Leadership & Faculty

Joshua Leo, MD, MPH

Fellowship Program Director; Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School

Areas of interest: Neuropsychiatry, medically complex inpatients, medical education, interdisciplinary teaching

Dr. Leo directs the BIDMC & VA Boston Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry Fellowship and is a full-time Consultation-Liaison psychiatrist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. He is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He completed medical school and an MPH in Health Systems Management at Tulane University, psychiatry residency in the Harvard Longwood Psychiatry Residency Training Program, and a Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry fellowship at Brigham and Women's Hospital.

His work centers on neuropsychiatry, the care of medically complex inpatients, and clear, accessible teaching across specialties. His awards include the BIDMC Department of Psychiatry Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching and Mentorship, the Harvard Longwood Psychiatry Residency Excellence in Teaching Award, and a Department of Medicine teaching award selected by internal medicine housestaff at BIDMC. These honors reflect the mentorship culture and interdisciplinary education fellows experience in the program. 

Outside of work, he is an unshakable New England Patriots fan and remains convinced that watching Brady-era game film should count as continuing medical education in crisis management.

Liz Dunn, MD

Director, Consultation-Liaison and Emergency Psychiatric Services, BIDMC

Areas of interest: Medical humanities, medical education, patient-doctor relationship, interviewing

A third-generation Californian, Dr. Dunn attended Stanford University, completed a Master's at UC Berkeley with a thesis on metaphor in medical language, and earned her MD from UC San Francisco. She directs the Psychiatry Consultation-Liaison Service at BIDMC, seeing patients in the emergency department and on medical and surgical floors. Her leadership goal is a service defined by collaboration, clinical excellence, and academic inquiry.

She teaches and mentors residents in the Harvard BIDMC Psychiatry Residency Program and Harvard medical students, focusing on interviewing and the patient-doctor relationship while fostering trainees' professional identities. Her interests include the medical humanities. Honors include the Resident Teaching Award, the BIDMC Faculty Teaching Award, the APA Nancy Roeske Teaching Award, and the HMS Cynthia Kettyle Teaching Award.

Katiuska Ramirez, MD

Associate Director, CL and Emergency Psychiatric Services; Fellowship Associate Program Director; Instructor in Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School

Areas of interest: Psychiatric care in complex medical illness, HIV/AIDS psychiatry, Hispanic/Latinx patient care, social determinants of health, medical education

Dr. Ramirez is the Associate Director of the BIDMC Psychiatric Consultation-Liaison Service and an Instructor in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. She earned her medical degree from Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, completed psychiatry residency at the Harvard Longwood Psychiatry Residency Program, and fellowship training in Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

Her interests include psychiatric care in complex medical illness, HIV/AIDS psychiatry, care of Hispanic/Latinx patients, and social determinants of health. She is active in ACLP special interest groups in Hispano-American C-L Psychiatry and HIV/AIDS Psychiatry and focuses on medical education across multiple care settings.

Danilo Rojas-Velasquez, MD

Fellowship Site Director, BIDMC

Bio coming soon.

Larkin Kao, MD, FACLP

Medical Director, CL Psychiatry Service, VA West Roxbury; Fellowship Associate Program Director; Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, BU; Part-Time Lecturer in Psychiatry, HMS

Areas of interest: Medical education, psychiatry and spirituality/religion

Dr. Kao earned her medical degree at the University of California, San Francisco. She completed adult psychiatry residency at Boston University Medical Center and a fellowship in Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry at Brigham and Women's Hospital. She has worked as a C-L psychiatrist with VA Boston since 2018 and is Medical Director of the C-L service at West Roxbury. She is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the BU Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and a Part-Time Lecturer in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

She has served on ACLP's Education Committee and Medical Student Education Subcommittee and has been recognized for contributions to clinical education by BUSM, BMC Psychiatry Residency, and Harvard South Shore Psychiatry Residency. Her interests include medical education and connections between psychiatry and spirituality/religion.

