Faculty
Balachundhar Subramaniam, MD, MPH, FASA
Professor of Anaesthesia, Harvard Medical School
Ellison "Jeep" Pierce Chair of Anesthesia, BIDMC
Director, Sadhguru Center for a Conscious Planet
Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA 02215
Dr. Subramaniam received his medical degree from Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER, Pondicherry, India) and completed his residency in anesthesiology at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India. He received his postdoctoral training in anesthesia at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, a Harvard Medical School-affiliated teaching hospital in Boston. Dr. Subramaniam completed fellowships in Cardiac Anesthesia, and Transesophageal Echocardiography at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. He also obtained an MPH from Harvard School of Public Health. Since 2014, he has served as the Director of the Center for Anesthesia Research Excellence (CARE). In 2019 he was appointed as the first incumbent of the Ellison "Jeep" Pierce Chair of Anesthesia at BIDMC. Dr. Subramaniam's research focuses on improving perioperative outcomes and, more recently on the benefits of mindfulness practices on health outcomes and general well-being. In October, 2020 he opened the Sadhguru Center for a Conscious Planet: Enhancing Consciousness, Cognition, and Compassion and will direct the Center.
Kestas Kveraga, PhD
Assistant Professor of Anaesthesia
Kestutis Kveraga, PhD joins our Sadhguru Center for a Conscious Planet as an Assistant Professor of Anaesthesia at HMS. Dr. Kveraga was previously a faculty member at Massachusetts General Hospital, where he held an appointment of Assistant Professor of Radiology at HMS and was the Director of the Visual Neurodynamics Lab at the Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging in the Department of Radiology. Dr. Kveraga received his undergraduate degree at the University of Massachusetts in Experimental Psychology and his PhD in Psychological and Brain Sciences at Dartmouth College. He did a fellowship in neuroimaging at HMS and MGH. Dr. Kveraga is a cognitive neuroscientist with expertise in brain imaging and recording techniques (MRI, MEG, EEG), visual psychophysics, and eye- and limb-tracking. He is also skilled in brain connectivity analyses, such as dynamic causal modeling (DCM) and phase-locking analyses.
Valluvan Rangasamy, MD
Assistant Professor of Anesthesia
Valluvan Rangasamy, MD received his MBBS from Stanley Medical College in India and his Medical Degree from All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, where he also did his residency in Anesthesiology. He pursued higher level training in the UK and served as a senior registrar in the Department of Anesthesia and Intensive Care, where he was involved in high risk surgeries, obstetric, anesthesia, and critical care. Dr. Rangasamy completed a clinical fellowship with our department in 2019. He is active in clinical research as well in areas such as perioperative outcomes, hemodynamics, and frailty.
Shahla Siddiqui, MD
Assistant Professor of Anaesthesia
Shahla Siddiqui, MBBS, DABA, MSc, FCCM received her medical degree from Aga Khan University in Pakistan and her MSc in Medical Ethics from the University Singapore. Dr. Siddiqui did her anesthesia residency at the University of Maryland and a critical care fellowship at Columbia University. In addition to her clinical work, she has had an active research career and has many areas of interest, including inter-professional education, health-science qualitative research, ICU burnout, sepsis in the ICU, the genomics of sepsis and ICU outcomes. She is also very interested in medical ethics and related topics such as compassion in medicine, an areas where she has several active projects.
Sepideh Hariri, PhD
Instructor in Anaesthesia
Program Manager
Dr. Sepideh Hariri received her PhD in Physics with a research focus in Biophysics and Medical Imaging, from University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, in 2013. Since then, she has been an active educator and researcher. Sepideh also received her BSC in Physics from Amirkabir University of Technology in Iran and her MSc in Applied Mathematics and Statistics from Iran University of Science and Technology. Following her lifelong passion for exploring the deeper dimensions of life and empowering others to find well-being, Sepideh joyfully serves the center as the Program Manager and is an Instructor of Anesthesia at HMS. Her current research is focused on the use of meditation-based interventions to better understand and enhance brain health, cognition, and optimal aging.
