Mara A. Schonberg, MD, MPH

Program Director, Harvard Medical School Fellowship in Primary Care Research

Mara A. Schonberg, MD, MPH

Program Director, Harvard Medical School Fellowship in Primary Care Research

Research Concentrations

  • Patient Decision-making

  • Women's Health
  • Gerontology

Professional Biography

Dr. Schonberg is an international leader in research in shared decision-making in older persons. Her research has been continually funded since 2004 with 7 NIH R01s (4 as PI), 2 R21s, a NIA K24 Midcareer Investigator award, and a NIA Paul B. Beeson K23 career development award in aging in addition to numerous foundation grants. In her work, Dr. Schonberg brings together the fields of shared decision-making and geriatrics to improve cancer screening and treatment decisions for older adults. To help disseminate her work, she co-developed ePrognosis, an internationally used website designed to help clinicians and patients consider overall prognosis in medical decisions. With support from the NIH, Dr. Schonberg is currently developing a conversation aid to support shared decision making around mammography screening between clinicians and women aged 75 and older. She is also developing a model to predict 10-year risk of breast cancer, breast cancer death, and other causes of death in women aged 55 and older. Dr. Schonberg also enjoys mentoring and co-sponsors 4 NIH K awards, 1KL2 and 1 NIA GEMSSTAR, is Program Director of the Harvard-wide general medicine research fellowship and co-Directs Harvard’s Advanced Aging Research Training Seminar Series. In recognition of her work, Dr. Schonberg has received numerous awards including the 2016 American Geriatrics Society Outstanding Scientific Achievement for Clinical Investigation Award and in 2022 she was elected into the American Society for Clinical Investigation.