Michelle Dossett, MD, PhD, MPH

Dr. Michelle Dossett is an Associate Professor of Medicine in Residence, an Associate Director of Physician Well-Being, and the Medical Director of the UC Davis Integrative Medicine Clinic. She is board-certified in both internal medicine and integrative medicine and received her MD and PhD in immunology from the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington. She completed her internship and residency in internal medicine and research fellowship in complementary and integrative medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School. During fellowship she received a MPH degree from the Harvard School of Public Health and then worked at the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital prior to moving to University of California Davis. Dr. Dossett’s research interests include mind body medicine, the therapeutic effect of the patient-clinician interaction, and clinician well-being. She has extensive experience teaching mind-body and other resiliency tools to clinicians.

Jeffery Dusek, PhD is the Chief Research Officer at the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health.  He has over 20 years of experience leading research at innovative research and healthcare institutions.   From 1998 to 2007, he served as the Director of Research for the Mind/Body Medical Institute at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and an Instructor in Medicine of the Harvard Medical School.  He was key to receipt of a multi-year grant from the CDC from which 3 seminal research studies were completed and numerous scientific articles were published.  In addition, from 2006 to 2007 he served as the Director of Behavioral Services Research at the inauguration of the Benson Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital.

From 2007 to 2017, Dr. Dusek was the director of research at the Penny George Institute of Allina Health based in Minneapolis MN.  Dr. Dusek was the Principal Investigator of a multi-year grant from the NIH which resulted in 13 manuscripts published in peer reviewed medical research journals.

His research has been published in eminent journals such as the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Circulation and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.  His research been covered in such venues as the New York Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe, USA Today and National Public Radio.

Adam Gonzalez, PhD

Dr. Gonzalez was a pre-dcotoral intern and post-doctoral associate in the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and the Director of the Mind Body Clinical Research Center at Stony Brook University. Dr. Gonzalez’s program of research focuses on: (1) identifying cognitive, emotional and behavioral health factors underlying physical and mental health among individuals with chronic illness, and (2) developing and evaluating mind body interventions for these high-risk populations. To see Dr. Gonzalez’s CV, please click here.

Daniel L. Hall, PhD

Daniel Hall, PhD, is a licensed clinical health psychologist and an Assistant Professor in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. His expertise is in two primary areas: fear of recurrence/uncertainty in illness and insomnia. Dr. Hall’s research seeks to bridge behavioral oncology, mental health, and behavioral sciences, as reflected in his faculty appointments in the MGH Health Promotion and Resiliency Intervention Research Center (hprir.massgeneral.org), MGH Behavioral Medicine, MGH Cancer Center Psychiatric Oncology Services, and MGH Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine. To date, these collaborations have resulted in continuous grant funding since 2015, 60 publications, more than 75 national and international conference presentations, early career awards and mentorship of junior pre- and postdoctoral trainees. Dr. Hall has also served as a primary investigator, co-primary investigator and/or interventionist on five trials testing the SMART-3RP Program with various patient and caregiving populations and regularly leads groups in the cancer resiliency program. His Twitter profile is @DanielHallPhD. 

Jared D. Kass, PhD

Jared D. Kass, Ph.D. is a Visiting Scholar with the Benson-Henry Institute, and a Professor Emeritus, Graduate Department of Counseling and Psychology, Lesley University, Cambridge, MA.  A visiting scholar since 2015, Dr. Kass’ collaboration with BHI began in 1985 when he joined Dr. Herbert Benson’s research team. During his 45-year career at Lesley, Dr. Kass developed a specialization in mind-body behavioral health. The specialization incorporated the neuroscience of attachment, trauma, and resilience into clinical practice; and highlighted attention training and meditation as therapeutic modalities.  His book, A Person-Centered Approach to Psychospiritual Maturation: Mentoring Resilience and Inclusive Community in Higher Education (Palgrave-MacMillan, 2017) presents research on the effectiveness of these clinical and prevention-oriented approaches.  His research and clinical teaching have roots in work with Dr. Carl Rogers, a founder of Humanistic Psychology, as a staff member of the Person-Centered Approach Project.

Matthew Lee, PhD

Matthew T. Lee, Ph.D., is a Visiting Professor with BHI and Director of Empirical Research at the Human Flourishing Program in the Institute for Quantitative Social Science at Harvard University.  His books include Measuring Well-Being and The Heart of Religion (both with Oxford University Press). He is also a Distinguished Visiting Scholar of Health, Flourishing, and Positive Psychology at Stony Brook University’s Center for Medical Humanities, Compassionate Care, and Bioethics and he previously served as Chair of the American Sociological Association’s Section on Altruism, Morality, and Social Solidarity. He has co-developed empirical measures of both the compassion climate in workplaces and the individual experience of inner peace. His current research explores pathways to human flourishing, benevolent service to others, and the integration of social science and the humanities. (https://hfh.fas.harvard.edu/people/matthew-t-lee-0)

Brittain Mahaffey, PhD

Dr. Mahaffey has a strong background in clinical research related to the treatment of anxiety and stress disorders. She earned her doctoral degree in clinical psychology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and completed her clinical internship at the Northport Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Northport, NY. Dr. Mahaffey’s research focuses on evaluating the efficacy of evidenced based treatments for anxiety and stress disorders, particularly in individuals with co-occurring physical health problems. She is also interested in looking at different ways of building resilience in at risk populations including: disaster workers and pregnant women with obstetrical complications. Dr. Mahaffey is presently the director of a randomized clinical trial evaluating the efficacy of the Stress Management and Resiliency Training Program (SMART) for the treatment of PTSD and respiratory symptoms in World Trade Center Responders. She also has several other ongoing collaborations with Dr. Gonzalez and colleagues at Stony Brook University and BHI. To see Dr. Mahaffey’s CV, click here.

