People

Linda G. Griffith, PhD

Linda G. Griffith, (BS Georgia Tech, PhD UC Berkeley, Chemical Engineering) is the School of Engineering Teaching Innovation Professor of Biological and Mechanical Engineering and MacVicar Fellow at MIT, where she directs the Center for Gynepathology Research. She led development of the Biological Engineering SB degree program, which was approved in 2005 as MIT’s first new undergraduate major in 39 years.

Griffith has pioneered approaches in tissue engineering, including the first tissue-engineered cartilage in the shape of a human ear; commercialization of the 3DP™ Printing Process for manufacture of FDA-approved scaffolds; commercialization of the 3D perfused “LiverChip” for drug development; and synthetic matrices for tissue morphogenesis.  She recently led one of two major DARPA-supported “body-on-a-chip” programs, resulting in the first platform to culture 10 different human mini-organ systems interacting continuously for a month.

Griffith leads the field of “Physiomimetics,” integrating these platform technologies with systems biology and systems immunology to humanize drug development for the most challenging chronic inflammatory diseases, including endometriosis and adenomyosis, through collaboration with industry partners in Pharma and Biotech around the world. She has over 200 peer-reviewed scientific publications and holds over a dozen patents. She has chaired numerous scientific meetings, including the Keystone Tissue Organoids Conference (2020), the Signal Transduction by Engineering Extracellular Matrix Gordon Research Conference (2016), and the annual Open Endoscopy Forum (2015-continuing), which brings together gynecology surgeons, scientists, engineers and liberal arts practitioners at MIT for a TED-like weekend. She is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the recipient of a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, Radcliffe Fellowship, and several awards from professional societies. She currently serves on the Advisory Board of the Society for Women’s Health Research and has served on several NIH Advisory Councils including the Advisory Committee to the Director.

Research Publications
The majority of my publications, excepting those in the microfabrication and manufacturing literature not indexed by Pubmed and those published under alternate surnames  (Cima and Griffith-Cima) can be found here.

For citations that do not appear on PubMed
(Polymer science, Micropumps, Microdevices, Education, etc..):
click here.

Griffith Lab Website
http://lgglab.mit.edu/

Keith B. Isaacson, MD

Harvard Medical School Associate Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology
Newton-Wellesley Hospital Medical Director for Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery and the Endometriosis and Adenomyosis Care Collaborative

Keith Isaacson is currently director of the residency and fellowship for minimally invasive gynecologic surgery and infertility at Newton-Wellesley Hospital and clinical director for MIT’s Center for Gynepathology Research.

Isaacson is a reproductive endocrinology and infertility specialist with over 37 years of experience in the medical field. Originally from Atlanta, he graduated cum laude from Tulane University with honors in biology in 1979 and attended medical school at the Medical College of Georgia. He finished his residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Ochsner Clinic in New Orleans, Louisiana and completed a fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at the University of Pennsylvania. He is currently board certified in Reproductive Endocrinology and General Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Dr. Isaacson was the Division Director of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at the Massachusetts General Hospital from 1991 until 2001. In the fall of 2001, he moved to open the Center for Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery and Infertility at Newton-Wellesley Hospital.
Dr. Isaacson is the past president of the Society of Reproductive Surgeons (SRS) and the past president (2012) of the American Association of Gynecologic Surgeons (AAGL). He served as the President of the AAGL/SRS Fellowship Board of Directors and on the Board of Directors of the Society of Laparoscopic Surgeons. His recent awards include the Distinguished Surgeon Award from the American Society of Reproductive Medicine in 2013 and the John F. Steege Mentorship Award from AAGL (2020). Dr. Isaacson has focused his clinical career in advance hysteroscopic and laparoscopic procedures in women wishing to maintain their reproductive potential. He has over 100 peer reviewed publications, numerous textbook chapters, and has edited two textbooks on laparoscopic and hysteroscopic surgery.

Megan I. Loring, MD

Associate Director, Endometriosis & Adenomyosis Care Collaborative at Newton-Wellesley Hospital
Assistant Professor, Tufts Medical School Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology
Research Affiliate, Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Megan Loring is a minimally-invasive gynecologic surgeon at Newton-Wellesley Hospital & Massachusetts General Hospital where she also is the associate director of the Endometriosis & Adenomyosis Care Collaborative.  In the Collaborative, she actively participates in clinical and basic science research with the Center for Gynepathology Research as well as provides multidisciplinary care to complex patients with endometriosis, adenomyosis and chronic pelvic pain.

Dr. Loring is originally from the west coast where she graduated magna cum laude from the University of California – Los Angeles. She then attended medical school and achieved Alpha Omega Alpha at University of California- San Francisco. Dr. Loring completed her Obstetrics & Gynecology Residency at Stanford University Hospital before moving to the Boston-area for fellowship in Minimally-Invasive Gynecologic Surgery at Newton-Wellesley Hospital. She is currently board certified in Obstetrics & Gynecology.

