Ryan Kennedy

Clinical Research Coordinator

Ryan joined our department on June 24, through the Department of Medicine’s Pipeline for underRepresented Students in Medicine (PRISM) program sponsored by Dr. David McManus and the Department of Medicine at UMass Chan.  

As a research coordinator, Ryan supports patients through the clinical trials enrollment process, by coordinating patient study visits, processing biological specimens, analyzing data, and maintaining study documents and patient records.  

Ryan’s family is from Guánica, Puerto Rico. Witnessing his family’s difficulties accessing healthcare while caring for sick, elderly relatives, especially in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, sparked his interest to pursue a career in the medical field focusing on health disparities and clinical research. Currently, he has completed over 1,100 hours of biomedical research through his work at Harvard Medical School, MDI Biological Laboratory and UMass Chan.  

Ryan has participated in the UMass Chan Summer Undergraduate Research Program and the Summer Enrichment Program for the last few summers, while also serving as a Patient Acquisition volunteer for UMass Memorial Health and volunteering as a medical Spanish interpreter with St. Peter’s Free Health Program in Worcester.  

Ryan recently graduated from the College of the Holy Cross in May 2024 with a BA in Biology. He desires to matriculate into medical school and eventually pursue a residency in General Surgery. Ryan shares, “One of my hopes in becoming a surgeon is to be able to work with humanitarian programs like Doctors without Borders”.  

Since joining our neurology team, he has gained valuable experience working with large teams, and interfacing with patients, and is learning proper data management and documentation. He looks forward to patient visit days and feels his position is rewarding when patients share, that they are responding positively to a trial. He is excited to continue his professional growth with the amazing people in our Neurology Department and enjoys meeting others and learning about their work.   

 Outside of the clinic, Ryan looks forward to visiting his relatives in Guánica every couple of years. He enjoys playing the piano, which he has been doing since he was 11 years old. His favorite piece to play is Chopin’s Etude Op. 10 No. 3. Ryan also likes to create images of flowers and wildlife through his hobby of watercolor painting which he finds fun and relaxing.   

Kendall Presti, MD

Neurocritical Care Fellow

Kendall Presti, MD, is now participating in the Neurocritical Care Fellowship Program for additional training in the neuro ICU. A native of Worcester, Kendall spent four years at Holy Cross before moving to Westchester NY, for medical school at New York Medical College. She completed her residency program at UMass Chan.

Before starting medical school, Kendall spent two years in neuropsychiatric basic science at McLean Hospital. She enjoys acute care, procedures, and palliative aspects of medicine. Kendall’s interests in teaching medical students their preclinical years and giving lectures to other departments led her to run for chief by sharing, “My main goals have always been to be a strong clinician first and foremost, as well as an educator.” 

Kendall enjoys spending time outside and plans to ski out west and hike in Yosemite and around Amalfi this year. 

Bahadar Srichawla, DO, MS

PGY 4, Chief Resident

Meet Bahadar Srichawla, DO, MS, PGY-4 Chief Neurology Resident. Dr. Srichawla's clinical interests are in neurocritical care and long-term research in multi-modality monitoring (MMM) in the NeuroICU. He received a BS in Neuroscience and an MS in Biophysics from Stony Brook University, and a graduate certificate in clinical research at Harvard University. 

When completing his MS in Biophysics, Dr. Srichawla enjoyed mastering cerebral physiology and hemodynamics.  

We are excited to have him as one of our chief residents this year! 

Joshua Claunch, MD

Supporting: Neuroimmunology, Neuro Immune Chronic Illness (NICI) Center, and the Behavioral and Cognitive Neurology Clinic

Joshua Claunch, MD, has joined the Department of Neurology supporting the Neuroimmunology and MS Center by working in the Long-COVID, Neuroimmune Chronic Illness (NICI) Clinic and in the Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology clinic specializing in dementia care. Under his clinical management in the NICI Clinic, he will help design the clinical standard operating procedures and research protocols. 

“My goal in working with the MS Center is to work with Dr. Ionete to be on the forefront of care for Long-COVID patients, and to find innovative and effective ways of making their lives better. I can only be as good as my team. There is no better team I know than the staff and faculty at the UMass Multiple Sclerosis Center. They make me a better provider,” Claunch stared. 

Dr. Claunch hails from Florida where he attended medical school at Florida State College of Medicine. He moved to Massachusetts and participated in the UMass Chan residency program from 2014 to 2020 and has worked as a neurologist at the Reliant Medical Group since graduating. His clinical focus is on treatable conditions, with severe negative outcomes when untreated, that are often missed by the current systems of care. His interests include neuroimmunology, long-COVID, encephalitis, atypical psychosis, catatonia, and cognitive decline. 

When he is not working in the clinic he may be found reading books by Carl Jung, baking sourdough bread, or brewing ales. If you see him without a beard, that means he just got back from Costa Rica and will happily talk about his trip. If you see him with a long beard, wish him luck on his upcoming trip.  

Molly Wilner, DO

Neuroimmunology Fellow

Molly Wilner, DO, Chief Resident of Neurology Residency program for 2023-2024 school year, is now participating in the UMass Neuroimmunology Fellowship program and Digital Medicine Fellowship between 2024 – 2026. Molly plans to pursue her research and clinical interests in neuroimmunology, wellness/mindfulness, patient education.

