Featured Health Services Research Experts

*Board-Certified Family Medicine Physician (ABFM) with 14+ years clinical experience (based in Chicago, IL) *Named Castle Connolly Top Doctor (2024, 2025) *Medical Media Commentator seen on/in ABC 7, Fox 32, CBS 2, WGN 9, The Chicago Tribune , Chicago Sun Times, and Everyday Health; including a nationwide 25 interview satellite media tour (TV & radio, November 2025) *Premedical Student Mentor, Urban Bridges Medical Mentoring Program Dr. Rene is a board-certified Family Medicine physician and Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians (FAAFP) with 14+ years of clinical experience. She provides comprehensive primary care for Medicare-eligible patients at Oak Street Health's Avalon Park location in Chicago, specializing in chronic disease management, preventive care, healthcare equity, and access for underserved communities. After overcoming 50 medical school rejections, Dr. Rene graduated from Indiana University School of Medicine and completed residency training at Ascension Saint Joseph Hospital - Chicago. She developed the L.Y.M.I.T.S. Method—a framework for transforming limitations into your greatest strengths. She mentors aspiring physicians through the Urban Bridges Medical Mentoring Program. Dr. Rene has appeared as a medical expert on ABC 7, Fox 32, CBS 2, and WGN 9 Chicago and recently completed a 25-interview national satellite media tour. She is available for expert commentary on resilience in healthcare, medical education equity, resilience and overcoming failure, healthcare access for underserved populations, and diversity in medicine.

I want to make healthcare better for patients and for the people who take care of them.

I serve as Group Vice President of HealthStaffingGroup, a healthcare workforce division focused on helping hospitals and healthcare organizations navigate complex staffing and leadership challenges. My work centers on workforce strategy, leadership hiring, retention, and long-term staffing stability in high-demand healthcare environments. With experience supporting healthcare systems across the country, I regularly work with executives, administrators, and clinical leaders to address issues such as nursing shortages, physician recruitment, workforce burnout, and succession planning. I’m particularly interested in how leadership decisions, operational design, and workforce planning directly influence patient outcomes and organizational resilience. Over the years, I’ve seen that staffing challenges are rarely isolated hiring problems; they are strategic issues tied to leadership development, workload design, and long-term workforce sustainability. I often speak on healthcare leadership trends, retention strategies, and the evolving talent landscape within hospitals, clinics, and specialty care environments. My perspective combines frontline workforce realities with executive-level strategy, offering insight into how healthcare organizations can build stable, high-performing teams in an increasingly complex care environment.

Dr. Saravanan Thangarajan is a global climate, health, and equity governance advisor focused on how heat, air pollution, and resource insecurity shape health outcomes in climate vulnerable settings. His work connects policy, financing, and frontline service delivery, with a strong emphasis on maternal health, mental health, and community resilience. Trained in dentistry, health administration, and global health delivery, he brings operational and systems experience across public health programs and digital health infrastructure. He provides clear, quote ready insights on climate adaptation for health systems, equity centered governance, and implementation pathways that move evidence into action.

Rohan Desai – BI Analyst | Data Analytics | Healthcare Technology Results-driven Data Analyst / BI Developer specializing in healthcare analytics, data visualization, and revenue cycle management (RCM). Proven expertise in data regression modeling, business intelligence (BI) solutions, and process automation to enhance operational efficiency and decision-making. Passionate about leveraging data-driven insights to solve complex business challenges. Expertise: Business Intelligence (BI) | Data Modeling | SQL | Power BI | Tableau Healthcare Revenue Cycle Management (RCM) | Financial Analytics Cloud Computing (Azure) | Big Data Processing Publications: Published 7+ research papers on Healthcare Technology & Analytics Medium Page: https://rohan-desai.medium.com/

Dr. Ayesha Bryant, M.S.P.H, M.D. is a physician, clinical scientist, and associate professor dedicated to translating complex medical research into practical health solutions. With more than 100 peer-reviewed publications and multiple textbook chapters, Dr. Bryant is recognized for her contributions to perioperative outcomes research, preventive medicine, and quality-of-life improvement. She currently serves as a clinical advisor at Alpas Wellness, a drug, alcohol & mental health treatment center in Maryland. She completed her medical training at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine and Emory University, with additional training in epidemiology and public health. Her research has been featured at major national and international conferences, including the Society of Thoracic Surgeons and the American Association for Thoracic Surgery. Dr. Bryant’s expertise spans functional medicine, AI-driven healthcare algorithms, and national clinical data registry research. She is passionate about combining evidence-based medicine with real-world wellness strategies to improve patient outcomes and preventive care. In addition to her academic work, she has written for Rupa Health, where she shares insights on how readers can live healthier, more vibrant lives.

