Team

Vice Chair

Valerie Stone, MD, MPH
Vice Chair for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Dr. Stone is Vice Chair for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion of the Department of Medicine and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. In addition, she serves as the Director of Health Equity Initiatives for the Department of Medicine. She is a general internist and HIV focused infectious disease specialist and she sees patients in the Phyllis Jen Center for Primary Care where she also precepts residents. On the inpatient side, she teaches on the ITU. Her research and scholarly writing focuses on health equity, primarily in HIV care, as well as diversity and inclusion in health care, and healthcare leadership. With Dr. Bisola Ojikutu, she is the co-editor of the textbook HIV in U.S. Communities of Color, published in its second edition in 2021. She was for many years a residency program director, so innovations in residency training remains one of her passions and one of her additional areas of scholarship. Dr. Stone is the recipient of numerous awards, including most recently the 2020 W. Lester Henry Award for Advancing Diversity from the American College of Physicians (ACP) and the 2024 Harold Amos Award for Advancing Diversity from Harvard Medical School.

Leadership Team

Zainab Jaji, MD
Associate Program Director for Racial Justice and Equity, Internal Medicine Residency and Director of URiM Residency Mentoring

Dr. Jaji is an academic hospitalist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Faulkner Hospital, where she supervises/teaches residents and students in their clinical work. She is passionate about medical education and development of programs to promote diversity and inclusion among residents. Dr. Jaji is the Associate Program Director for Racial Justice and Equity and Director for URiM Mentorship within the BWH Internal Medicine Residency. She is one of the Physical Diagnosis and Reasoning (PDR) preceptors for Harvard medical students. Dr. Jaji is from Nigeria and received her undergraduate degree in biochemistry and molecular biology from Gustavus Adolphus College. Thereafter, she earned her medical degree from Yale School of Medicine and completed her internal medicine residency at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. She is also interested in global health.

Nicolette Juliana Rodriguez, MD, MPH
Director of URiM Fellowship Initiatives

Dr. Rodriguez is a general gastroenterologist and clinical-investigator focused on access to cancer genetics and prevention among historically marginalized populations within the Division of Gastroenterology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Division of Cancer Genetics and Prevention at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Dr. Rodriguez received her undergraduate degree in Community Health and Hispanic Language, Literature, and Culture from Brown University. She also received a Master of Public Health and Doctor of Medicine from Brown University. She went on to complete her internal medicine residency at Yale New Haven Hospital and Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Endoscopy fellowship at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. She is passionate about advancing healthcare equity in cancer genetics and prevention as well as diversity and inclusion efforts, and thus this has been a focus of her clinical work, clinical research, and education efforts.

Ramon Rodriguez, MD, MPH
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Chief Resident

Dr. Rodriguez serves as one of the four AY24-25 chief residents of the BWH Medicine Residency program. He has longstanding interest and expertise in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. He went to Brown University, followed by medical school at Columbia University. He then did his residency in the BWH internal medicine residency program. While in residency, Dr. Rodriguez served as one of the Co-Chairs of the Resident Diversity & Inclusion Committee for two years. Following residency, he did a Palliative Care and Hospice Fellowship at the Dana Farber/MGH/BWH program in 2023-2024.

Administrative Leadership

Theresa Oduol
Program Manager

As the Program Manager for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and Health Equity in the Department of Medicine, Theresa Oduol plays a key role in shaping and implementing strategic DEI initiatives and advancing the department’s research and clinical excellence in health equity. She collaborates closely with Division chiefs and DOM leadership to ensure effective execution and alignment with the department’s vision.

Theresa’s expertise extends beyond program management to include a robust background in pharmacoepidemiology and health policy. Her research focuses on advancing pharmacoequity through detailed analysis of race and ethnicity variables within electronic health records and claims databases.

Theresa Oduol is committed to advancing academic excellence and driving impactful research in healthcare, demonstrating a strong dedication to both analytical rigor and scholarly advancement.

Nicole Pires
Director of Faculty Affairs

Nicole J. Pires has over 14 years of experience in managing academic operations and supporting faculty development. She has worked at prestigious institutions such as Harvard Medical School (HMS), the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (HSPH), and Tufts University School of Dental Medicine (TUSDM).

In her most recent role as Senior Faculty Affairs Officer at TUSDM, she led core HR functions related to faculty, managing appointments, promotions, reviews, and evaluations. Pires served as a liaison for Department Chairs and Administrators, reported to the Dean, and oversaw faculty onboarding and compliance matters. She also maintained faculty data and acted as Secretary of the Faculty, overseeing elections for key committees.

Prior to TUSDM, she was the Senior Search and Review Officer at HSPH and held various positions in faculty affairs at both HSPH and HMS. With expertise in HR, data management, and faculty processes, Pires is excited to bring her skills to the BWH Department of Medicine and support its community.

Nicole Casey
Senior Administrative Director, Academic Affairs

DOM Diversity Council

The DOM Diversity Council features senior leadership representation from each of the DOM’s 22 divisions, providing a two-way communication structure through which division leaders can strategize, provide input, work as partners with shared goals, and learn about DOM diversity and inclusion initiatives. This group has spun off several committees, including one focused on research divisions and another comprised of all divisional DEI committee leaders.

Divisional DEI Committees

The DOM has a number of division-based DEI committees that advance work locally and share best practices with the department. A list of these committees and their leadership is below.

Division	Leaders
Aging	Luc Djoussé, MD, ScD, MPH
Allergy and Clinical Immunology	Camellia Hernandez, MD and George Huang, MD
Cardiovascular Medicine	Fidencio Saldana, MD, MPH
Channing Division of Network Medicine	Jacqueline Starr, PhD and Matthew Mahoney
Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Hypertension	Emily Yuan, MD and Enrique Caballero, MD
Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Endoscopy	Molly Perencevich, MD
Hospital Medicine Unit	Cristina Toledo-Cornell, MD, MPH
Infectious Diseases	Sigal Yawetz, MD, Shahin Lockman, MD, LaKeisha Gandy, MBA
Palliative Medicine	Irene Yeh, MD
Primary Care Unit	Colleen Monaghan, MD
Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine	Daniela Lamas, MD and Alejandro Diaz, MD
Rheumatology, Inflammation, and Immunity	Candace Feldman, MD, ScD