HUG members come from the following institutions:

Massachusetts General Hospital
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Boston Children's Hospital
Harvard Medical School

Our Team

Mark C. Poznansky, M.D., Ph.D., F.R.C.P, F.I.D.S.A.

Mark C. Poznansky, M.D., Ph.D., F.R.C.P, F.I.D.S.A.

Director, Vaccine and Immunotherapy Center; Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Attending Physician, Infectious Diseases Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital
Dr. Poznansky is a medical innovator whose work bridges academic discovery and clinical care. His research interests focus on the interface between scientific discovery and medical product development, discovering novel immune processes and exploring their relevance to the development of vaccines and immunotherapies for cancer, infectious diseases and immune mediated diseases. Dr. Poznansky’s family left Poland shortly before World War II. His interest in supporting Ukraine and specifically Ukraine’s doctors is both deeply personal and professional. He has been instrumental in coordinating the Heal Ukraine Group to support efforts of established NGOs to provide medical supplies and expertise directly to Ukraine; support the transfer of patients with complex medical and surgical issues from Ukraine to hospitals in Europe and the USA; increase public awareness about the changing face of unmet medical needs in Ukraine; fundraising for HUG and NGO activities.
Nelya Melnitchouk MD, MSc, FACS

Nelya Melnitchouk MD, MSc, FACS

Colorectal Surgeon, BWH; Assistant Professor of Surgery, HMS; President and Founder, Global Medical Knowledge Alliance
Dr. Melnitchouk is the Program Director for Colorectal Surgery Fellowship at BWH. She is Ukrainian American and moved to United States when she was 18 years old. She co-founded nonprofit called Global Medical Knowledge Alliance (GMKA) with the aim to provide physicians and patients in Ukraine with open access to evidence based information on cancer care. When Russia invaded Ukraine GMKA was adapted to provide education on trauma care. Dr. Melnitchouk is supporting Ukraine through providing medical education for physicians and lay people on trauma and cancer care, the collection of medical supplies and raising awareness.
Serguei Melnitchouk, MD, MPH

Serguei Melnitchouk, MD, MPH

Cardiac Surgeon, MGH; Co-Director, Heart Valve Program; Assistant Professor of Surgery, HMS; Founder Global Medical Knowledge Alliance
Dr. Melnitchouk is a board-certified cardiothoracic surgeon at the Massachusetts General Hospital. He is Ukrainian American who obtained his medical school training in Germany and his surgical training in Boston and New York. Along with Nelya, he is co-founder of a non-profit, Global Medical Knowledge Alliance (GMKA), organization. Dr. Melnitchouk strongly supports all the efforts directed to help Ukraine’s healthcare needs. Besides distribution of the medical and surgical supplies via GMKA, Dr. Melnitchouk is involved in medical and surgical education on trauma care.
Jacqueline A. Hart, MD

Jacqueline A. Hart, MD

Director, Bassuk Center
Dr. Hart specializes in addressing medical and behavioral health issues to reduce health disparities for vulnerable populations, particularly women and children experiencing homelessness and housing instability. With more than 25 years’ experience in lifestyle, behavioral, and integrative medicine, she has designed and implemented multidisciplinary programs for hospitals, health care systems, and clinics. Dr. Hart teaches about social and behavioral determinants of health at a variety of academic institutions and organizations and has hundreds of publications for lay and professional audiences.
Nataliia Serbyn, PhD

Nataliia Serbyn, PhD

Postdoctoral Research Fellow; Dana Farber Cancer Center and Harvard Medical School
Dr. Serbyn grew up in Kyiv, Ukraine where she studied biology at the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy and the Taras Shevchenko National University. She continued her graduate education in Switzerland and recently moved to Boston for a postdoctoral research position. At DFCI and HMS, Dr. Serbyn explores the complexity of cancer genomes. Since the war began, Dr. Serbyn has engaged in several educational and fundraising projects to support Ukraine. Dr. Serbyn has tight personal connections to Ukraine. She is in touch daily with her friends, family, and the scientific community identifying the urgent need of people in Ukraine. She believes that every effort matters. Regardless of whether the help comes in the shape of a penny or timely delivered medicine, this could save a life.
Kimberly M. Hook, PhD

Kimberly M. Hook, PhD

Research Fellow, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Dept. of Epidemiology
Kimberly Hook is an applied clinical researcher and a licensed clinical psychologist. She completed her doctoral degree at Loyola University Chicago, as well as four years of postdoctoral training in global psychiatry at Boston University Medical Campus-Massachusetts General Hospital. Her work focuses on increasing access to evidence-based mental health and substance use treatments. She has closely collaborated with the Department of Psychology and Pedagogy at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy since 2018 and has worked more broadly in the Eastern European region for the past 15 years. With both strong personal and professional ties to Ukraine, and in recognition of the mental health effects caused by war, she is highly motivated to work alongside HUG to best support the people of Ukraine.
Dmitriy Dribinskiy

