During Scholar Tenure:

OBGYN Physician, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Assistant Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, Harvard Medical School

Home Institution: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Health System: Beth Israel Lahey Health

SARRAH SHAHAWY, MD, MPH

Project Title: Understanding the role of patients’ religion in reproductive healthcare: a learning health systems approach

Mass EQLHS Graduation Date: August 11, 2026

Dr. Sarrah Shahawy is an obstetrician-gynecologist clinician, researcher, and educator at Harvard Medical School and BIDMC. She holds a Medical Degree from Harvard Medical School and a Master of Public Health in Clinical Effectiveness from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. After her OBGYN residency at Northwestern University, she completed a Global OBGYN fellowship at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Dr. Shahawy’s research expertise focuses on optimizing sexual and reproductive health (SRH) by taking into account the ethical, social, and political realities that support or endanger women’s reproductive health. She conducts community-based, qualitative research to identify innovative solutions to improve communication, care delivery and SRH education. She has developed an expertise in religion and reproductive health with a specific expertise on Muslim women’s health. Her goal is to become a scientific leader in improving reproductive health outcomes by innovatively improving the way health systems consider religion and engage with patients’ religious identities and faith backgrounds.

Student Scholars Who Supported Dr. Shahaway’s Project:

• Lobna Raya, MsED

• Roya Ahmadi, BS Candidate 

• Nadiha Noor Chelsea, MB, BCh, BAO

During Scholar Tenure:

Internal Medicine Physician, Brigham & Women’s Hospital

Instructor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School

Home Institution: Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Health System: Mass General Brigham

Beginning Sept 2026:

Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of California San Francisco (UCSF)

rose olson, Md, MPH

Project Title: Predictors of Prolonged Emergency Department Boarding Wait Times Among Hospitalized Patients

Mass EQLHS Graduation Date: June 30, 2026

Dr. Olson is an Associate Physician in the Division of Global Health Equity and an Associate Scientist in the Division of Women's Health in the Department of Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital, and an Instructor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. She graduated from the University of Minnesota School of Medicine in 2019 and completed the Doris and Howard Hiatt Residency in Global Health Equity and Internal Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital in 2023. She also received her MPH from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in 2023. Dr. Olson has a passion for improving health outcomes. She works as a Research Consultant for the Violence Against Women Team at the WHO and is a 2023 and 2024 recipient of the Connor's Center Global Health Women's Fellowship. Dr. Olson's research investigates the short- and long-term adverse health effects of trauma including sexual assault. Her Mass EQLHS project has to do with prolonged emergency room boarding among hospitalized patients.

Student Scholars Who Supported Dr. Olson’s Project:

• Zoe Burkhart

• Trishathi Malagar Nandakumar

theresa williamson, md

Project Title: Values in Decision Modeling in Lumbar Spondylolisthesis Treatment

Mass EQLHS Graduation Date: September 30, 2025

Theresa Williamson, MD is a neurosurgeon and surgical ethics researcher who cares for people with all types of spine disorders as well as brain and spinal trauma. Her clinical expertise includes tailoring an approach to best fit the patient and their disease including using minimally invasive techniques. Her research focus is neurosurgical decision-making and patient-doctor communication. She combines bioethics theory with empirical data science to tackle complex decision-making problems in neurosurgery. Dr. Williamson is a member of the Center for Outcomes and Patient Safety in Surgery (COMPASS) at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Williamson comes to MGH from Duke University. At Duke, she completed a neurosurgery residency. She then completed an intramural fellowship at Duke as part of the combined neurosurgery and orthopedic surgery complex spine fellowship approved by the Committee on Advanced Subspecialty Training (CAST). Her clinical skills were recognized when she was named the Resident Clinician of the Year (2017) and her leadership skills were recognized with the Leadership Award (2020). She completed the University of Chicago Maclean and American College of Surgeons Surgical Ethics Fellowship (2021). She is a graduate of the Yale School of Medicine (2014) and Yale College (2009) where she was a varsity soccer player.

Project Publications:

1. Duerr E, Rodriguez E, Nephtalem M, Mensah E, Duffy JR, Cha T, Aidlen J, Tannoury C, Perloff MD, Ladin K, Hao D, Williamson T. Perspectives on treatment decision-making across racial groups in adults with degenerative lumbar disease - A pilot study. Interv Pain Med. 2025 Jun 3;4(2):100596. doi: 10.1016/j.inpm.2025.100596. PMID: 40519793; PMCID: PMC12167451

2. Yoseph, E. T., Taiwo, R., Kiapour, A., Touponse, G., Massaad, E., Theologitis, M., Wu, J. Y., Williamson, T., & Zygourakis, C. C. (2025)Pregnancy-Related Spinal Biomechanics: A Review of Low Back Pain and Degenerative Spine Disease. Bioengineering (Basel). 2025;12(8):858. Published 2025 Aug 10. doi:10.3390/bioengineering12080858

3. Piper, K., Magdamo, B., Momin, A., Kelly, P. D., Carey, P., Haque, R., Basto, J. B. T., Saway, B., Schupper, A., Duffy, J. R., Williamson, T., & Evans, J. How Do Neurosurgeons Cope With Complications? Results of a Nationwide Survey. Neurosurgery. Published online August 14, 2025. doi:10.1227/neu.0000000000003671

4. Nelson JW, Schwartz CI, Williamson T, et al. A Multinational Observational Study of Nurse Work Wellbeing: A Research Protocol for the Caring Science International Collaborative. Worldviews Evid Based Nurs. 2025;22(3):e70053. doi:10.1111/wvn.70053