City of Cambridge Announces COVID-19 Expert Advisory Panel

City of Cambridge Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui and City Manager Louis A. DePasquale are pleased to announce that the City Manager has appointed a COVID-19 Expert Advisory Panel (EAP), a group of medical and subject matter experts that will support the City’s COVID-19 planning and response efforts.

The COVID-19 EAP, which first met on March 24, will meet remotely on an as needed basis. It is Chaired by Assaad Sayah, M.D. Commissioner of Public Health for the City of Cambridge and CEO of the Cambridge Health Alliance. The Panel will assist the City's leadership with recommendations for best practices regarding mitigation strategies to reduce the spread of COVID-19, while also leveraging the City's local expertise.

Members of the EAP include:

Assaad J. Sayah, M.D., Chair, Cambridge COVID-19 EAP: Chief Executive Officer, Cambridge Health Alliance and Cambridge Commissioner of Public Health
Assaad Sayah, MD, was named Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA) in January 2020. Prior to this appointment, Dr. Sayah served as the interim CEO for eight months. Dr. Assaad also serves as the Commissioner of Public Health for the City of Cambridge.

William P. Hanage, Ph.D.: Associate Professor of Epidemiology and faculty, Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics, Harvard University
William P. Hanage, Ph.D. researches the evolution and epidemiology of infectious disease.  Dr. Hanage’s work focuses on pathogen evolution and is particularly interested in using an evolutionary framework such as methods derived from population genetics to inform epidemiology. 

Paul Biddinger, M.D.:  Chief, Division of Emergency Preparedness and Director, Center for Disaster Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital
Paul Biddinger, M.D. holds the Massachusetts General Hospital Endowed Chair in Emergency Preparedness; is the Director of the Center for Disaster Medicine; and Vice Chairman for Emergency Preparedness in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). He is also the Director for Emergency Preparedness at Partners Healthcare.

Karen Byers, MS, RBP, CBSP: Biosafety Officer, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Karen Byers manages the biosafety program of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School and a Comprehensive Cancer Center designated by the National Cancer Institute.  The Institute focuses on basic, translational, and clinical cancer research.

Ramesh Raskar, Ph.D.: Associate Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Medicine Media Lab 
Dr. Ramesh Raskar is an Associate Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab and directs the Camera Culture research group. His research focuses on AI and Imaging for health and sustainability and spans physical (e.g., sensors, health-tech), digital (e.g., automated and privacy-aware machine learning) and global (e.g., geomaps, autonomous mobility) domain.

Lou Ann Bruno-Murtha, D.O.: Medical Director and Chief of Infectious Diseases, Cambridge Health Alliance
Dr. Lou Ann Bruno-Murtha is Division Chief of Infectious Diseases and Medical Director of Infection Prevention at the Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA). She chairs the Infection Prevention Committee and co-directs the Antibiotic Stewardship Team.  

Jill Crittenden, Ph.D.: Research Scientist, McGovern Institute for Brain Research and Koch Institute for Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology    
Dr. Crittenden’s research aims to understand how genetically-defined neurocircuits contribute to brain function and behavioral choices in health and in disease. She tests molecular mechanisms of the basal ganglia that are responsible for the control of voluntary motor systems. She has been a significant driver of community awareness about pandemic response and has communicated extensively with community networks, elected officials and City of Cambridge staff. 

Kirby Erlandson: 4th Year student, dual degree, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Business School  
Ms. Erlandson is a 4th year Harvard MD/MBA student with a background in outbreak response. She studied global public health at Duke University, where she received her undergraduate degree  and spent two years in Liberia during the Ebola outbreak developing infection surveillance systems, screening protocols, designing education campaigns, and facilitating trainings. 

The City and the Public Health Department continue to work closely together to identify resources to reinforce the City’s response and preparedness activities. For more information and updates on COVID-19, please visit the City’s dedicated information page: https://www.cambridgema.gov/covid19.