The Interventional Cardiology Research Team

Dr. Darshan Doshi is an interventional cardiologist who specializes in complex coronary interventions.

Dr. Doshi received his BA from Columbia University’s Columbia College and his MD from Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons. He completed his internal medicine residency, and his cardiovascular medicine and interventional cardiology fellowships at the Columbia University Medical Center. Dr. Doshi also underwent additional dedicated training at Columbia in complex and high-risk interventional procedures. He then joined the faculty in the Division of Cardiology at the Massachusetts General Hospital in 2018.

Dr. Doshi also holds an MS in patient-oriented research from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health with a research interest focused on clinical trials evaluating novel cardiovascular devices and therapeutics in interventional cardiology. He has authored several original manuscripts in translational and clinical cardiovascular medicine, and has published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet, Journal of the American College of Cardiology and Circulation, among many others.

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Staff

• Haley Cerretani (CRC)

Dr. Douglas Drachman is an interventional cardiologist whose primary interests include education, research and management of patients with advanced coronary and peripheral vascular disease. Dr. Drachman's research focus is on locally delivered therapeutics, including the development of drug-eluting stent platforms and the evaluation of catheter-based intramyocardial stem cell delivery for therapeutic angiogenesis.

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Dr. Fahed is an interventional cardiologist and physician-scientist at Massachusetts General Hospital and instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School. He is also an affiliated scientist at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.

His clinical focus is invasive diagnosis and treatment of coronary epicardial and microvascular disease, including intravascular imaging, coronary physiology, and complex coronary interventions. His research bridges genomics, computational biology, and coronary imaging to improve prediction/prevention of coronary disease, understand its mechanisms, and improve its treatment. He serves as council leader for healthcare innovation at the American College of Cardiology and has co-founded/ advises multiple start-ups in digital health and precision medicine.

Dr. Fahed earned his MD from the American University of Beirut where he was inducted to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society and his MPH from the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health. He completed residency in internal medicine, fellowship in cardiology, and fellowship in interventional cardiology all at MGH/Harvard. He completed five years of postdoctoral research fellowships in genetics at Harvard Medical School Department of Genetics and Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.

Michael A. Fifer, MD, directs the Cardiac Cath Lab, Interventional Cardiology Associates and the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Program at the Massachusetts General Hospital Heart Center.

Dr. Fifer received his undergraduate degree summa cum laude from Harvard College and completed his medical degree at Harvard Medical School. Following his internship and residency at Massachusetts General Hospital, he completed his subspecialty fellowship in cardiovascular diseases at Brigham and Women's Hospital. Dr. Fifer joined the faculty of Harvard Medical School in 1984 and is currently a professor of medicine in the Cardiology Division at Massachusetts General Hospital where he is co-director, with Dr. Gus J. Vlahakes, of the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Program, and director of Interventional Cardiology Associates. Dr. Fifer also maintains a general cardiology practice.

Dr. Fifer's research focuses on hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. He has been a pioneer in the use of alcohol septal ablation, an innovative procedure for patients with the obstructive form of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The research arm of the program is currently conducting translational and clinical studies aimed at elucidating the pathophysiologic mechanism of the disease and discovering new treatments.

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Dr. Garasic was born in Chicago, IL and has lived in Boston since 1986. He is a Summa Cum Laude graduate of Boston University School of Medicine, and completed his Internal Medicine Residency, Fellowship in Cardiovascular Disease and Advanced Fellowship training in Interventional Cardiology and Vascular Medicine and Intervention all at Brigham and Women's Hospital/Harvard Medical School in Boston. He has been on staff and the director of Peripheral Vascular Intervention within the Cardiology Division at Massachusetts General Hospital since 2001. Dr. Garasic is the medical director of the Cardiac Interventional Unit at Mass General, is a member of the cardiac catheterization staff and the section of Vascular Medicine. He is co-director of the Vascular Diagnostic and Intervention Fellowship within Cardiology at Mass General. His area of research interest involves clinical investigations of renovascular disease and carotid vascular disease, as well as the discovery of novel endovascular procedures, and the novel use of existing endovascular devices. His clinical practice involves the management of patients with complex and multi-segmental vascular disease. His primary office practice is located on the Mass General main campus, and he also attends a general cardiology outreach clinic in Nantucket, MA.