Rashad Alikhan, MD

CL Psychiatrist, VA West Roxbury; Fellowship Site Director, VA Boston; Site Director, BU Psychiatry Clerkship; Instructor in Psychiatry, HMS

Areas of interest: Emergency and critical care psychiatry, neurocognitive disorders, addiction psychiatry, TBI/spinal cord injury, perinatal mental health, psychodynamic principles, religion/spirituality

Dr. Alikhan received his medical degree from Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University and completed his psychiatry residency at St. Elizabeth's Medical Center (now part of Boston Medical Center), where he served as Chief Resident. He then completed the BIDMC & VA Boston Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry Fellowship. He is a Consultation-Liaison Psychiatrist at the West Roxbury VA Medical Center, Site Director for the BIDMC & VA C-L Psychiatry Fellowship, and Site Director for the Boston University Psychiatry Clerkship. He is also an Instructor in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

His clinical interests include emergency and critical care psychiatry, neurocognitive disorders, addiction psychiatry, traumatic brain and spinal cord injury, perinatal mental health, psychodynamic principles in clinical care, and religion/spirituality.

Andrew Budson, MD

Chief, Cognitive Behavioral Neurology, VA Boston; Professor of Neurology, BU School of Medicine; Lecturer in Neurology, HMS; Associate Director, BU Alzheimer's Disease Center

Subspecialty: Neurocognitive Disorders

Areas of interest: Alzheimer's disease, memory disorders, neurocognitive assessment, neuroimaging, anti-amyloid therapies

Dr. Budson is Chief of Cognitive Behavioral Neurology at VA Boston, Professor of Neurology at Boston University School of Medicine, Lecturer in Neurology at Harvard Medical School, and Associate Director of the BU Alzheimer's Disease Center. He received his AB from Haverford College and MD from Harvard Medical School, followed by internship at Brigham and Women's, neurology residency at the Harvard-Longwood program, a clinical fellowship in Cognitive Behavioral Neurology at BWH, and a research fellowship in Psychology at Harvard University.

He has delivered 950+ academic talks and published 150+ papers, reviews, and chapters, co-authoring nine books including Memory Loss, Alzheimer's Disease, and Dementia: A Practical Guide for Clinicians. His research focuses on improving memory in Alzheimer's disease and the relationship between memory, consciousness, and dementia. He runs the VA Boston Memory Disorders Clinic, where fellows spend three months on Monday mornings learning brain-behavior relationships, late-life memory disorder diagnosis and treatment (including lecanemab and donanemab), and interpretation of neuroimaging and neuropsychological testing.

Danny Mendoza, MD

Director of Neuropsychiatry, BIDMC Cognitive Neurology Unit; Director, BIDMC Heart Transplant Psychiatry Service; BID Community Hospital Regional Director; Chief of Psychiatry, BID Needham and BID Milton; Lecturer in Psychiatry, HMS

Subspeciality: Neuropsychiatry and Neurocognitive Disorders; Transplant Psychiatry

Areas of interest: Neuropsychiatry, neuroimaging, heart transplant psychiatry, addiction psychiatry, psycho-oncology, psychiatry in primary care

Dr. Mendoza completed his internship, residency, fellowships, and Chief Residency at Harvard Medical School. He is board certified in Psychiatry with subspecialty certifications in Addiction Psychiatry, Geriatric Psychiatry, and Psychosomatic Medicine. He serves as Director of Neuropsychiatry at the BIDMC Cognitive Neurology Unit, Director of the BIDMC Heart Transplant Psychiatry Service, BID Community Hospital Regional Director, and Chief of Psychiatry at BID Needham and BID Milton. He is also a Lecturer in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

His interests include neuropsychiatry, neuroimaging, heart transplant psychiatry, addiction psychiatry, psycho-oncology, and psychiatry in primary care. Dr. Mendoza especially enjoys working with medical students, residents, and fellows on complex medical and neurological cases with neuropsychiatric presentations, guiding them in formulating diagnoses through careful history-taking, neurological examination, and appropriate workup, including neuroimaging, to validate clinical impressions. His teaching honors include the BIDMC Department of Psychiatry Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching and Mentorship.

