Mass General Brigham Geriatric Psychiatry Fellowship

Welcome

Welcome to Mass General Brigham (MGB), we are committed to serving our community. Thank you for your interest in the MGB Geriatric Psychiatry Training Program. Our faculty members are leaders in the field, and we embrace the same values and vision of our world-class academic medical centers dedicated to enhancing patient care, teaching, and research, and taking a leadership role as an integrated healthcare system.

Program Aims

1. Our program aims to educate specialists in geriatric psychiatry to meet the major mental health needs of older adults, including those suffering from mood, anxiety, psychotic and cognitive disorders.
2. Our program emphasizes both inpatient and outpatient clinical care, participation in interdisciplinary models of collaborative care, and expert consultation to medical services and long-term care facilities.
3. During the program, a solid foundation is built through dedicated teaching, interdisciplinary case conferences, innovative clinical experiences, and a unique scope of research opportunities.
4. These features distinguish the MGB Geriatric Psychiatry Fellowship program as outstanding training for academically oriented geriatric psychiatrists who consistently graduate into leadership roles in clinical care, teaching, and research.

About This Fellowship

Mission and Goals

The Mass General Brigham Geriatric Psychiatry Fellowship brings together the remarkable breadth and depth of four major Boston institutions in a year-long ACGME-accredited training program that meets the requirements for American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology certification in the sub-specialty of geriatric psychiatry.

Currently, we accept two candidates per year for 12 months of fellowship training. The fellowship utilizes the expertise of six participating facilities:

• Massachusetts General Hospital (the sponsoring institution)
• Brigham and Women's Hospital
• McLean Hospital
• Hebrew SeniorLife
• Veteran’s Administration

Focused clinical experiences, dedicated teaching, mentorship, and a unique scope of research opportunities combine to distinguish the Geriatric Psychiatry Fellowship program as outstanding training for academically-oriented geriatric psychiatrists. During our program, a strong foundation is built through a variety of outpatient clinical experiences in geriatric neuropsychiatry, psychotherapy, and psychopharmacology in a variety of settings:

• Inpatient units focused on both late life illness and advanced dementia at McLean
• Outpatient clinics at Brigham and Women’s and Mass General
• Palliative Care and Hospice, Geriatric Medicine, and Inpatient and Residential Consultations at Brockton VA Hospital
• Long-term care and nursing home facilities
• Each year, our fellows also dedicate elective time to clinical interests and are encouraged to pursue research projects and publications.

Curriculum

Rotations

Fellows participate in supervised clinical rotations drawing on the resources of the Harvard Medical School System and affiliated academic medical centers and institutions to develop competencies in the care of geriatric patients delivered throughout the full range of clinical settings. All clinical work occurs during weekday business hours on a schedule consistent with ACGME standards. There are no required nights, weekend, or holiday on-call times. The fellow’s clinical responsibility for patients is supervised by board-certified geriatric psychiatrists and clinical coverage is available when the fellow is unavailable.

Mass General

• Longitudinal outpatient clinic (Psychotherapy and psychopharmacology)
• Outpatient consultation to Geriatric Medicine Clinic
• Geriatric Psychiatry Virtual Clinic
• Option to participate in Optimum Care Committee

McLean Hospital

• Inpatient Geriatric Psychiatry (Late life illness and advanced dementia units)
• ECT and TMS
• Group therapy for substance use disorder

Brigham and Women`s Hospital

• 12-month Outpatient Clinic
• Weekly Center for Brain Mind Medicine Rounds (Integrated Clinical Neurosciences)
• Monthly Geriatric Psychiatry Teaching Rounds
• Innovative Teaching with a true interdisciplinary teaching model with Neuropsychiatry and Behavioral Neurology, Neuropsychology, Geriatric Psychiatry, and Clinical Social Workers and Clinical Nurse Practioners and Physicians Assistants with expertise in the evaluation and treatment of cognitive disorders

Hebrew SeniorLife

• Consultations for nursing home and long-term care

A month of elective time is also available during which the fellow can pursue additional clinical rotations (such as palliative care, neuromodulation, behavioral neurology, and population health management) or work on a research project consistent with their specific interests and goals. This elective is intended to take place within one of the participating Mass General Brigham institutions and typically results in an oral or written presentation.

