Research Team

The entire research team at the Boston Center for Endometriosis is experienced, dedicated, and passionate about working towards a cure for endometriosis.

Collaborative Research Team:

Raymond Anchan, MD, PhDRaymond Anchan, MD, PhD
Specialties: Medical and Surgical Management, Fertility Management, Research

Dr. Anchan is the Primary Investigator and Director of the Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine Research Laboratory in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He along with other collaborators at Harvard Medical School has been studying embryonic stem cell mediated regenerative processes as well as the development of human diseases, including endometriosis. By understanding the pathophysiology underlying the development of endometriosis using an embryonic stem cell model, Dr. Anchan hopes to help develop improved approaches to the management and treatment of this disease. Dr. Anchan also is actively involved in the clinical care and surgical management of endometriosis with the goal of improving the quality of life and fertility outcomes of his patients.

Mary DePariMary DePari, BA
Specialties: Research

Ms. DePari has more than 16 years experience working with the Brigham and Women’s Hospital research team as a research assistant. She enrolls women and girls with endometriosis in research studies; obtains informed consents, ensures participant understanding and adherence, reviews medical records, and enters data into the study database. Additionally, Ms. DePari is trained in database management, statistical analysis and report creation, and is responsible for generating quantitative progress reports for Drs. Missmer and Laufer.

Amy DiVastaAmy DiVasta, MD, MMSc
Specialties: Adolescent/Young Adult Gynecology, Medical Management, Research

Dr. DiVasta is Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and a staff physician in both the Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine and the Division of Gynecology at Boston Children’s Hospital. She is currently the Principal Investigator of several ongoing clinical trials investigating the health of estrogen-deficient young women, including teens with endometriosis. Dr. DiVasta has a Masters of Medical Science from Harvard Medical School with a concentration on clinical research, and is the recipient of a NICHD K23 Mentored Clinician-Scientist Award. She has been recognized by the North American Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology (2006) for her research and was awarded the prestigious Huffman Capraro Award for Excellence in Research (Young Investigator Award).

Cameron FraerCameron Fraer, RN, BSN
Specialties: Research

Ms. Fraer is a registered nurse with extensive epidemiologic research experience, serving as Project Coordinator for several research studies conducted within the Ob/Gyn Epidemiology Center at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital. With over 19 years’ experience, Ms. Fraer co-led a pilot study that was the basis for a scientific investigation of non-invasive endometriosis diagnostics. Ms. Fraer works closely with Drs. Missmer and Laufer designing and implementing endometriosis research studies and oversees the enrollment and participation of women and girls. She is a skilled clinician, ensuring procedural uniformity and valid data collection.

GomezTegan Gomez, BS
Specialties: Research

Ms. Gomez is a research assistant for the Boston Center for Endometriosis, working in the Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital. Working closely with Dr. Laufer and Dr. DiVasta, Ms. Gomez enrolls young women with endometriosis in the Women’s Health Study through informed consents, addresses participant questions and concerns, enters data into the study database, and processes biological samples for the biorepository. She has a BS in Food Science and Human Nutrition from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

KaraviciusSarah Karevicius, BA
Specialties: Research

Ms. Karevicius is a clinical research assistant for the Boston Center of Endometriosis, working in the Obstetrics & Gynecology department at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Working closely with Ms. Fraer, Ms. DePari, and Dr. Laufer, Ms. Karevicius enrolls women with endometriosis into the BCE research study through informed consents. Ms. Karevicius also reviews patient medical records, performs data entry into the study’s database, and processes biological samples for the BCE’s biorepository. She has a BA in Biology from Wheaton College.

Stacey MissmerStacey A. Missmer, ScD
Specialties: Research

Dr. Missmer is Associate Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Biology at Harvard Medical School; Director of Epidemiologic Research for the Division of Reproductive Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Assistant Professor of Epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health. Dr. Missmer holds a Sc.D. in epidemiology with a concentration in reproductive epidemiology from Harvard School of Public Health. She has worked with the Nurses’ Health Study research group since 1998 and is the senior endometriosis investigator, leading all research in this area. As the Director of the Growing Up Today Study, she is leading endometriosis investigation among adolescents and across two generations with more than 40 years of total follow-up. Dr. Missmer is the author of more than 90 peer-reviewed papers, recipient of the Eleanor and Miles Shore Scholars in Medicine Fellowship, was the senior author of the 2009 American Society for Reproductive Medicine Scientific Program Prize Paper, and in 2010 began service as an Associate Editor for the journal Human Reproduction. She was recently invited to the Board of Trustees of the World Endometriosis Research Foundation and named an Ambassador of the World Endometriosis Society.

