Faculty Directory

Dr. Soroush Saghafian, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. He also serves as a faculty affiliate for the Harvard Ph.D. Program in Health Policy, the Harvard Center for Health Decision Science, the Harvard Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government (M-RCBG), the Harvard Data Science Initiative, and is an associate faculty member at the Harvard Ariadne Labs (Health Systems Innovation). He is an expert in healthcare operations management and has been collaborating with a variety of hospitals including the Mayo Clinic and Mass General Hospital (MGH) to improve their operational efficiency, patient flow, medical decision-making,…

Ryan Salvas is an Assistant Professor at Northeastern University’s School of Architecture. He is currently the coordinator of the fourth year undergraduate comprehensive studio curriculum, as well as working to develop new class offerings in building technologies. Ryan’s research area focuses on façade technology development, specifically in the area of curtain walls, design software development, technology integration, and new data visualization. He also splits his time as a technology consultant, and is currently the chief design lead for the organic transparent photovoltaics company Ubiquitous Energy, headquartered in Cambridge, MA. Ryan is an owner/partner in the design firm of Salvas Emig…

Dr. Ken Sands, DMS '87 HSPH ‘93, is a nationally- recognized expert in patient safety and health care quality improvement. As Chief Quality Officer at BIDMC, Dr. Sands oversees patient safety, environmental safety, risk management, professional staff affairs, and performance measurement and improvement throughout the Medical Center. He is BIDMC site director for the Harvard Medical School Fellowship in Quality and Safety. Dr. Sands remains clinically active as an internist, and teaches quality improvement to both undergraduates and postgraduates.

Assaad Sayah, MD, has served as SVP & Chief Medical Officer at CHA and President of CHA Physicians Organization since 2015. He first joined CHA in 2006, as Chief of Emergency Medicine before being  promoted to Senior Vice President of Primary and Emergency Care in 2013. In the emergency department, he led tremendous advancements at all three CHA hospitals, resulting in enhanced efficiency, quality, volume, and patient satisfaction. The implementation of Rapid Assessment, an electronic patient tracking system, and the addition of patient partners are among the many initiatives that have contributed to improved patient flow.In 2009 when the National…

Cecelia E. Schmalbach, MD, MSc, FACS is the David Myers, MD Professor and Chair of Otolaryngology­Head & Neck Surgery, Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University where she also serves as the Director of the Temple Head & Neck Institute. She earned her medical degree from Jefferson Medical College. After finishing otolaryngology residency at the University of Michigan-during which she earned a Master of Science in Clinical Research Design & Statistics-Dr. Sch ma Ibach completed her head and neck (H&N)-microvascular surgery fellowship at Vanderbilt University. Dr. Sch ma Ibach previously served as the Indiana University Vice Chair of Otolaryngology and…

Sebastian Schneeweiss, MD, ScD, is a Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology at Harvard Medical School and Chief of the Division of Pharmacoepidemiology, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital. His research focuses on the comparative effectiveness and safety of biopharmaceuticals. He has developed analytic methods to improve the scientific validity of epidemiologic analyses using complex longitudinal healthcare databases for newly marketed medical products. The overarching theme of his research is applying advanced real-world data analytics for regulatory decision making transparently and in rapid cycles. His work is published in >400 articles. His work is funded by NIH, PCORI, Arnold Foundation,…

Joe Sciacca is currently the Enterprise Editor at Channel 7 News. Formerly, Joe was the  Editor in Chief of the Boston Herald, and he has nearly four decades of daily newspaper experience as a reporter, political columnist, and editor. He was the 2016 recipient of the Fitzwater Medallion for Leadership in Public Communication awarded by Franklin Pierce University, which honored him as a “disruptor” in the media industry. Under his leadership, the Herald has been named one of “10 Newspapers That Do It Right” by Editor and Publisher, and Innovator of the Year by the Associated Press Media Editors for…

Dr. Britney Scott, an expert at the intersection of DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) and process improvement, has devoted her life to advancing healthcare equity and inclusivity. She aligns these humanitarian goals with overarching business objectives to foster meaningful change within the industry. One of very few in this niche space, Dr. Scott holds a BS in Biology from Oakwood University, an MD from Howard University College of Medicine, a Black Belt in Lean Six Sigma from IASSC, a certificate in Diversity and Inclusion through the HRCI, and a certificate in Women’s Entrepreneurship from Cornell. As CEO of The Clinic Doctor,…