Dmitriy Dribinskiy

Founder of Autism Unity. After beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February of 2022
Autism Unity was started as a relief mission in response to the critical condition of Ukrainian families with children with autism. In April of 2022, with great support from the community, Autism Unity became a fully formed 501(C)(3). The main goal is to ensure that Ukrainian children with autism and their families have access to sufficient high quality therapeutic services and supports. Raised in former Soviet Union, Dmitriy attended high school in Kyiv, and his family is from Kharkiv, Ukraine.  He is also a father of a child with autism. With his own personal encounter with life’s circumstances and understanding the importance of supporting children with autism, it is his desire to take part and strive for a change.
Polina Teslyar, MD

Polina Teslyar, MD

Associate Psychiatrist, BWH; Instructor, HMS
Dr. Teslyar graduated from Tufts University School of Medicine followed by Psychiatry residency at University of Maryland/ Sheppard Pratt. Dr. Teslyar returned to the Boston area to complete her Consult-Liaison fellowship at BWH and now works at BWH in CL and perinatal psychiatry. Dr. Teslyar was born in L’viv Ukraine in the former Soviet Union and immigrated to the United States in childhood. She has family who live in L’viv and are deeply involved in the defense of their nation. Dr. Teslyar is a member of Temple Emmanuel.
Jarone Lee, MD, MPH

Jarone Lee, MD, MPH

Vice Chief, Critical Care, Trauma Emergency Surgery, Surgical Critical Care; Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School
Dr. Jarone Lee is dual trained in emergency medicine and critical care medicine and has been a disaster responder for over 10 years. Dr. Lee holds the rank of Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School and has over 150 research publications. In support of the humanitarian disaster-related to Ukraine, Dr. Lee is leading and supporting multiple telehealth-based projects through MGH Center for Global Health (CGH) and as a founder of a non-profit NGO called Health Tech Without Borders (HTWB).
Yana Pikman, MD

Yana Pikman, MD

Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School; Investigator, Hematological Malignancy Disease Center; Attending Physician, Pediatric Oncology; Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center
Dr. Pikman is a pediatric oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and leads research investigation in the field of pediatric leukemia with a focus on implementation of precision medicine and development of novel targeted therapy approaches for treatment of pediatric patients with leukemia. Dr. Pikman was born in Kharkiv, Ukraine (then part of the Soviet Union) and her family immigrated to the United States when she was a child. Growing up in the Russian-speaking immigrant community of Brooklyn, NY, and still with close family connections to Kharkiv and Ukraine, the war in Ukraine really hit home. Dr. Pikman has worked with her family to send supplies to Ukraine. She has been volunteering with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital as part of an effort to evacuate children with cancer out of Ukraine and establish their continued cancer care in Europe and beyond. She is happy to join the HUG group to continue broad efforts in supporting Ukraine.
Phoebe Lewit Olhava, M.D.

Phoebe Lewit Olhava, M.D.

Radiologist, BIDMC and Steward Medical Group.
Dr. Olhava earned her medical degree from Harvard Medical School and then continued her training in Radiology with a speciality in Breast Imaging. Early in March of 2022, she helped launch the Ukraine NGO Coordination Network, a network of non profit humanitarian organizations working to deliver humanitarian aid directly to the people of Ukraine.
Maria Houtchens, MD

Maria Houtchens, MD

Clinician, Clinical Director, Brigham Multiple Sclerosis Center, BWH; Assistant Professor, Neurology, HMS
Dr. Houtchens is a Moscow-born, ethnically Jewish neurologist at the BWH, who has been involved in procuring medical supplies and relief efforts shortly after the beginning of the Russian invasion in Ukraine. This work has thus far relied on individual efforts of specific providers. Dr. Houtchens has reached to BWH hospital leadership to streamline supplies’ acquisition (Bernard Jones, BWH). She is interested in organizing a larger fundraiser to involve community leaders, MGB providers and leadership and other relevant parties, to benefit Ukraine.
Allison Mitchell, MPH

Allison Mitchell, MPH

Research Project Manager, Vaccine and Immunotherapy Center, MGH Ms. Mitchell is a research project manager at the Vaccine and Immunotherapy Center at MGH. She earned her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Connecticut and went on to get her Masters of Public Health at Drexel University in Philadelphia. Within HUG, Allison helps to coordinate the Medical Scholars at Risk Program, funded by Harvard University, which brings Ukrainian physicians to Boston for a 1-3 month observership of a medical expert within the MGH/BWH hospital system.
Christina Duzyj Buniak, MD, MPH