Christina-NicholsChristina Nichols, BS
Specialties: Research

Ms. Nichols is a research assistant for the Boston Center for Endometriosis, working in the Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital. Ms. Nichols works closely with Dr. DiVasta and Dr. Laufer enrolling young women in the Women’s Health Study through informed consents. She also processes biological specimens for the biorepository, addresses participants’ questions and concerns, and enters data into the study database. She has a BS in Health Science from Clemson University.

Parveen ParasarParveen Parasar, DVM, MVSc, PhD
Specialties: Research

Dr. Parveen Parasar completed his Doctoral Degree in the Reproductive Immunogenetics program at Utah State University in 2013. He then began a postdoctoral research fellowship in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) and the Boston Center for Endometriosis. Dr. Parasar works closely with Dr. Raymond Anchan and is focused on understanding the pathophysiology of endometriosis in the hopes of developing new therapies.

Jenny SadlerJenny Sadler, BA
Specialties: Research

Ms. Sadler is a research coordinator in the Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital. She works closely with Dr. DiVasta overseeing and coordinating clinical trials investigating the health of estrogen-deficient young women. Ms. Sadler enrolls young women with endometriosis in research studies; obtains informed consents, ensures participant understanding and adherence, reviews medical records, and enters data into the study database. She has a BA in Psychology from Bates College.

Allison VitonisAllison Vitonis, ScM
Specialties: Research

Ms. Vitonis holds a masters degree in Epidemiology from Harvard School of Public Health. She has been the senior data manager for the Ob/Gyn Epidemiology Center at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital for more than 10 years. Ms. Vitonis has extensive experience as a biorepository manager, managing the specimen bank including the retrieval, processing, and aliquotting of specimens. She works closely with Dr. Missmer designing the optically scanned research questionnaires and on-line data entry system, develops and maintains the study database that stores questionnaires, medical records, and biologic sample data, coordinates sample selection within the biorepository, and assists Dr. Missmer with statistical analyses.

Pathology:

Christopher CrumChristopher Crum, MD
Specialties: Pathology

Dr. Crum is Professor of Pathology at Harvard Medical School and the Director of Women’s and Perinatal Pathology in the Department of Pathology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. It is one of the largest clinical services of its type in the United States and its members are responsible for groundbreaking discoveries in the pathogenesis of obstetric and gynecologic disease. Dr. Crum trained at the University of Virginia and Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York City. His group first linked HPV 16 to early cervical neoplasia, identified a novel site of origin (the fallopian tube) for ovarian cancer, and discovered the cell of origin for cervical cancer. Members of his division have constructed new models of oviductal and endometriosis-related ovarian cancers, discovered new forms of uterine cancer and novel precursors to endometrial cancer, and developed methods of propagating tumor stem cells. Dr. Crum has published nearly 300 manuscripts and edits a major textbook in gynecologic and obstetric pathology.

Vascular Biology:

Marsha MosesMarsha A. Moses, MD
Specialties: Vascular Biology

Dr. Marsha A. Moses is the Julia Dyckman Andrus Professor at Harvard Medical School and the Director of the Vascular Biology Program at Boston Children’s Hospital. Dr. Moses’ work has been published in such highly-regarded journals as Science, the New England Journal of Medicine, Cell and the Journal of Biological Chemistry, among others. She holds approximately 73 patents, issued and pending, serves on a number of scientific advisory boards and is a scientific founder of Predictive Biosciences, Inc., a molecular diagnostics company. Dr. Moses is the recipient of a number of NIH and foundation grants and awards, including Harvard Medical School’s A. Clifford Barger Mentoring Award (2003) and the 2009 Joseph B. Martin Dean’s Leadership Award for the Advancement of Women Faculty. She was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of the United States in 2008.

Research Trainees:

AfeicheMyriam Afeiche, PhD MPH
Specialties: Research

Dr. Afeiche is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health. Dr. Afeiche holds a Masters in Public Health and Doctorate degree in Environmental Health Sciences from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Her research interests include the influence of environmental and nutritional exposures on reproduction, puberty, and development. She is currently investigating dietary and lifestyle determinants of fertility among couples undergoing assisted reproduction. In addition, she is studying the relation between diet and the incidence of endometriosis.

FarlandLeslie Farland, ScM
Specialties: Research

Ms. Farland is a doctoral student in Epidemiology with a focus on reproductive, perinatal, and pediatric outcomes at the Harvard School of Public Health. She holds a B.A. in Biological Science from the University of Chicago and a Masters degree in Epidemiology from the Harvard School of Public Health. She has led several research projects on reproductive health outcomes, including studies of assisted reproductive technologies, gestational diabetes, and adverse birth outcomes in the Nurses’ Health Study II, Project Viva, and EARTH cohorts respectively. Her current research focuses on infertility and assisted reproductive technology. She is interested in the etiology of adolescent endometriosis and improving fertility outcomes in patients with endometriosis.