Didactics

The depth of clinical and research expertise represented among the staff members of the participating Mass General Brigham institutions provides an opportunity for a rich and comprehensive didactic experience. Fellows meet with the program director for weekly supervision in addition to regular supervision with site directors and psychotherapy supervisors. In addition to case conferences and journal clubs, didactics are also organized at each institution. On many of the fellowship rotations, there will be opportunities to participate in the teaching of psychiatric residents.

Fellows attend formal lectures year-round including the world-class Harvard Medical School Neuropsychiatry Comprehensive Review offered at no cost for trainees and held in October of each academic year. Content has a strong emphasis on neurodegenerative disorders and related disorders.

Sample agenda

MGB Geriatric Psychiatry Fellowship Didactic Road Map Scheme, Format, and Topics

Created by the Program Director and MGB leadership, this new model offers the fellows a more 1:1 interactive experience with active participation by fellows and the program director serving as the moderator between the invited speaker and the learner.

Didactic outline

Sample document of rotating schedule

Sample Topics

Brigham and Women's

• Neuroscience of Brain and Behavior
• Neuroimaging in the Geriatric Patient
• Medical and Neurological Causes of Dementia
• Neurological Assessment of the Older Adult Psychiatric Patient
• Pharmacotherapy in later life
• Neuropsychological Evaluation in late life: Why Matters

McLean Hospital

• Agitation and Psychosis Associated with Dementia
• Neurodegenerative Disorders
• Late Life Mood Disorders
• The Clinical Evaluation of Dementia
• Electroconvulsive Therapy

Mass General

• Telehealth in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic
• Cross-cultural aspects of aging
• Management of neuropsychiatric symptoms in Alzheimer`s disease
• Psychotherapy with Older Adults
• Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration (FTLD)
• Dementia Care Models

Hebrew SeniorLife

• The aging patient and long-term care
• Ethical issues in Geriatric Psychiatry
• Legal/forensic issues in Geriatric Psychiatry
• Sexuality and sexual disorders in later life
• The geriatric caregiver

Brockton VA Hospital

• Palliative Care and Hospice
• Chronic Pain
• Substance Use Disorders in older adults
• Sleep Disorders

Career Day: A Day of a Geriatric Psychiatrist

During orientation week, our fellows engage with our different faculty members and Site Directors at the beginning of the fellowship and are invited to ask questions and explore the different settings where geriatric psychiatrist practice while they discuss with the program directors the expectations of their educational experience, clinical care responsibilities, and planning for the academic year to come. Fellows that have matched for the academic year are invited for the BWH Division of Geriatric Psychiatry Annual Welcome and Integration Dinner during AAGP Conference.

Our Faculty

Ricardo Salazar, MD

Director, Geriatric Psychiatry Fellowship, Mass General Brigham
Associate Psychiatrist, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Instructor in Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School

Dr. Salazar received his medical degree from Pontificia Bolivariana University School of Medicine in Colombia and completed a residency in psychiatry and a fellowship in geriatric psychiatry at the University of Texas Health Science Center, Joe and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine San Antonio. Dr. Salazar is a Diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology for Psychiatry and Geriatric Psychiatry, and an active member of the Training and Education Committee for the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. He is a clinical investigator for the Center for Alzheimer’s Research and Treatment and Geriatric Psychiatrist for the Center for Brain and Mind Medicine at Brigham and Women s Hospital.

Dr. Salazar’s research focuses on the biological underpinning of Alzheimer`s disease in Latinos and cross-ethnic differences in the profile and severity of neuropsychiatric symptoms in the Alzheimer`s disease continuum. This work has included studies in population-based samples of Mexican Americans and large observational cohorts from the Texas Alzheimer Research and Care Consortium.