Christina Duzyj Buniak, MD, MPH

Maternal-Fetal Medicine Specialist, MGH; Director, Maternal Fetal Medicine Fellowship Program
Dr. Buniak is a Ukrainian-American woman raised in the Detroit Ukrainian community. In the summer of 2002, she worked for the Children of Chernobyl Relief Fund in neonatal units across western Ukraine. This work prompted her interest in helping Ukrainian mothers who had delivered prematurely and led her to obtain a Public Health degree in global reproductive health and pursue a career in obstetrics. Dr. Buniak’s interest in joining the Heal Ukraine Group is in assisting the millions of displaced mothers from Ukraine who have enduring the bombing of maternity hospitals and delivered their babies in bomb shelters. Beyond this, as an American of Ukrainian descent, the current war in Ukraine has challenged her to seek a multi-faceted way to support Ukraine's victory through medical support, fundraising and raising awareness of the Ukrainian cause.
Gregory R. Ciottone, MD, FACEP, FFSEM

Gregory R. Ciottone, MD, FACEP, FFSEM

Dr. Ciottone is President Emeritus of the World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine, and an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at Harvard Medical School. He is an Instructor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (HSPH), and the Founding Director of the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Fellowship in Disaster Medicine. Dr. Ciottone also serves as the Director of Medical Preparedness for the National Preparedness Leadership Initiative at Harvard University, a joint program of the HSPH and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and sits on the faculty committee for the Harvard University Scholars at Risk program. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and the American College of Emergency Physicians.
Volodymyr Artyomenko, MD, PhD

Volodymyr Artyomenko, MD, PhD

Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Odessa National Medical University and Odessa Maternity Hospital. Co-founder in the Ukraine Department of Simulation Medicine and Educational-Innovation Centre for the Physicians’ Practical Training at Odessa National Medical University serving for several years as the Chairman and Director and until now as acting trainer for the residents and postgraduate OB/GYN specialists. Dr. Artyomenko’s focuses are Fetal pathology and placenta condition, preterm labor, PROM, PPROM, EPPROM, infections and their consequences, ultrasonography, endocrinological and oncological OB/GYN issues, Adolescent Gynecology, fertility preservation for malignant and benign conditions, gut and vaginal microbiome, polycystic ovary syndrome, menstrual disorders and endometrium problems, including teenagers, Simulation Medicine and Training in medical education, resulting as author, coauthor and reviewer of numerous books, chapters, articles, thesis, lectures, trainings, masterclasses etc.
Andriy Beznosenko, MD, PhD, MBA

Andriy Beznosenko, MD, PhD, MBA

Dr. Beznosenko is the Chief of the Division of Surgical Oncology of Abdominal Tumors at the National Cancer Institute;President of the Ukrainian Society of Clinical Oncology; Executive director and board member of the National Association of Ukrainian Oncology; National representative of the European Society of Coloproctology and Chief Expert of Oncology for the Ministry of Health of Ukraine.
Iryna Mykychak, MD, MPH

Iryna Mykychak, MD, MPH

Dr. Mykychak is an advisor of the Prime Minister of Ukraine and the Director for the Coordination of Government Authorities of the Mental Health Coordination Center of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. From April 2017 to December 2019, following an open competition, she was appointed Director of the Health Care Department of the Lviv Regional State Administration. She ensured the leading participation of medical institutions in the Lviv region in the reform of the medical sector of Ukraine. Dr. Mykychak is a co-founder and coordinator of several successful international projects that cooperated with the World Bank, WHO, the United States Agency for International Development, UNICEF, and other projects in the perinatal care reform field, family medicine, cancer prevention, and public health. She is also the founder of the unique regional education program “School of a successful medical manager”. Dr. Mykychak was awarded the honorary title of Honored Doctor of Ukraine by the President of Ukraine (2007), the Certificate of Honor of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine (2021), and the awards of the Minister of Defense of Ukraine (2022).
Oleh Berezyuk, MD

Oleh Berezyuk, MD

Dr. Berezyuk is a psychiatrist and psychotherapist, and the Director of psychological direction and psychosocial rehabilitation at Unbroken, First Medical Union Hospital Lviv. In addition, he is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at Lviv National Medical University. Dr. Berezyuk has prior experience working at the Lviv City Council, where he was the Head of the Mayor Administration Department from 2007 to 2012. Starting in September of 2012, he worked as the Director of the Department of Humanitarian Politics and acting Deputy Mayor of Lviv for Humanitarian Issues.
Vitalii Sokolov, MD

Vitalii Sokolov, MD

Dr. Sokolov is a thoracic surgeon and Head of the Infectious Diseases Department of Kyiv city clinical hospital.
Orest Suvalo, MD

Orest Suvalo, MD

Dr. Suvalo is a psychiatrist, CEO of the Institute of Mental Health at Ukrainian Catholic University, and coordinator of CBMHS development of the "Mental health for Ukraine" project. He took active part in developing Ukraine’s national mental health care strategy, which he presented together with other specialists this draft document to the Ministry of Health. After a civic discussion, it was finalized and is now called “The Concept of an Integrated State Program for Mental Health Care in Ukraine for the Period to 2030.”
Heal Ukraine Group