Molly joined the UMass Chan residency program in 2020. Originally from Fairfield Connecticut, Molly attended Brandeis University, working in the Griffith Lab; University College in London, working in the Affective Brain Lab, and medical school at Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine in Harlem, NYC, NY. Molly also brings experience working at Seattle’s Children’s Research Institute, in the social media and adolescent health research team (SMAHRT). 

Molly shares, “My interest in patient education, reproductive health, and my desire to help patients maintain their independence and physical abilities lead me to pursue a career in neuroimmunology. I am hoping to continue to teach residents and medical students and expand the use of holistic care for patients with neuroimmunology diseases.”  

When Molly is not supporting clinical patient care, she enjoys going to concerts and live performances. Her favorite summer activity includes kayaking on Lake Quinsigamond. 

Carmen Viera

Neurodiagnostics

Meet Carmen A Viera, Ambulatory Service Representative, supporting the Neuro-diagnostics Department at University Campus. Carmen is from Puerto Rico and has worked in her position for 13 years. As a bilingual team member, she has been able to help the Hispanic community. Carmen was inspired to work in healthcare because of her desire to look after other people and help them.  

Annie Ferris, MD

Congratulations Dr. Ferris for your new role as associate director of the Vascular Neurology Fellowship Program.

"It is my pleasure to announce Dr. Ferris new role as the new associate director of the UMass Chan Medical School and affiliated UMass Memorial Medical Center ACGME accredited Vascular Neurology Program," shares Majaz Moonis, MD, director of the Vascular Neurology Fellowship Program.

Ferris shares, "I feel very privileged to have the opportunity to recruit and mentor stroke fellows in our program. Being an alumna of our vascular neurology fellowship myself, I know what great training and exposure they will get here, and am proud to carry on that tradition."

Pat Gordon

Senior Administrative Secretary

Have you met Pat Gordon, Neurology’s senior administrative secretary supporting Movement Disorders and the Stroke and Vascular Neurology divisions.  

Pat shares, "Although I did not have the opportunity to become a doctor, I became interested in a career as a medical secretary in the department because it offered me the opportunity to support doctors specializing in life-saving treatments." 

Pat has a BA in English with a concentration in Writing. Before joining Neurology, Pat worked in the Chancellor’s office at UMass Chan after working in the private sector for 15 years.  

Did you know, she was a former 4^th Manhattan District Spelling Bee Champion? 

We thank Pat for her support and dedication to our department. We appreciate her.  

Stephen Chrzanowski, MD, PhD, assistant professor

Co-Director of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) Program

Meet Stephen Chrzanowski, MD, PhD, assistant professor of neurology and pediatrics, and new co-director of the Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) program. Dr. Chrzanowski was born in Michigan and grew up in Ohio where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Cincinnati. He traversed to the swamps of Gainesville, Florida to attend the University of Florida College of Medicine earning his MD and PhD degrees studying muscle physiology under the mentorship of Drs. Glenn Walter and Krista Vandenborne in the ImagingDMD group. He then moved to Massachusetts to complete pediatrics and child neurology residencies at Boston Children’s Hospital and a Neuromuscular Fellowship at Mass General Brigham, working under the auspices of Dr. Seward Rutkove, developing an understanding of electrical impedance myography (EIM), to assess skeletal muscle health. 

Interested in pediatric neuromuscular disorders, Dr. Chrzanowski formed his research lab to study if implementing earlier interventions alters long-term outcomes through the development and quantification of novel treatments. His research is designed to ask, “If non-invasive quantitative outcome measures, such as, electrical impedance myography (EIM) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), can serve as sensitive and qualitative outcome measures in both pre-clinical and clinical states.”  In 2024, Dr. Chrzanowski was awarded the  2024 Taeun Chang Outstanding Junior Member Post Graduate Award on behalf of the Child Neurology Society (CNS). 

Dr. Chrzanowski was inspired in his childhood sharing, “I witnessed my best friend’s older brother who had DMD, and the family manage his illness, and the lack of treatment available for him. This led me to volunteer in the summer Muscular Dystrophy Association camps, assimilating me into the neuromuscular family. With incredible mentors from undergraduate to UMass Chan, I have been fortunate to be able to have an opportunity to be a part of history as we redefine the trajectory of this terrible illness.” 

Outside of the health sector, Dr. Chrzanowski may be recognized for winning a steak-eating competition. He used to brew his own beer as a hobby and has two letters from two presidents hanging on his walls.  

Sharon Velazquez

Web Communications Specialist

Have you met Sharon Velazquez, the web communications content specialist for neurology? Sharon’s pronouns are she/her. Sharon has an AA in graphic design for the web, a BS in Business Administration, Management, and an MA in English and Creative Writing.  

Communication has always been a focused career choice because of her interest in expression, creativity, and connection. She has worked in a variety of professional roles such as a licensed realtor, buyer agent, a project manager, and  a licensed manicurist. Her hobbies include crafting, photography, and photo restoration. She has spent most of her life in Massachusetts but has also lived in North Carolina and Mississippi for short periods of time.

Sharon is also known as Gigi, by her grandchildren whom she adores. If you ever want to see pictures, she is happy to share.