Dr. Garasic and his wife reside locally in Boston.

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Staff

• Haley Cerretani (CRC)

Ignacio Inglessis, MD, is an assistant professor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School and director of the Structural Heart Disease Program at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Inglessis is an active clinical consultant in all aspects of interventional cardiology, including transcatheter therapy for valvular, complex coronary and adult congenital heart disease.

Dr. Inglessis has published more than 60 manuscripts and has co-authored 10 book chapters in the field of interventional cardiology for complex coronary and structural heart disease.

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Staff

• Lina Fu, RN (research nurse)
• Maureen Daher, RN (research nurse)

Dr. Farouc Jaffer graduated from Stanford University in 1990 with a B.S. in mathematical and computational sciences, and received an MD and PhD in biophysics from the University of Pennsylvania of Medicine in 1996. He completed a residency in internal medicine at the Brigham and Women's Hospital, followed by a fellowship in cardiovascular medicine and interventional cardiology at Massachusetts General Hospital. In 2003, he joined the Cardiology Division as faculty.

Dr. Jaffer is currently an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and an attending interventional cardiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital. He is director of coronary intervention and director of the Chronic Total Occlusion (CTO) PCI Program at Massachusetts General Hospital. Mass General is a leading center for treating the most complex coronary blockages, such as CTO. Many patients, previously without options, have successfully underwent CTO PCI, and have experienced marked reductions in angina (chest pain) and shortness of breath.

Dr. Jaffer is also a principal investigator in the Mass General Cardiovascular Research Center where his NIH-funded laboratory develops novel molecular imaging approaches to image high-risk plaques and blood clots, to better prevent heart attacks, strokes and venous blood clots.

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Dr. Jang came to Massachusetts General Hospital in 1987 from Leuven University in Belgium, where he has completed his residency in medicine and fellowship in cardiology. He also successfully defended his doctorate thesis at the same university. After his advanced fellowship in cardiology at Mass General, he joined the staff and is currently working as a physician and an interventional cardiologist in the Cardiology Division. He holds currently an academic title of professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.

A recipient of the Mass General Brigham in Excellence Award for Research in 2000 and for leadership in 2006, his research roster is extensive and is focused on acute coronary syndromes including acute myocardial infarction. His earlier research focused on pharmacology and physiology of thrombosis and thrombolysis. In 1994 he extended his interests to clinical studies. Since founding the Coronary Clinical Trial Group within the Cardiac Unit in 1995, he has conducted numerous clinical studies. He also led Clinical Research Office of the Cardiology Division between 2003 and 2006. He is currently the director of the Cardiology Laboratory for Integrative Physiology and Imaging (CLIPI).

For the last eleven years he has pioneered the application of intravascular Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) to patients to better characterize vulnerable plaque and to understand the mechanisms of plaque rupture. Dr. Jang has been invited to lectures at numerous national and international meetings. His publications number more than 200. 

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Staff

• Iris McNulty, RN (Lab Manager)

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Dr. Igor F. Palacios is a nationally and internationally recognized expert in the field of interventional cardiology. He is the director of interventional cardiology.

Dr. Palacios was born in Caracas, Venezuela. After receiving a medical surgeon degree with Magna cum laude honors in 1969, from the Central University of Venezuela, Caracas. Dr. Palacios completed his initial training program at the University Hospital in Caracas, before moving to Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA, to qualify as cardiologist under Professor Edgar Haber in 1974. In 1990, he was appointed director of the Interventional Cardiology Program of the Massachusetts General Hospital.

Dr. Palacios is an internationally recognized expert in the field of interventional cardiology and is a pioneer in the field of percutaneous interventions for structural heart disease. He is member of the editorial board of several peer-reviewed journals in cardiology and has received several awards for distinguished service to medicine and the community in Venezuela, Latin America, and the United States. In 1999, his home country awarded him the Gran Cordon del Libertador ("grand rope of the Liberator") which is the highest honor awarded by the Republic of Venezuela.

In 1997, Dr. Palacios received the Clinician of the Year award; and has been recognized as one of the Best Doctors in the United States by Woodward/White, Inc. for over 10 years; and is included in the U.S. Registry of Who is Who of Outstanding Americans.