Executive Committee

Nancy J. Donovan, MD

Director, Division of Geriatric Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital
Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
Associate Psychiatrist, Brigham and Women's Hospital
Associate Researcher, Massachusetts General Hospital 

Dr. Donovan oversees clinical program development, research, teaching and training, and recruitment and faculty development for geriatric psychiatry at BWH. She is an associate psychiatrist at the BWH Center for Brain Mind Medicine in the Departments of Neurology and Psychiatry. Dr. Donovan’s research focuses on neurobehavioral changes in aging and preclinical Alzheimer’s disease and the associations of these symptoms with cognitive function and neuroimaging markers of Alzheimer’s disease. This work has included studies of late-life depression and anxiety, as well as changes in social engagement and loneliness. Her research has been funded through Harvard Medical School, the National Institute on Aging, and private philanthropy. From 2018-2020, she served on the National Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine Ad hoc Committee on the Health and Medical Dimensions of Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults. She co-authored a summary of this report and committee recommendations for healthcare systems at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. She is a member of the Editorial Board for the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry and has recently co-edited a book entitled, “Loneliness: Science and Practice” for the American Psychiatric Press.

Olivia Okereke, MD

Director, Geriatric Psychiatry and Director (Research), Geriatric Psychiatry Clinical and Research Program, Massachusetts General Hospital
Director, Mass General Psychiatry Center for Racial Equity and Justice
Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Associate Professor of Epidemiology, Harvard Medical School and Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health

Dr. Okereke is a Board-certified geriatric psychiatrist. Her programmatic goals are: (1) to identify modifiable risk factors involved in adverse mental aging and (2) to translate and apply knowledge gained into strategies for large-scale prevention of late-life depression and cognitive decline. Her research portfolio has been supported by numerous National Institutes of Health, university, and foundation awards. Currently, she is: evaluating the role of dietary factors, such as vitamin D and omega-3, along with novel biologic markers and mechanisms in relation to the risk of late-life cognitive decline and depression; testing effects of nutritional interventions on late-life mood in large-scale randomized trial settings; and addressing relations of later-life depression and anxiety to molecular markers of biological aging, with attention to their potential contributions to racial and ethnic disparities in health and aging. Dr. Okereke is active in efforts to promote knowledge in geriatric mental health. She has provided education on healthy brain aging at community centers, Councils on Aging, and senior centers around Massachusetts. She has served on both the Board of Directors and the Medical & Scientific Advisory Committee of the Massachusetts/New Hampshire Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, and has been a Past Chair of the Chapter’s Annual Meeting.

Ipsit Vahia, MD

Dr. Vahia is a geriatric psychiatrist, clinician, and researcher. He is the interim chief of the Division of Geriatric Psychiatry and director of Digital Psychiatry Translation at McLean Hospital. He is also director of the Technology and Aging Laboratory. His research focuses on the use of technology and informatics in the assessment and management of older adults and currently, he oversees a clinical and research program on aging, behavior, and technology. He has published extensively in major international journals and textbooks.

Dr. Vahia serves on the American Psychiatric Association (APA) Council on Geriatric Psychiatry and the Geriatric Psychiatry Committee of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. He has served on the board of directors of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry (AAGP) and on the editorial boards of five journals including his current role as social media editor of the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. He is a recipient of several prestigious awards including the 2016 AAGP Barry Lebowitz Award and the 2014 APA Hartford Jeste Award.

Site Directors

Caroline Bader, MD

Caroline Bader, MD, is an outpatient geriatric psychiatrist and the associate medical director of the geriatric psychiatry clinic at McLean Hospital in Belmont, MA. She attended medical school at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, completed residency in general adult psychiatry in the Harvard Longwood Program and the Mass General Brigham fellowship in geriatric psychiatry. She sees older adults for general psychiatric care as well as dementia and is also the embedded geriatric psychiatrist in a local memory care facility partnered with McLean. Her specific areas of interest include management of behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia, palliative care, psychodynamic psychotherapy, as well as teaching and diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the clinic.