Marta Herschkopf, MD, MSt

Director of Medical Student Education in Psychiatry, HMS Department of Psychiatry at BIDMC; Attending, CL Service

Areas of interest: Bioethics, psychodynamic theory, medical education, religion/spirituality

Dr. Herschkopf earned her medical degree at Harvard Medical School and a Master's in Theology from the University of Oxford. She completed Adult Psychiatry Residency at NYU School of Medicine and a fellowship in Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital. She serves as Director of Medical Student Education in Psychiatry for the HMS Department of Psychiatry at BIDMC and as an attending on the C-L Service. She maintains a psychotherapy-oriented private practice in Cambridge and is affiliate faculty at the HMS Center for Bioethics. Her interests include bioethics, psychodynamic theory, medical education, and religion/spirituality.

Rohn Friedman, MD

Vice Chair, BIDMC Department of Psychiatry; Associate Professor of Psychiatry (Part-Time), HMS

Areas of interest: C-L psychiatry, geriatric psychiatry, forensic psychiatry, psychodynamic applications in C-L, dementia/delirium, collaborative care, medical ethics, quality improvement

Dr. Friedman graduated from Harvard Medical School and completed Adult Psychiatry Residency at the Payne Whitney Clinic, New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center. He is Vice Chair of the BIDMC Department of Psychiatry and Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Part-Time, at Harvard Medical School. Formerly Director of the Psychiatric Consultation Service at BIDMC, he continues to teach and work on the service. His interests include C-L psychiatry, geriatric psychiatry, forensic psychiatry, psychodynamic applications in C-L, behavioral symptoms of dementia and delirium, collaborative care, medical training, mentoring, medical ethics, and quality improvement.

Ryan Henner, MD

Attending, CL Service, BIDMC; Collaborative Care Team; Director, Esketamine Clinic for Treatment-Resistant Depression

Areas of interest: Psychedelic-assisted therapy, spirituality/awareness in treatment, collaborative care, esketamine

Dr. Henner earned his medical degree from the Medical College of Georgia and completed Adult Psychiatry Residency at the Harvard Longwood Program, where he was Resident Chief of Education at Brigham and Women's Hospital. At BIDMC, he works on the C-L Service, the Collaborative Care team, and runs the Esketamine Clinic for Treatment-Resistant Depression. His interests include psychedelic-assisted therapy and integrating spirituality and awareness practices into treatment.

Bernie Vaccaro, MD, FACLP

Former Director and Interim Director, BIDMC Psychiatric Consultation Service; Clinical Director of Neuropsychiatry, BIDMC

Subspeciality: Neuropsychiatry and Neurocognitive Disorders

Areas of interest: Neuropsychiatry, epilepsy, movement disorders, burn/trauma psychiatry, violence prevention

Dr. Vaccaro earned his MD at Georgetown University, completed Adult Psychiatry Residency at the Massachusetts Mental Health Center/Harvard Longwood Program, and fellowships in Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry at Brigham and Women's Hospital and in Neuropsychiatry at the Behavioral Neurology Unit at BIDMC. He has consulted to burn/trauma units, comprehensive epilepsy monitoring services, centers of excellence for epilepsy and movement disorders, and the Center for Violence Prevention and Recovery. He has served as Director and Interim Director of the BIDMC Psychiatric Consultation Service and Clinical Director of Neuropsychiatry at BIDMC. He is a Fellow of the ACLP and the APA and has received teaching awards at BWH and BIDMC.

Anthony Weiss, MD, MBA, MSc, CPE, FAPA

Chief Medical Officer, BIDMC; Course Director, Physician Leadership Program; HMS Psychiatry Faculty

Areas of interest: Health care delivery improvement, neurology-psychiatry interface, ethics of novel neurotherapies

Dr. Weiss is Chief Medical Officer at BIDMC, course director of the Physician Leadership Program at BIDMC, and on the HMS psychiatry faculty. He received a BS in pharmacology and toxicology (highest distinction) and an MD from the University of Wisconsin, an MSc from HMS, and an MBA (summa cum laude) from Babson College. He trained in the MGH/McLean residency, completed a consultation psychiatry fellowship at MGH, and additional fellowships including Harvard-MIT HST.

His work focuses on improving health care delivery across mental health and hospital systems. He teaches and sees patients on the BIDMC C-L Service, with interests at the neurology-psychiatry interface and the ethics of novel neurotherapies. He has 70+ publications and serves as a peer reviewer for multiple journals. Honors include Young Investigator Awards from the International Congress on Schizophrenia and the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, plus HMS teaching awards.