Preeti U. Reed, MBBS, MPH, DIPPM
Instructor in Anesthesia
Staff Scientist
Preeti completed her residency in Internal Medicine at Kathmandu University before shifting her focus to pursue a career in global health. Preeti has a Masters of Public Health from the University of Sydney and a Diploma in Global Project Management from Torrens University with an emphasis on leadership and management. She joined Dr. Subramaniam’s lab in July 2019 as a Clinical Research Fellow where she executed study design & implementation, data analysis, and project management for mind-body intervention (MBI) research. Her work in these trials has resulted in multiple publications in reputed peer-reviewed journals along with articles in the Harvard Health Blog. Her current research focuses on the impact of MBI on various clinical populations (e.g.: Long Covid & Parkinson's Disease). She aspires to eventually impact policy changes to address disparities in access to holistic healthcare.
Priyam Mathur, MS
Project Manager
Ms. Mathur graduated from Purdue University with a BS in Biology and a BA in Communication and Media studies. She continued to Indiana University, where she completed her Master's in Health Informatics. Priyam's interest in data management led her to an internship with Dr. Subramaniam's lab where she then worked as the project lead for the NIH-funded Dynamic Biomarkers trial. She is currently a Project Manager with Sadhguru Center. Her expertise is in data management of complex biomarker datasets and large grant-funded clinical trials.
Vasundhara Prudhivi, BSE
Wellness Programs Lead, Classical Hatha Yoga Instructor
Vasundhara (Vasu) Prudhivi is the Wellness Programs Lead at Sadhguru Center for a Conscious Planet, overseeing the various patient, provider and community programs. She is an Isha Foundation certified Classical Hatha Yoga Instructor, with ~2,000 hours of training and 6 years of teaching experience across communities of all backgrounds.
Having personally experienced the transformative benefits of yoga on physical and mental health, she brings a unique passion for improving health outcomes for all. Vasu also has 13 years of diverse professional experience across Pharma Consulting, Coaching and HR.
Akila Rayapuraju, BA
Project Administrator
Akila Rayapuraju is a Project Administrator at the Sadhguru Center, where she supports research exploring how mind–body interventions can improve quality of life in both clinical and healthy populations. She is currently pursuing a Master of Public Health at Boston University’s School of Public Health, specializing in Epidemiology and Biostatistics with a focus on Climate Change and Health. Her research interests center on understanding how meditation and other mind-body practices may support mental health and resilience in the face of climate-related stress and environmental change. In addition to her research work, Akila coordinates the SCCP Internship Program.
Rashmi Borah, MS
Regulatory Specialist
Rashmi Borah has an MS in Regulatory Affairs from Northeastern University, an MS in Microbial Technology from Amity University in Uttar Pradesh, India and a BS in Zoology from the University of Delhi in India. She has worked as a regulatory project manager at Aleon Pharma International, Inc in Parsippany, NY, a clinical research assistant at the Health Technology Laboratory at Northeastern University, and a clinical/regulatory intern at Nocion Therapeutics in Waltham, MA.
Morgan McCarthy
Communications Specialist
Morgan McCarthy received her BS in Sociology from Salem State University. She has previously worked as a Social Media Specialist and a Social Media and Marketing Manager. Morgan supports communication efforts at the center focusing on social media and marketing.
Hibiki Orui, MA
Biostatistician
Hibiki Orui graduated from Boston University with a Masters of Arts in Biostatistics. He is interested in analyses of clinical research and observational studies. His main focus is to ensure the research project/studies are appropriately designed, properly analyzed, and suitably interpreted for the collaborators.
Peri-Operative Team
Tahereh Shamsi, MD
Postdoctoral Clinical Research Fellow
Tahereh obtained her MD from Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in Shiraz, Iran. She engaged in medical practice and held the position of head of the COVID-19 task force in Iran. In the United States, she commenced her American experience as a postdoctoral clinical research fellow at TUFTS Medical Center, in the Rheumatology Division. Later, in February 2024, she became a Clinical Research Fellow at SCCP, working under the guidance of Dr. Subramaniam. Her research focuses on various areas such as perioperative outcomes, delirium, anesthesia, and pain management.
