Program Leadership
The program is jointly led by 2 senior investigators with complementary expertise – Dr. Christine Ritchie (Internal Medicine) and Dr. Ana-Maria Vranceanu (Psychiatry), who have trailblazed interdisciplinary collaborations across our departments through multiple NIH and foundation funded projects.
Christine Ritchie, MD, MSPH
Christine Ritchie, MD, MSPH is Professor of Medicine and the Kenneth L. Minaker Chair of Geriatric Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston, Massachusetts. She is a board-certified geriatrician and palliative care physician and conducts research focused on optimizing quality of life for those with chronic serious illness and multimorbidity. She has provided geriatric and palliative care to functionally impaired, seriously ill patients with multiple co-occurring conditions and those with dementia for the past two and a half decades.
Her research focuses on patients with complex serious illness and multimorbidity and involves the assessment of patient and caregiver outcomes related to symptoms physical, cognitive and social function among older adults in multiple settings. As a clinician investigator, she has experience in informatics, mixed methods research, clinical trials and implementation science. Dr. Ritchie serves as MPI of the National Institute for Nursing Research-funded Palliative Care Research Cooperative (PCRC) and directs the PCRC Investigator Development Center. She is co-founder and co-director of the Home-based Primary Care Learning Network with co-investigator Dr. Bruce Leff.
She serves as Director of Research for the Division of Palliative Care and Geriatric Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and directs MGH Center for Aging and Serious Illness Research.
Ana-Maria Vranceanu, PhD
Dr. Vranceanu is a clinical health psychologist, Associate Professor of Psychology at Harvard Medical School, and Founding Director of the Center for Health Outcomes and Interdisciplinary Research (CHOIR), formerly known as the Integrated Brain Health Clinical and Research Program (IBHCRP) at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School (MGH/HMS). She is also the James and Elizabeth Gamble Endowed Chair Co-Director (Psychiatry) for MassGeneral Neurosciences and Co-director for Grants Consultation and Support within the Department of Psychiatry.
She is an expert in behavioral, mind-body and lifestyle intervention development and testing and their integration within medical practices, hospital systems, and communities to: 1) preserve overall health, 2) promote recovery after injury or surgery, and 3) optimize management of chronic illness. She works with individuals, caregivers, and patient-caregiver dyads.
Dr. Vranceanu has served as Principal Investigator (PI) for over 30 research grants and has published more than 250 peer-reviewed articles. Dr. Vranceanu has a mid-career mentoring award (NCCIH K24) focused on mentoring interdisciplinary trainees at MGH and nationally. She has received 7 mentoring awards including the 2023 Society of Behavioral Medicine Distinguished Mentor Award and the 2023 MGH Office of Women’s Career Allyship for Women Award.