Dr. Jagdish Khubchandani is a Professor of Public Health at New Mexico State University (NMSU), known for his extensive research and expertise in global health and social epidemiology

Dr. Akshaya Srikanth Bhagavathula is an Associate Professor of Epidemiology at North Dakota State University, internationally recognized for his pioneering work at the intersection of digital epidemiology, pharmacovigilance, and artificial intelligence. His research harnesses advanced statistical modeling and AI to track and predict health behaviors, medication safety, and disease patterns in real time—bridging traditional epidemiology with next-generation digital health analytics. Dr. Bhagavathula has published more than 250 peer-reviewed articles in leading journals, including Annals of Epidemiology, JAMA Network Open, and Lancet Digital Health. His work has been widely cited and featured in major media outlets such as The New York Times, where he discussed the real-world safety of GLP-1 receptor agonists like semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro). Recognized among the Stanford–Elsevier Top 2% of Scientists (2019–2024) and elected as a Fellow of the American College of Epidemiology, Dr. Bhagavathula is known for translating complex data into actionable insights that shape public health policy and clinical practice. His ongoing projects include NIH- and NSF-aligned initiatives on AI-powered overdose forecasting, digital twins for public health, and real-world drug safety surveillance using explainable machine learning. With a decade of experience spanning more than two dozen countries and collaborations with organizations such as WHO, USAID, and UNICEF, Dr. Bhagavathula brings a global, data-driven, and human-centered approach to solving modern health crises.

I am an MD-PhD physician-scientist with a passion for translating complex clinical and scientific data into clear, accurate content. My training and experience span clinical practice and translational research, with expertise across oncology, immunology, gastroenterology, inflammation & metabolism, and rare diseases. With over 10 years of experience, I have supported key deliverables including more than 30 peer-reviewed publications, manuscripts, slide decks, literature reviews, and scientific narratives. I enjoy working in collaborative, deadline-driven environments and am particularly interested in medical writing, medical information, and publication development, where scientific accuracy and effective storytelling intersect.

Joshua Mirrer, MD is a Board-Certified Reconstructive Plastic and Hand Surgeon practicing in the American Southwest, where he treats high-volume trauma, complex hand injuries, chronic wounds, and reconstructive conditions across multiple hospital systems. He serves as Hand and Microsurgery Fellowship Program Director, where he trains surgeons at the intersection of technical excellence, clinical judgment, and real-world healthcare constraints. Dr. Mirrer’s clinical work places him on the front lines of the U.S. healthcare system—caring for patients affected by delayed access, insurance denials, chronic disease, environmental exposure, and socioeconomic instability. This experience has shaped his broader focus on healthcare as a system, not just a series of medical encounters. He frequently examines how policy decisions, reimbursement structures, regulatory lag, and financial incentives influence patient outcomes, costs, and physician practice. In addition to his surgical practice, Dr. Mirrer writes and speaks on healthcare reform, prevention versus disease management, medical training, insurance inefficiencies, and the downstream health effects of environmental and economic policy. His work integrates clinical medicine with public health, behavioral economics, and systems thinking, aiming to translate complex issues into practical insights for clinicians, policymakers, and the public. He is not affiliated with industry or political organizations and approaches these topics as a practicing physician and educator offering firsthand perspective from within one of the most stressed segments of the healthcare system. This includes but is not limited to shortfalls of The Affordable Care Act, limitations of the current administration’s actions on healthcare, lack of preventive medicine, costs of care, and the intersection of environment, finance, morality, freedom, and healthcare.

Jodee Gibson, PCC, PhD(c) is an award-winning author, human development researcher, and founder of Human Behavior Architects™. Her work challenges the prevailing mental health narrative by arguing that many behaviors currently labeled as disorders are often the predictable output of developmental gaps within systems never designed to support human development. With more than three decades of experience working with schools, healthcare organizations, and leadership teams, Dr. Gibson operates at the intersection of neuroscience, mental health, developmental psychology, and systems design. Her work focuses on upstream trauma prevention and behavioral system redesign vs trauma-informed care. She helps organizations move beyond symptom management toward environments that support emotional development and sustainable human development. She frequently speaks on healing mental health, understanding behavioral health systems, leadership, and psychology. She is also well versed in the hidden developmental forces shaping human behavior and why many approaches to mental health are addressing the wrong problem.

As I am a medical expert for Invigor Medical, a urologist, and an MD currently completing my PhD in clinical medicine, my work bridges patient care, education, and research. I serve as a teaching assistant in surgery, where I guide and support future doctors while treating patients in everyday practice. My research focuses on oncologic urology, men’s health, and hormonal health, and I actively collaborate on international studies. Through these roles, I am dedicated to advancing evidence-based medicine, improving patient outcomes, and helping shape the future of urological care.

I’m passionate about redefining what modern healthcare can look like. After graduating with my Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery from the University of Auckland, I wanted to combine clinical medicine with innovation, which led me to create Selfcaremen, a fast-growing men’s health platform now operating across New Zealand and Australia. My goal has always been to make preventative healthcare more accessible, engaging, and relevant for men, blending strong clinical standards with a fresh, modern approach.Alongside building Selfcaremen, I continue to invest heavily in my own training and development. I work as an Occupational Medicine Physician and RACP/AFOEM Registrar with Sonic Healthcare in Melbourne, where I’m undertaking specialist training with The Royal Australasian College of Physicians in Occupational and Environmental Medicine (2025–2029). I’ve also completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Occupational and Environmental Medicine from the University of Otago and hold a Postgraduate Certificate in Women’s Health. This background allows me to bring a practical, well-rounded perspective to healthcare, sitting at the intersection of clinical work, workplace health, and entrepreneurship.