Dr. Palacios is a founding member of the Latin American Society for Interventional Cardiology and has made many contributions to Latin American medicine including teaching and lecture presentations. He was also instrumental in helping to establish multi-center clinical trials focusing on interventional cardiology throughout Latin America. He has been a mentor and promoter of more than 25 cardiologists who have become leaders of interventional cardiology in several leading institutions in the USA and abroad. He has published extensively, authoring over 250 papers and 24 book chapters.

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Staff

• Kahalil Abdurahman (CRC)
• Lina Fu, RN (research nurse)
• Maureen Daher, RN (research nurse)

Dr. Nilay Patel is an interventional and structural cardiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and an Instructor at Harvard Medical School.

He is passionate about the interventional management of patients with complex coronary artery disease and a broad spectrum of structural heart disease. He utilizes cutting-edge tools to perform percutaneous coronary intervention, transcatheter valve replacement and repairs as well as transcatheter closure of patent foramen ovale (PFO), atrial septal defects (ASD) and paravalvular leaks. He is a member of the multidisciplinary Heart Valve Program at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Dr. Patel obtained his BA from Brown University followed by his MD from the Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Dr. Patel then completed his internal medicine residency and chief medical residency at Massachusetts General Hospital / Harvard Medical School. Thereafter, he completed fellowships in general cardiology, interventional cardiology and structural heart disease at Massachusetts General Hospital. He currently serves as the Associate Program Director for the Interventional Cardiology Fellowship. 

Dr. Patel's research interests center around novel device therapy and clinical outcomes following transcatheter valve therapies. He has authored recent publications in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, JAMA Cardiology, Lancet and the New England Journal of Medicine. 

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Kenneth Rosenfield, MD, is the section head for vascular medicine and intervention and chairs the Acute Myocardial Infarction(STEMI) Committee for the cardiac cath lab. He is a national leader in treatment of carotid, kidney and leg artery disease.

Dr. Rosenfield is the section head for vascular medicine and intervention, who specializes in complex cardiac and vascular interventions and directs the program for treatment of acute myocardial infarction (STEMI) in the cardiac catheterization laboratories. He has spearheaded the development of less-invasive therapies for patients with coronary and vascular disease, both at Mass General and nationally, including treatment of carotid, kidney and leg artery narrowing using stents and other novel devices.

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Staff

• Lina Fu, RN (research nurse)
• Maureen Daher, RN (research nurse)

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Dr. Stefanescu Schmidt is an Adult Congenital Heart Disease specialist and Interventional Cardiologist. She trained in internal medicine, cardiology and coronary interventions at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and in the combined Boston Adult Congenital Heart Disease fellowship program. She then completed subspecialty training in congenital and structural interventions at the Toronto General Hospital and University of Toronto.

Her clinical practice and research focus on interventions to increase quality of life and longevity of adults with congenital heart disease. She obtained research training through a Master's in Epidemiology from the Harvard School of Public Health, and has participated and led single and multi-center clinical studies.

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Dr. Weinberg received his medical degree and completed his internal medicine training at the Hadassah Hebrew University School of Medicine. He then completed his Vascular Medicine Fellowship at the Massachusetts General Hospital and is board certified in vascular medicine (American Board of Vascular Medicine). His on-going research focuses on venous thromboembolic disease and manifestations of arterial disease. He is assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Weinberg is the fellowship director of the Vascular Medicine Fellowship program at Massachusetts General Hospital. He is also co-medical director of the Anticoagulation Management Services at Mass General as well as medical director of VASCORE, the Ultrasound Core Laboratory. Dr. Weinberg is founder and editor-in-chief of Angiologist.com, the only online portal for vascular medicine.

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Julia Larson is the program coordinator for the Heart Center Clinical Research Program. This program includes all branches of our cardiology research, including interventional cardiology. She grew up in NY, but since graduating with her bachelor’s from Stonehill College, she has been living in Boston. Some of her favorite things include traveling and being outside whenever possible (especially hiking in the White Mountains, snowboarding, running/exercising). Soccer has always been a huge part of Julia’s life. In her free time, she currently volunteers as a coach with a non-profit called Soccer Without Borders.

