Dr. Bhasin's Team
Shalender Bhasin, MD
Principal Investigator and Director, Boston Pepper Center
Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Director, Center for Clinical Investigation
Director, Men’s Health: Aging and Metabolism
MD, All India Institute of Medical Science
Fellowship, Endocrinology and Nutrition, Harbor UCLA Medical Center
Dr. Bhasin is an internationally recognized expert in human aging, clinical trials of function promoting therapies for older adults, functional decline in aging, and testosterone biology. He chaired the Endocrine Society’s Expert Panel for the development of Guidelines for Testosterone Therapy. He is a translational researcher, with over 250 peer-reviewed manuscripts, 130 reviews and book chapters. Dr. Bhasin’s research has led to new applications of androgens and selective androgen receptor modulators. His pioneering research in androgen biology and anabolic therapies for aging-associated sarcopenia has been supported by several NIH-funded grants.
He received his MD from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, India, residency training at Northwestern University Medical School and fellowship training in Endocrinology and Nutrition at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, CA.
Dr. Bhasin has been the recipient of numerous teaching and research awards. He has served as: Associate Editor of the JCEM; Chair of the Clinical Guidelines Committee of the Endocrine Society; Chair of the Clinical Guidelines Panel of the Endocrine Society for diagnosis and treatment of hypogonadism; and Chair of American Board of Internal Medicine Endocrinology and Metabolism Board. He has been selected as one of the Best Doctors in America by Castle Connolly and by Boston Magazine. He is the recipient of the 2015 Outstanding Clinical Investigator Award of the Endocrine Society
Catherine Ghattas, MPH
Clinical Research Coordinator
Catherine graduated from Northeastern University in 2017 with a Health Science degree and minor in Biology. She went on to finish her Masters in Public Health at Northeastern University in 2018 and started working at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in 2018.
Fabiola Privat
Clinical Research Coordinator
Fabiola graduated from Providence College in 2016 with a degree in Biology. She started working at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in 2018.
Evelyn Echevarria Cruz
Clinical Research Coordinator
Evelyn Echevarria Cruz graduated from Florida International University and obtained a Bachelor of Science degree with a concentration in Biological Sciences and minor in Chemistry. While completing her undergraduate studies, she interned at The Rehage Lab for Coastal Fish Ecology and Fisheries, which sparked her interest in research. After finishing school, she worked as a medical scribe and volunteered at health fairs that provided essential quality health care for underdeserved populations. She now works at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in the Endocrinology Department as a clinical research coordinator, where she strives to combine her passion for research, service, and medicine to understand better the impact of aging and metabolism on the human body.
Yusnie Memish Belva
Clinical Research Manager
BS in Biology – Sofia University, Bulgaria
Nursing Degree – Medical College. Sofia, Bulgaria
Yusnie Memish Beleva has extensive clinical research experience. She has been working in different Capacities at Boston Medical Center an Brigham and Women’s Hospital since 2009. Currently, she is working at Brigham and Women’s Hospital as a clinical research manager.
Yusnie has extensive knowledge and experience in managing the lab aspects of a wide variety of clinical studies with different populations in an academic medical setting.
Previously, Yusnie spent eleven years working in Psychiatric Registered Nurse at St. Naum University Hospital for Neurology and Psychiatry in Sofia, Bulgaria.
Dr. Basaria's Team
Shehzad Basaria, MD
Associate Director, Men’s Health: Aging and Metabolism
Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
MBBS, The Aga Khan University Medical College
Fellowship, Endocrinology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Dr. Basaria is an internationally recognized reproductive endocrinologist with expertise in sex-steroid biology, endocrine complications of androgen deprivation therapy in men with prostate cancer, and association of sex steroids with pain perception and pain tolerance. He is also an expert clinical trialist and has designed numerous clinical trials that are known for their novel design. Most of his clinical trials have focused on the effects of androgen replacement in men and women where he has evaluated various efficacy outcomes such as sexual function, fatigue, quality of life and physical function. He is also an expert on the risks of androgen replacement, in particular cardiometabolic disease. Dr. Basaria has over 200 peer-reviewed manuscripts, 30 book chapters and over 250 abstracts. His group was the first to report that testosterone replacement improves pain perception, sexual function and quality of life in men with opioid-induced androgen deficiency. His group was also the first to report metabolic adverse effects of androgen deprivation in men with prostate cancer. He has also conducted several epidemiological studies in collaboration with investigators from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging, the InChianti Study and the Framingham Heart Study evaluating the role of sex steroids on inflammatory markers and metabolism.
In addition to his own active research program, he is also the Associate Director of the Section of Men’s Health, Aging and Metabolism Unit at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital. In this capacity, he oversees several trials examining the effect of testosterone replacement on vitality, physical function and quality of life.
He received his MBBS from the Aga Khan University Medical School in Karachi, Pakistan; residency training at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center at Houston; and fellowship training in Endocrinology and Metabolism at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, MD.
He serve as an Associate Editor of the Journal of Gerontology Medical Sciencesand is on the editorial board of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. He lead the section on Male Reproduction on the Self-Assessment Committee of the Endocrine Society for 6 years and has contributed to the development of the Endocrine Society’s Male Androgen Deficiency Performance Improvement Module. He is also a member of the Endocrinology and Metabolism Exam Writing Committee at the American Board of Internal Medicine where he leads the field of Male Reproduction. He is also a recipient of several teaching awards and provides high-quality care for his patients in the Male Reproduction Clinic at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
Hannah Kackley
Clinical Research Coordinator
Hannah graduated from the University of Connecticut in 2017 with a Biomedical Engineering degree. She spent over two years working as a clinical research assistant at Boston Children’s Hospital’s Obesity Prevention Center and started working at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in 2020. She plans to pursue a career in public health policy.
Hussein Kafel
Clinical Research Coordinator
Hussein Kafel graduated from Sacred Heart University and obtained a Bachelor of Science degree with a concentration in Chemistry and a minor in Mathematics. While completing his undergraduate studies, he took part in biomedicinal and inorganic chemistry research with a professor at Yale University, which ignited his passion for research as a future physician. He presented research at the American Chemical Society convention in San Diego in March 2022. In addition, he held leadership roles for two clubs and even helped start and run a fundriaser on his campus called Relay for Life that raised just over $40,000.00 for cancer research. Having completed university, he currently works at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in the Endocrinology Department as a clinical research assistant, where he strives to combine his passion for research, service and medicine to gain knowledge of the endocrine system as a budding endrocrinologist himself.