April Likins is a board-certified health coach and nationally recognized stress and burnout expert, triple-trained through Duke Integrative Medicine, the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, and Precision Nutrition. Her insights and personal story have been featured in Mantra Wellness, Better Humans, Wellbeing Magazine, Authority Magazine, and on 50+ podcasts worldwide. After hitting burnout and experiencing a total health collapse following her father’s death, April turned her pain into purpose. Now, she’s fiercely committed to helping leaders and high-achieving professionals move from burnout and survival mode to clarity, resilience, and vibrant well-being. Learn more at www.aprillikins.com

Andrea Martin, DNP, CRNP, WHNP, MSCP is a doctoral-prepared Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner and Menopause Society Certified Practitioner specializing exclusively in menopause, perimenopause, and women’s sexual health. She is the founder of Glow Health, a telehealth practice serving women in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland, and serves as Medical Director at Intimate Rose, where she developed the company’s inaugural menopause and perimenopause treatment protocol. With over a decade of clinical experience in women’s health, Andrea has treated complex sexual health conditions, managed menopausal hormone therapy, and cared for patients with pelvic pain disorders at institutions including Thomas Jefferson University and Rachel Rubin MD. She is a peer-reviewed author and co-authored the first article on the clitoris ever published in the Clinical Journal for Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health. She has been quoted in the New York Times, Cosmopolitan, and Everyday Health, and has presented at national conferences including the International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health.

Dr. Boluwatife OLU Afolabi is a dental surgeon and PhD candidate in Oral Biology at the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry. His research focuses on the molecular mechanisms driving head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, particularly the role of environmental carcinogens, inflammatory signaling, and transcriptional regulation in disease initiation and progression. His work investigates pathways such as the Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor (AHR) and S100A8/S100A9-mediated inflammatory responses using cellular and molecular models of oral epithelial transformation. He has extensive experience in cancer biology, oral pathology, toxicology, and translational biomedical research. Dr. Afolabi provides expert insight on oral cancer risk factors, environmental exposures and health, inflammation and disease mechanisms, dental-systemic health connections, and emerging directions in cancer research. He is also interested in public health implications of carcinogen exposure and prevention strategies in oral and head-and-neck disease.

Dr. Geny Augustine is a physician at Solace who knows firsthand how challenging the U.S. healthcare system can be for patients. Having worked with diverse patient populations throughout her career, she's seen how the system's complex nature can create unnecessary barriers to getting good care—which is exactly what drew her to Solace's mission of putting patients first. Dr. Augustine completed her medical education in Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles, and previously worked as a Family Medicine physician for Banner Health in Glendale, Arizona. She's passionate about improving patient care, leading quality improvement projects like her work on hypertension management in urban environments, which earned honorable mention for the SLUHN Quality Improvement Award in 2020. Fluent in English with intermediate Spanish skills, she brings both clinical expertise and cultural understanding to her patient relationships. When she's not advocating for patients, Dr. Augustine enjoys fitness, culinary arts, fine arts, travel, and volunteer work—pursuits that reflect her belief in whole-person wellness and giving back to her community.

Dr. Enad is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon specializing in sports medicine, trauma, and joint replacement. He has authored multiple publications and is regularly cited in the media for his clinical knowledge. He also has clinical interest in exercise physiology and obesity medicine.

Dr. Chantal Lunderville, MD is a UCSF-trained family medicine physician and nationally recognized expert in medical wellness, aesthetics, compliance, and practice growth. She serves as the Medical Wellness Editor for Lipgloss and Aftershave, a leading spa industry publication with a reach of more than 250,000 readers and followers. She has been mentioned in Forbes, and she has been a featured speaker for global brands including L’Oréal and Epicutis. As the medical director for 20+ aesthetic and wellness practices across California, Dr. Lunderville specializes in helping doctors, nurses, and entrepreneurs build safe, compliant, and scalable practices. She and her team have developed proprietary software that enables medspas to track compliance, medical director oversight, and regulatory requirements- now being made available to the public to elevate industry standards. She has also hosted large-scale women's wellness events and professional trainings with sponsors such as goop Kitchen, AQ Solutions, UnderSkin, South Coast Psychiatry, and Reproductive Partners. A former medical spa owner turned national consultant, Dr. Lunderville empowers women in aesthetics to build legacy-driven, ethical businesses. She is also a leader in longevity and preventive wellness, blending evidence-based lifestyle wellness with advanced regenerative treatments. She is also an aesthetic and womens health trainer focusing on new practitioners. Dr. Lunderville is available for expert commentary on aesthetics, medical wellness, compliance, women’s entrepreneurship, and the future of longevity medicine.