Dr. Loring is active in professional organizations such as the American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists (AAGL) and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). She has published several peer-reviewed manuscripts as well as review articles on endometriosis and adenomyosis. In addition to her research, she enjoys teaching medical students, residents and especially her AAGL fellows in laparoscopic, robotic and hysteroscopic surgery.

Peter R. Movilla

University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Assistant Professor, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology
Fellowship: Newton Wellesley Hospital (Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery)
Biomedical Engineering degree: Stevens Institute of Technology
Medical degree: Weill Cornell Medical College (Medical Degree)
Residency: University of California San Francisco (Obstetrics & Gynecology)

CGR Experience Statement: “The Center for Gynepathology Research inspired me to look deeper into the etiology of the all too common and devastating gynecologic diseases that my patients suffer from. CGR is dedicated to learning more about the pathophysiology of disease entities that affect up to 10% of the population, including endometriosis and adenomyosis.

CGR opened my eyes into realizing that my field is in its infancy in terms of learning how to treat these diseases, and [The Center] provided me with so much optimism about future care given the dedication of the scientist and doctors running the group! Due to CGR, I will always look for more thorough explanations for my patient’s symptoms and seek to aim my scientist colleagues in learning more on how to treat these gynecologic diseases.

Dr. Keith Isaacson has been nothing less than vital to the success of my young academic career in gynecologic surgery. His mentorship has recently received its due praise with the prestigious John F. Steege Mentorship Award. Much deserved credit for his years of service to our field of gynecology and for his continued mentorship of future physicians.”

Jovana Tavcar, MD

Newton-Wellesley Hospital, Mass General Brigham

Medical School: University of Belgrade

OB/GYN Residency: Medstar Georgetown University Hospital/Medstar Washington Hospital Center

MIGS Fellowship: Newton-Wellesley Hospital, Mass General Brigham

CGR Experience Statement : “Being part of the CGR team was a tremendous experience for me. It is an invaluable opportunity to witness the state of the art basic science, contribute to moving the boundaries in the endometriosis spectrum diseases, but also to witness the challenges of scientific work in this area of women’s health and how long is the way ahead of us.

[As a mentor,] Dr. Isaacson is an amazing advocate for women’s health, particularly area of endometriosis and reproductive health. His tremendous enthusiasm in this field is the moving force for decades. He holds his standards remarkably high, as they should be, which motivates fellows to achieve greatness.

My goal is to continue contributing to the basic science research in gynecologic pathology, specifically endometriosis, adenomyosis, and reproductive health…There are so many unanswered questions, that will help so many women suffering, usually in silence. It takes a village, but CGR has enough human enthusiasm and brain power to move the mountain.”

Marron Wong, MD

Gynecologist, Kaiser Permanente

Assistant Professor, Drexel University College of Medicine

Volunteer Faculty, UCSF

Medical School: UCSF 2008 – 2012

OB/GYN Internship and Residency UCSF 2012 – 2016

MIGS Fellowship: Newton-Wellesley

CGR Experience Statement : “As a fellow, we cared for patient after patient with severe endometriosis. It was fantastic to be able to contribute in a small way to this brilliant team of people who are working to understand endometriosis and find a cure.

Besides his contributions to research through CGR and the excellent clinical care Keith Isaacson provides to his patients, Keith’s other legacy is his ever-growing cadre of minimally invasive gynecologic surgery fellows. We are all so lucky to have been able to learn from his mentorship.

[Currently] I care for many patients with endometriosis since we are an endometriosis referral center, and I have a pelvic pain clinic. These patients have often suffered for years without a diagnosis. It can be really helpful to talk about the basic science behind endometriosis to help explain the cause of the pain and other symptoms these patients have endured for so long.”

Kelly Wright, MD

Director, Division of Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles

B.S. in Biomedical Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 2003

M.D., Texas A&M University College of Medicine, College Station, TX, 2007

Intern/Resident in Obstetrics and Gynecology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital Combined Residency Program, June 2007 – June 2011

Fellow in Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery (FMIGS), Newton-Wellesley Hospital

CGR Experience Statement: “Seeing CGR was the first time I had seen any lab dedicated to the study of endometriosis and adenomyosis, which was quite exciting, as most labs I had seen were dedicated to cancer and other ‘fatal’ diseases.

Keith [Isaacson] was a mentor to me all the way from residency through attending hood, and he was president of AAGL when I was a fellow. His leadership always inspired me to try and follow in his footsteps!

[At CGR,] there was a real focus on adenomyosis as a big component of the pain that women with endometriosis can experience, which had largely been ignored up until recently. Keith and CGR were the first places I saw in depth review of adenomyosis and attempts to try and study it.

Endometriosis and adenomyosis are estimated to affect 10 percent of women and account for $69 billion in health care dollars and lost wages in the United States alone. Surgeons need to collaborate with experienced investigators to study endometriosis and adenomyosis in high resource labs rather than simply on our own.”