Talya Shahal, MD

Attending, CL Service, VA Boston; Instructor in Psychiatry, HMS and BU; Site Director for Harvard South Shore and BU Psychiatry Residents, MGB Geriatric Psychiatry Fellows

Areas of interest: Dementia with behavioral disturbances, palliative care in older adults, education of trainees and nursing staff

Dr. Shahal earned her medical degree at Tel Aviv University Sackler School of Medicine, completed internship at Meir Medical Center, Adult Psychiatry Residency at St. Mary Mercy Hospital (Michigan), and a fellowship in Geriatric Psychiatry at Mass General Brigham, working across McLean Hospital, Mass General Hospital, and Brigham and Women's Hospital. She is on the C-L Service at the VA Boston Healthcare System and is an Instructor in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and Boston University. Her interests include dementia with behavioral disturbances, palliative care in older adults, and education of trainees and nursing staff. She serves as site director for Harvard South Shore and Boston University Psychiatry residents and MGB Geriatric Psychiatry fellows.

Pooja Sarkar, DO

Attending, Division of Addiction Psychiatry, BIDMC; Instructor in Psychiatry, HMS

Areas of interest: Substance use disorders, perinatal addiction, complex alcohol and opioid withdrawal in hospitalized patients

Dr. Sarkar is a board-certified addiction psychiatrist in the Division of Addiction Psychiatry at BIDMC and an Instructor in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Her clinical practice focuses on outpatient treatment of substance use disorders and inpatient consultation for medically complex patients. Before joining BIDMC, Dr. Sarkar completed her Addiction Psychiatry fellowship at Boston Medical Center and her general psychiatry residency at the University of Massachusetts Medical School-Baystate. Her academic interests include substance use disorders in perinatal populations and the management of complex alcohol and opioid withdrawal in hospitalized patients.

Ornella Dubaz, MD

Director of Movement Disorders, VA Boston; Clinical Instructor of Neurology, HMS/BWH; Site Director, MGB Neurology Residents at VA Boston

Subspeciality: Movement Disorders 

Areas of interest: Parkinson's disease, essential tremor, Huntington's disease, DBS, chemodenervation, interdisciplinary care, neuropalliative care

Dr. Dubaz is Director of Movement Disorders at the VA Boston Healthcare System and Clinical Instructor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School/Brigham and Women's Hospital. She graduated from Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia, PA and completed her neurology residency at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, IL, followed by a movement disorders fellowship at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. She has been Director of Movement Disorders at VA Boston since 2020.

Her clinical interests include Parkinson's disease, essential tremor, Huntington's disease, deep brain stimulation, chemodenervation, interdisciplinary models of care, and neuropalliative care. Her research includes studying medication practices in Parkinson's disease, the benefits of exercise for PD, and clinical trials for disease-modifying and symptomatic treatments. She is the founder and director of the VA Boston Parkinson's Disease Interdisciplinary Clinic. She has received numerous Excellence in Teaching Awards and won the Susan Perlman Award for Academic Excellence, Special Leadership Skills, and Compassion for Patients in 2019. She is also site director for the Mass General Brigham Neurology residents at VA Boston.

Stephen Nicolson, MD, FACLP

Director, Psychiatry Consultation Service and Addiction Psychiatry Service, BID Plymouth; Part-Time Lecturer in Psychiatry, HMS

Areas of interest: Bedside neuropsychiatric examination, global health, addiction

Dr. Nicolson earned his medical degree at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, completed Adult Psychiatry Residency at Emory University, and a fellowship in Psychosomatic Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital. Before joining Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Plymouth, he directed the Psychiatry Consultation Service and the Psychosomatic Medicine Fellowship at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He sees patients at the Senior Behavioral Health Center, directs the Psychiatry Consultation Service and the Addiction Psychiatry Service at BID Plymouth, and is a Part-Time Lecturer in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. His interests include bedside neuropsychiatric examination, global health, and addiction. He has published in AJP, Journal of Addiction Medicine, Lancet Oncology, Psychiatric Services, and Psychosomatics, among others.

Questions?

For questions about the program or application process, contact 

Program Director Joshua R. Leo, MD, MPH or 

Program Coordinator Renetta Johnson

Visit the main fellowship page for program overview, curriculum, and application details.