Tapsi Dayanand, MBBS

Tapsi Dayanand, MBBS, is the Mass General Site director for MGB Geriatric psychiatry Fellowship. She is a Geriatric Psychiatrist who is Board Certified in Adult Psychiatry with additional subspecialty certification in Geriatric Psychiatry. She has worked as an attending Psychiatrist in OP Geriatric psychiatry clinic since 2016 and also part of the ECT team and run the Geriatric Psychiatry service at Senior Health. She earned her medical degree from Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences in India and completed her Psychiatric residency at Duke University Medical Center and Geriatric Psychiatry Fellowship at Yale University.  Her interests include memory disorders, mood disorders, mind-body medicine and neuromodulatory therapies.

Eran Metzger, MD

Eran Metzger, MD, is director of Psychiatry at Hebrew SeniorLife in Boston and is assistant professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He earned a BA at Haverford College and his MD at the Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Metzger completed psychiatry residency and fellowship at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston and remained on the clinical faculty there until joining the medical staff at Hebrew SeniorLife in 1998. At HSL, his roles have included chairperson of the Ethics Committee, and director of education in geriatric psychiatry for medical students, residents and fellows at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Metzger has been an author co-author of over 50 journal articles and book chapters in the areas of delirium, medical ethics in long-term care, and treatment of older patients with depression in the primary care setting.

Talya Shahal, MD

Dr. Shahal earned her medical degree at the Tel Aviv University Sackler School of Medicine. Subsequently, she completed her medical internship at the Meir Medical Center and her Adult Psychiatry Residency at St. Mary Mercy Hospital in Michigan. She received her fellowship in Geriatric Psychiatry at Mass General Brigham. She is an attending on the Consultation-Liaison service at the VA Boston Healthcare System and is an Instructor in Psychiatry for Harvard Medical School and Boston University. She servs a site director for the Harvard South Shore and Boston University Psychiatry residents as well as for the Mass General Brigham Geriatric Psychiatry fellows. Her interests and expertise include major neurocognitive disorders with behavioral disturbances, palliative care in older adults, and education of trainees and nursing staff.

Juan Carlos C Urizar, MD

Dr. Urizar is the Medical Director of Clinical Geriatric Psychiatry and Director of Geriatric Psychiatry/Neuropsychiatry Education at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH). As medical director, he leads the development and operations of a multidisciplinary clinical team that provides holistic assessment and evidence-based care for older adults.  He works on the integration of care for older adults with chronic mental illness, as well as individuals who suffer from neurodegenerative conditions manifesting with behavioral, psychological, and cognitive symptoms. He has promoted collaboration with the departments of Medicine and Neurology.  In his role as the director of education, Dr. Urizar works in the development of geriatric psychiatry curriculum, teaching and training programs at different levels of the Harvard Medical School (HMS) system for medical students, the Brigham and Women’s/HMS psychiatry residents, the Massachusetts General Brigham Geriatric Psychiatry fellows (BWH site director), and fellows from Behavioral Neurology/Neuropsychiatry, Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry and Neuropsychology at the BWH Center for Brain and Mind Medicine.  Dr. Urizar is one of the course co-directors of the annual HMS continuing medical education course, “Neuropsychiatry: A Comprehensive Update.”  He has been the recipient of the Excellence in Teaching and Education Awards from the BWH Department of Psychiatry and the Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School Psychiatry Residency Training.  He is a member of the Teaching and Training Committee from the American Association of Geriatric Psychiatry where he is directly involved in shaping the education of future professionals in the field.  He belongs to the Medical Scientific Advisory Group from the Alzheimer’s Association MA/NH Chapter.

Our Fellows

Current Fellows

Lauren Behlke, MD earned her Bachelor of Science at Tufts University in Massachusetts, with a major in Biopsychology, and she earned her medical degree from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. She is the recipient of the James and Philip Brassington Memorial Prize for outstanding achievement in preclinical and clinical academic performance in psychiatry as a medical student and more recently was selected as an Honor Scholar from the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry (AAGP Scholar Program). Her research interests include safety of newer antidepressants in older adults with cardiovascular comorbidities, quality improvement of emergency psychiatry disposition of older adults, physician wellness, and resident education. Dr. Behlke's most recent publication as first author included an extensive review of the literature on Cardiovascular Effects of Newer Antidepressants in Older Adults and Those With or At High Risk of Cardiovascular Diseases. During residency at the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Behlke served as Chief Resident of Outpatient Services. Her current clinical interests include outpatient geriatric psychiatry and electroconvulsive therapy.