Iris McNulty was excited to return to Mass General to work with Dr. Jang after a five-year hiatus. She began her career at MGH in 1995 after receiving a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from Brown University. While working at Mass General she pursued her interest in nursing, obtaining a BSN from Simmons College. Her interests ultimately led her to a role as a clinical research nurse for more than a decade. She has significant experience working on Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) clinical trials and worked with Dr. Jang during the inception of the Mass General OCT Registry, a multi-center, international registry of almost 3,000 patients with up to five years of prospective follow-up. Since her return to Mass General, she has continued to help Dr. Jang expand his OCT research.

Lina Fu, RN. BSN. graduate from Northeastern University with summa cumme laude and academic excellence award and received clinical research certificate from Boston College. As an experience nurse working with patients with chronic neurological conditions, such as Multiple Sclerosis, Epilepsy, Parkinson’s Disease, Migraine headaches, etc., she joined the clinical research team at MGH since 2014 with deep commitment to patient advocacy delivering quality, compassionate, evidence-based care in the clinical research environment. She loves to work with people, enjoy the collaboration with her fellow clinical research team members, clinical health providers and patients to explore the best available treatment options for in clinical research. Outside of work, she loves to spend time with family and friends, reading, volunteering in local non-profit organizations.

Abdurahman is a graduate of the University of Damascus medical school in Syria. Before joining our team, he was a research intern in translational colon cancer at the University of Chicago. He also volunteered at Advocate Masonic hospital. Abdurahman is working on several industry-sponsored trials in interventional cardiology. In his free time, he enjoys photography, cooking and soccer.

Haley Cerretani, a Boston University graduate with a degree in health sciences and a minor in Spanish, has recently joined the Interventional Cardiology Research Team after spending time with the Orthopedic Oncology Team here at Mass General! Her background lies mostly in animal research, centered upon a canary lab studying speech patterns and intentional neural lesioning. Outside of research, she is an avid functional fitness goer. If she’s not in the gym, she’s likely cooking, baking, out with friends or taking care of her once-stray orange tabby cat named Freddie (named after the lead singer in Queen).

Chen (Julian) Chen is a data analyst with Dr. Sammy Elmariah. He graduated from Harvard University in 2021 with a master’s degree in Biostatistics. In his free time, he enjoys jogging, hiking and traveling with friends.

Roukoz Abou-Karam graduated from the University of Balamand, Lebanon in 2018 with his medical degree. After graduation, he travelled to Boston and worked as a research intern at BIDMC and as an associate medical director at Goodpath. Roukoz is now part of the valve team at Mass General and manages the PI-initiated multi-omics studies. Outside of work, he enjoys soccer, travel and snowboarding.

Sadie is a graduate of UC San Diego with a degree in Human Biology. While at UCSD, she worked as a clinical research assistant first in the UCSD emergency department and then at a multi-specialty medical practice that included urology and gastroenterology. Her research was focused on improving the treatment and management of advanced prostate cancer and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). As a part of the valve team at Mass General, Sadie works on trials related to transcatheter mitral and tricuspid valve replacements. In her free time, she enjoys reading, baking and looking after her extensive collection of houseplants.

Jace Whelan graduated from Marquette University in 2021 with a biomedical engineering degree while also competing on the varsity lacrosse team. His senior year, he was able design and create an assistive fishing device for a teenager with spastic quadriplegia cerebral palsy which now allows him to reel in a fish at the touch of a button. He also worked in a Neuromechanics lab that focused on muscle response to optical stimulation during his senior year. Now, he manages device trials for valve repair, replacement and patent foramen ovale closures with Dr. Inglessis. In his free time, he enjoys wakeboarding, snowboarding and participating in just about any physical activity with his friends.

Chethana Venkatraman is currently a Clinical Research Coordinator working in the Jaffer Lab. She graduated with a BS in Neuroscience and a minor in German from the University of Rochester in May 2021. During her undergraduate years, she worked as a Clinical Research Assistant in the Emergency Department and as a research assistant in the Deane Lab looking at preventative measures against Alzheimer’s Disease. In her free time, she loves reading, working out and exploring new restaurants!