Giselle Perez-Lougee, PhD

Dr. Giselle Perez is an Instructor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and a staff psychologist in the Behavioral Medicine Service at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Perez received her Ph.D. in Clinical Health Psychology at the University of Connecticut. Her research broadly focuses on cancer prevention and cancer outcomes research, with a special emphasis on multicultural issues and health disparities research. Specific interests include the development of interventions to promote health behavior change, treatment adherence, and treatment outcomes in cancer populations. To see Dr. Perez-Lougee’s CV, click here.

Christina Psaros, PhD

Dr. Christina Psaros is a staff psychologist in the Behavioral Medicine Service at Massachusetts General Hospital and an Assistant Professor in Psychology at Harvard Medical School. Her clinical work focuses on women’s mental health, while her research focuses on psychosocial aspects of HIV care and prevention (particularly among women) both in the United States and in sub-Saharan Africa.

Peter Shannon

Peter Shannon is a Visiting Scholar with the Benson-Henry Institute, and a professional orchestral conductor and the founder and director of the American Institute for Music and Healing, a non-profit organization dedicated to harnessing music’s healing properties to benefit patients, musicians, and healthcare professionals.  He was conductor of the Savannah Philharmonic Orchestra (2007-2019) and Chorus, and in 2014 was appointed conductor of The Jackson Symphony Orchestra (TN) having previously held positions in Germany and his native Ireland. He is internationally active as a guest conductor in Europe and the US (www.petershannon-conductor.com). A leading authority on the use of music within the health humanities, Peter is an Affiliative Professor of Bioethics and Medical Humanities at Mercer University Department of Medicine. He is in his final year as an Irish Research Council funded PhD scholar. His thesis is “Franz Schubert: Illness and Healing in the final symphonies, A Conductor’s Perspective.”  He also partnered with Jacqueline Huntly, MD, MPH to create the “Awakening the Musician’s Inner Gift” and “Nurturing the Inner Spirit/Healer” workshops for musicians interested in Mind Body Medicine

Louisa Grandin Sylvia, PhD

Dr. Louisa Sylvia is a staff psychologist and associate director of Psychology at Bipolar Clinic and Research Program at Massachusetts General Hospital, director of the Health and Wellness at the Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital Home Base Program, and an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Sylvia’s major research interests are developing resilience and wellness programs for veterans and individuals with mood disorders. She was awarded a K23 Career Development grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to develop Nutrition/diet, Exercise, and Wellness Treatment (i.e., “NEW Tx”) for bipolar disorder. She was also funded by the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention to develop a brief sleep intervention for to improve sleep and suicidality.

Dr. Sylvia has published over 50 peer-reviewed manuscripts in her area of specialization, co-authored a workbook for Bipolar II Disorder, authored the The Wellness Workbook for Bipolar Disorder as well as presented her work at numerous local, national and international conferences. She is assisting in creating the MoodNetwork, or a patient-powered research network, funded by the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Initiative. The MoodNetwork will bring together over 50,000 participants with mood disorders to participate in research. Additionally, Dr. Sylvia is dedicated to patient care. She is a trained Cognitive-Behavioral Therapist and maintains an active caseload of individuals with bipolar disorder.

Dr. Sylvia received her Bachelor of Arts degree with honors from Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT. She received her doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology at Temple University in Philadelphia, PA and completed her psychology internship at McLean Hospital in Belmont, MA. She received a “Commendation of Excellence” awarded by the faculty at Temple University for her work investigating the role of lifestyle regularity in individuals at risk for developing bipolar disorder. Dr. Sylvia is a member of the American Psychological Association, Society of Research and Psychopathology, Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies and World Congress of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapy.

Lara Traeger, PhD

Dr. Traeger conducts research focusing on health behaviors, symptom management, and quality of life among adults affected by cancer. This includes developing behavioral interventions to help patients reduce depression, anxiety and pain, and manage the challenges of intensive anticancer treatments. Her research has been supported by funding from the National Cancer Institute and the American Cancer Society. She has published over 45 peer reviewed articles. Dr. Traeger also specializes in providing cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for patients with coexisting physical and mental health conditions. She has served as a therapist on numerous CBT trials to improve health behaviors and psychological well being in patients with cancer and other chronic medical conditions. At the Benson-Henry Institute, Dr. Traeger has participated in testing the manualized version of the Relaxation Response Resiliency program (3RP) and other mind-body interventions with a range of medical populations.

Jeong Hyun Kim

Ana-Maria Vranceanu, PhD

Dr. Ana-Maria Vranceanu is a clinical health psychologist and researcher in the Behavioral Medicine Service at the Massachusetts General Hospital, and an Assistant Professor in Psychology at Harvard Medical School. She is also an affiliated researcher at the Benson Henry Institute of Mind Body Medicine, Family Center for Neurofibromatosis, Orthopedic Surgery, and Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit within the Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Vranceanu’s main research interest is in transitioning medical practices from a biomedical to an evidence based patient centered biopsychosocial model of care. At BHI Dr. Vranceanu is leading 2 clinical trials testing a modified version of the Relaxation Response Resiliency Program (3RP) versus a Health Behavioral Control in adults and adolescents with neurofibromatosis, via videoconferencing with Skype. Dr. Vranceanu has published over 50 peer-reviewed articles. To see Dr. Vranceanu’s recent BHI-related research, please click here.

Fang Wang

Deanna Chaukos, MD