Clio Franklin, MBBS did her undergraduate studies in Medical Sciences with Hematology, and earned her medical school degree with distinction from Imperial College London School of Medicine, in London, UK. She is the recipient of the Lidia Palcan Wenz Award (2021) and most recently selected as an Honor Scholar from the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry (AAGP Scholar Program). Her areas of clinical interests and research include mood disorders in older adults. Clio is also interested in the genetics of severe depression and is involved with the International Consortium on the Genetics of Electroconvulsive Therapy and Severe Depressive Disorders, leading a review paper as first author that has been accepted for publication. She completed her categorical psychiatry residency program at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and was selected by her peers and faculty at the Johns Hopkins Psychiatry Residency to serve as Chief Resident in her PGY4 year. Her previous experience as a practitioner in Internal Medicine in England for four years, brings unique and demonstrated clinical skills into psychiatry and geriatric mental health.

Past Fellows

Jessica Principe, MD
MGB Geriatric Psychiatry Fellowship 2023-2024
Medical School: Medical College of Georgia
Psychiatry Residency: Brigham and Women’s Hospital

David Adamowicz, MD, PhD
MGB Geriatric Psychiatry Fellowship 2023-2024
Medical School: UC San Diego
Psychiatry Residency: UC San Diego

Anastasia Samaras, MD
MGB Geriatric Psychiatry Fellowship Program 2022-2023
Medical School: Eastern Virginia Medical School
Psychiatry Residency: Eastern Virginia Medical School

Anderson Chen, MD
MGB Geriatric Psychiatry Fellowship Program 2022-2023
Medical School: Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University
Psychiatry Residency: Harvard South Shore

Aaron Greenstein, MD
MGB Geriatric Psychiatry Fellowship 2021-2022
Medical School: New York Medical College
Psychiatry Residency: Harvard South Shore/VA Boston

Talya Shahal, MD
Partners Healthcare Geriatric Psychiatry Fellowship 2020-2021
Medical School: Sackler Medical School, Tel Aviv University
Psychiatry Residency: St. Mary Mercy Hospital, Livonia MI

Jennie Davidow, MD
Partners Healthcare Geriatric Psychiatry Fellowship 2020-2021
Medical School: New York Medical College
Psychiatry Residency: Harvard Longwood Psychiatry Program

Rachel Meyen, MD
Partners Healthcare Geriatric Psychiatry Fellowship 2019-2020
Medical School: University of Missouri School of Medicine
Psychiatry Residency: Harvard South Shore Psychiatry Program

Megan Dawson, MD
Partners Healthcare Geriatric Psychiatry Fellowship 2019-2020
Medical School: Penn State Hershey
Psychiatry Residency: Harvard Longwood/BWH/BI Program

Caroline Bader, MD
Partners Healthcare Geriatric Psychiatry Fellowship 2018-2019
Medical School: Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx NY
Psychiatry Residency: Harvard Longwood/BWH/BI Psychiatry Program

Aengus O’Conghaile, MD
Partners Healthcare Geriatric Psychiatry Fellowship 2017-2018
Medical School: National University of Ireland
Psychiatry Residency: Harvard South Shore/VA Psychiatry Program

James Wilkins, MD, D.Phil
Partners Healthcare Geriatric Psychiatry Fellowship 2016-2017
Medical School: D. Phil University of Oxford, MD Harvard Medical School
Psychiatry Residency: Newton Wellesley Hospital/ McLean Hospital

How to Apply

Applicant requirements

• Must be U.S. Citizens or have a permanent resident visa
• Massachusetts medical license required
• Must have completed approved residency in psychiatry by time of starting fellowship

Download fellowship application

Application Timeline

• Application opens January 1st
• Interview season begins in February
• Offer letters will go out by April 1st
• Deadline for acceptance is April 15th