhD
2012 cohort
Head of Medical Physics, Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Hamburg Eppendorf


Jonathan Li, PhD
PhD Candidate in Computational & Systems Biology at MIT


Daryl Lim, PhD
2011 cohort
COO and Co-Founder, PlenOptika


Bevin Lin, PhD
2012 cohort
Program Director, Buck Institute for Research on Aging


Amy Linsky, MD
2019 spring cohort
Physician, Internal Medicine, VA Boston Healthcare System


Cristina Lois, PHD
2012 cohort
Research Fellow, Harvard Medical School


Joaquín López Herraiz, PhD
2012 cohort
Associate Professor at Universidad Complutense de Madrid


Jie Luo, PhD
2013 cohort
Assistant Professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University


Carlos Sanchez Mendoza, PhD
2013 cohort
Head of Data Science at Snappet Connected Learning


Sam Miles
2021 spring cohort
Informatics and Education RN Memphis VAMC
Memphis


Asif Naseem, PhD
2014 cohort
President & Chief Executive Officer, Paragon Development Systems (PDS)


Vicente Parot, PhD
2011 cohort
Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard University


Anita Ranade
2021 spring cohort
Chief of Business Office
VA Boston Healthcare System
Boston


Paolo Renigar
2021 spring cohort
Education Program Specialist Veterans Affairs
Salt Lake City



Aasia Romano, MD
2019 spring cohort
OBGYN Physician, Clinical Instructor for Harvard Medical School, Veteran Affairs Healthcare System Boston


Álvaro Sánchez-Ferro, MD
2013 cohort
Chief Medical Officer and Cofounder, Leuko Labs


Colas Schretter, PhD
2012 cohort
Senior Research Scientist, Vrije Universiteit Brussel


Luis Rubén Soenksen, MSE
2014 cohort
Venture Builder in Artificial Intelligence and Healthcare at MIT


Smithri Sunil, PhD
Candidate in the Biomedical Engineering Department at Boston University


Jack Tsao
2021 spring cohort
Staff Neurologist Memphis VAMC
Memphis


Jason Tucker-Schwartz, PhD
2014 cohort
Director of Marketing and Business Development, SpectraWAVE


Esra Abaci Turk, PhD
2013 cohort
Research Fellow at Boston Children's Hospital


Christine Zhang
MBA Candidate MIT Sloan School of Management


Kai Zhang, PhD
Senior Manager, Clinical Biomarkers and Diagnostics, Amgen
Catalyst faculty
Representing the spectrum of biomedical innovation and care
Catalyst 2022 Faculty


Pamela Bellino MA, OTR/L
Director of Patient Safety, VA Boston Healthcare System


Eric Bruns, MBA
Director, EES SimLEARN Division, VHA Employee Education System



Stephan Gaehde, MD, MPH
Boston VA Medical Informatics Fellowship Program Director and Chief of Emergency Services



Dimitra Georganopoulou, PhD
Venture Partner, FundRx


Roshni Ghosh, MD, MPH
Executive Director, Center for Care and Payment Innovation, Veterans Health Administration



Martha Gray, PhD
Director, MIT linQ



Anh Hoang
Chief Science Officer at Sofregen



Jacob Hooker, PhD
Phyllis and Jerome Lyle Rappaport MGH Research Scholar
Professor of Radiology, Harvard Medical School



Beth Kahn, MS
Associate Director, NE I-Corps
NSF I-Corps Instructor



Tim Padera, PhD
Associate Professor in Radiation Oncology, Harvard Medical School


Anne Quaadgras, PhD
Director of the MIT Sloan Health Systems Initiative, Senior Lecturer at the Sloan School of Management




Ravi Rasalingam, MBChB
Catalyst Alumnus ’19
Staff Cardiologist, Medicine/Cardiology, Boston VA Healthsystem


Indra Sandal, PhD, MBA
Director of Innovation at the Memphis VA Medical Center


Pranjul Shah, PhD
2022 spring cohort
Head of the Incubator at the University of Luxembourg



Andy Shin, JD, MPH
COO, AHA Center for Health Innovation


Suzanne Shirley, LCSW
Director of Community Engagement & Fellowship with the Veterans Health Administration Innovation Ecosystem (VHA IE)


Nancy R. Steele, MA
Vice President, Strategy & Innovation at Pfizer, retired & Mentor, Entrepreneurship for All



Iván Uray, MD, PhD
Senior Research Scientist & Associate Professor, Dept of Oncology, University of Debrecen
Hungary



