YSM News and Recognition

Carla Smith Stover, MD, PhD, Harris Professor in the Child Study Center, has been named director of the center’s newly launched program in stress, adversity, and trauma, which aims to connect research findings to real-world practice in addressing the effects of trauma and adversity on child and family development. Stover’s research is focused on the impact of violence and trauma on child development and the advancement of best practice interventions for children and families affected by exposure to such violence. Among her other work, she developed Fathers for Change to enable fathers to reduce both their violence and substance use and improve their parenting.

Phelan Maruca-Sullivan, MD (left), assistant professor of psychiatry, and Katherine Kennedy, MD, clinical professor of psychiatry, have been honored as the 2025 recipients of the prestigious Irma Bland, MD, Certificate of Excellence in Teaching Residents. The award is presented by the American Psychiatric Association and its Council on Medical Education and Lifelong Learning. It is awarded to faculty for their “outstanding and sustaining contributions” to resident education in psychiatry.

Ben Doolittle, MD, MA Div, was elected as a fellow of the International Society of Science and Religion, comprising leading scholars in the field of science and religion. Doolittle is the program director of the Combined Internal Medicine-Pediatrics Residency Program. He is also the medical director of the Faculty-Resident Continuity Clinic. His practice focuses on addiction, hepatitis C, HIV, and primary care, while his research interests explore the intersection of medicine and spirituality, wellness, and burnout. He is also an ordained minister and serves a local urban congregation.

Ryan Levey, MD, has been appointed to the New England Section of the American Urological Association's Judicial and Ethics Committee for a one-year term. In addition to his work with patients, Levey aims to improve provider processes and has worked on committees addressing everything from credentialing and peer reviews to implementing electronic medical records.

The Society of Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM) has appointed five faculty members in the Department of Emergency Medicine and a medical student to serve on specialty groups within SAEM in 2026-2027. The appointments are in recognition of their depths of expertise and commitments to advancing education, research, and patient care across the field. Their names and committee titles are:

• Pooja Agrawal, MD, MPH, associate professor—member at large, SAEM board of directors
• Cristiana Baloescu, MD, MPH, assistant professor—research officer, AEUS executive committee
• Zachary Boivin, MD, assistant professor—secretary, Academy of Emergency Ultrasound (AEUS) executive committee
• Cameron Gettel, MD, MHS, assistant professor—president, Academy of Geriatric Medicine executive committee
• Carlisle Topping, MD/MHS student—member at large, SAEM residents and medical students board
• Evan Zahn, PharmD, senior pharmacy specialist—treasurer, Academy of Emergency Medicine Pharmacists executive committee.