Siddhartha Reddy Janga, MD
Postdoctoral Clinical Research Fellow
Siddhartha Reddy Janga, MD is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care, and Pain Medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School. His work focuses on advancing research and clinical practice in perioperative medicine, critical care, and patient safety.
Dr. Janga earned his MD in Anesthesiology, Critical Care, and Pain Medicine from Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research in India. Prior to joining BIDMC, he served as a Consultant Anesthesiologist and Intensivist, where he led multidisciplinary ICU teams and contributed to hospital quality improvement and safety initiatives. His academic interests include critical care outcomes, perioperative risk stratification, and the implementation of evidence-based practices to improve patient safety and clinical outcomes.
MBI Team
Morgan Pratt, BS
Senior Clinical Research Coordinator
Morgan Pratt received her BS in Biology, with a Neuroscience concentration, along with minors in Italian and Business from The Pennsylvania State University at State College. As an undergraduate, she studied emotion regulation and human development in the Cole Emotion Regulation Lab at Penn State. Her current interest is in the exploration and application of mind-body interventions in autonomic nervous system disorders.
Hemavarne Shankhar, M.B.B.S
Postdoctoral Research fellow
Dr. Hemavarne Shankhar earned her medical degree from The Tamil Nadu Dr. M.G.R. Medical University in India. Seeking broad clinical exposure before specializing, she served as a Residential Medical Officer at MGM Healthcare in Chennai. During this time, she developed a strong interest in understanding how integrating yoga and consciousness into healthcare could improve clinical outcomes and enhance the overall hospital experience for patients. Inspired by the profound impact these practices had on her own evolution as a physician, and eager to research their broader effects on humanity, she joined the Sadhguru Center for a Conscious Planet in February 2025. Her current work investigates how yogic practices delivered as digital tools can improve mental health for young adults globally. She is dedicated to advancing the role of consciousness in medicine as a vital pathway forward for humanity.
Deepthi Rajashekar, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Deepthi is a researcher at the intersection of biomedical image analysis, machine learning, and clinical neuroscience. She earned her PhD from the University of Calgary, studying neural correlates of acute ischemic stroke and developing predictive models of long-term recovery. Her work bridges computational modelling, clinical rehabilitation, and translational AI, including evaluating AI-enabled medical software for global regulatory clearance.
After a decade in AI-healthcare research, Deepthi now focuses on the neural correlates of consciousness and the mechanisms of meditative intelligence, exploring foundational questions in human cognition and wellbeing.
Peri-Operative and MBI Team
Enas Mohamed, MD, MMSc-GHD
Clinical Research Fellow
Enas Mohamed graduated from the University of Technological Science in Sudan. She practiced medicine in Sudan and the United Arab Emirates. In May 2021, Enas earned her Master's degree in Social Medicine and Global Health Delivery from Harvard Medical School. She currently works as a research assistant at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Enas is passionate about topics related to social medicine and uses her qualitative research skills to understand different communities' perspectives toward wrong cultural practices that can cause harm to their health. Currently, Enas advocates against female genital mutilation in USA.
Yash Sakhalkar, BSE
Clinical Research Coordinator
Yash Sakhalkar is a Clinical Research Coordinator at the Sadhguru Center for a Conscious Planet at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, where his research focuses on biomarker discovery to uncover the biological mechanisms underlying meditation and post-operative delirium in cardiac surgery patients.
He holds a BSE in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where he developed a broad foundation spanning engineering, industry, and translational research. Prior to his current role, Yash contributed to the design and development of surgical robotic systems at Ethicon (Johnson & Johnson) and applied computer vision methods to automate drug discovery pipelines at Eli Lilly & Company. He also conducted immunotherapy research at the National Institutes of Health, focusing on CAR T-cell therapies.
Through these experiences, Yash has developed a strong interest in the intersection of engineering and medicine and is committed to advancing research that bridges technology and human health.