Ben Vakoc, PhD
Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School
Catalyst faculty, 2018–2021


Pamela Bellino MA, OTR/L
Director of Patient Safety, VA Boston Healthcare System


Lydia Bourouiba, PhD
Assistant Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering and Mechanical Engineering;
Affiliate Faculty of Harvard Medical School


Heather L. Davidson, MD
Assistant Professor of General Internal Medicine at Boston University School of Medicine;
Deputy Chief of Staff and Hospitalist Physician at VA Boston HCS


Russel Eng
Industrial Engineer – Systems Redesign
VA Boston & VA New England Health Care System (VISN 1)


John Flaherty, MD, MPH
Chief Emergency Medicine, Memphis VA Medical Center



Lars Frølund, PhD
Research Director, MIT Innovation Initiative
Visiting Fellow at the MIT Sloan School of Management



Stephan Gaehde, MD, MPH
Boston VA Medical Informatics Fellowship Program Director and Chief of Emergency Services



Dimitra Georganopoulou, PhD
Venture Partner, FundRx


Karen Golmer, MBA
Innovation Manager MIT Desphande Center for Technological Innovation



Martha Gray, PhD
Director, MIT linQ


Peter Hansen, PhD
Founder of Union Biometrica, Inc.



Anh Hoang
Chief Science Officer at Sofregen



Jacob Hooker, PhD
Phyllis and Jerome Lyle Rappaport MGH Research Scholar
Professor of Radiology, Harvard Medical School



Beth Kahn, MS
Associate Director, NE I-Corps
NSF I-Corps Instructor


Andy Levine, MS
CEO and President, Conformal Medical


Fiona Murray, PhD
Associate Dean for Innovation at the MIT Sloan School of Management
Co-Director of MIT Innovation Initiative


Emily Niederst, PhD
Director of Scientific Initiatives, Alana Down Syndrome Center



Tim Padera, PhD
Associate Professor in Radiation Oncology, Harvard Medical School


Alice Lin Pomponio, MPP
Advisor, Red Sky Partners


Contessa “Tess” Ramos, MSNED
Chief of Education/ DLO
Center for Learning Excellence
George E. Wahlen,
Salt Lake City VA




Ravi Rasalingam, MBChB
Catalyst Alumnus ’19
Staff Cardiologist, Medicine/Cardiology, Boston VA Healthsystem



Andy Shin, JD, MPH
COO, AHA Center for Health Innovation


Karthik Sivashanker, MD, MPH
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the Boston University School of Medicine;
Consultation-Liaison Psychiatrist, VA Boston Healthcare System


Nancy R. Steele, MA
MIT linQ Faculty


Collin Stultz, MD, PhD
Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Institute for Medical Engineering and Science



Iván Uray, MD, PhD
Senior Research Scientist & Associate Professor, Dept of Oncology, University of Debrecen
Hungary



Ben Vakoc, PhD
Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School
Independent Advisory Panel
Providing insight and wisdom to refine projects


Saurabha Bhatnagar, MD
Chief Medical Officer, Head of Technology & Performance, UnitedHealthcare


Bonnie Charland, PhD
Associate Director of Quality Management, VA Boston Healthcare System


Heather Davidson, MD
Deputy Chief of Staff, VA Boston HCS; Hospitalist


Melinda Decker, MS, MBA
Chief Commercial Officer, Mymee


Samuel “Mooly” Dinnar, PMB
Founder of Meedance,
Instructor at Harvard and MIT


Will Febbo
CEO of OptimizeRx


Christiana Iyasare, MD
Director, Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Medicine Innovation Program;
Co-Founder, Dyrnamix, Inc.


Julia Jackson, MBA
Director, Digital Health at Sage Therapeutics


Angela James, PhD
Global Development Project Leadership in Oncology at Astellas Pharma


Terry Keane, PhD
Associate Chief of Staff for Research and Development at VA Boston Healthcare System


Emily Lindemer, PhD
Director of Data Science and Analytics at Wellframe


Daphne Psacharopoulos, MBA
Advisor, Digital Health, Strategy & Commercialization


Jagesh Shah, PhD
Vice President, Gene Therapy Technologies at Sana Biotechnology, Inc.


Barry Stein, MD, MBA, FSIR, FACR, RPVI
Chief Clinical Innovation Officer at Hartford HealthCare


Frances Toneguzzo, PhD
Intellectual Property and Business Strategy Consultant


Ryan Vega, MD
Chief Officer, Office of Healthcare Innovation and Learning, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs