Internal Medicine Residency Program Leadership

Bertrand L. Jaber, MD, MS

Chair, Department of Medicine

Dr. Jaber is the Chair of Medicine and a board-certified internist and nephrologist. He serves as Chair of the Clinical Competency Committee, and Core Faculty for the Internal Medicine Residency Program. Dr. Jaber received his medical degree from St. Joseph University Faculty of Medicine, Beirut, Lebanon, and completed a residency in Internal Medicine at Carney Hospital, Boston, MA, followed by a clinical and research fellowship in nephrology at Tufts New England Medical Center, Boston, MA. He also holds a Master of Science in Clinical Research from the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Tufts University.

Dr. Jaber has had a longstanding commitment to medical education. Over the years, he has been the recipient of numerous teaching awards and citations from medical students and residents, including the St. Luke’s Award in recognition of his dedication and excellence to the education of residents. Dr. Jaber is a member of the Intern Selection Committee and participates extensively in lecture instructions and in hospital- and clinic-based teaching of residents. He also directs the Quality Improvement Curriculum of the residency program.

Dr. Jaber’s research interests and original accomplishments have covered several important areas within the field of nephrology, including biocompatibility of dialyzers, leukocyte dysfunction in uremia, novel dialysis therapies, and the utility of biomarkers in acute kidney injury. He has also made contributions to the field of evidence-based medicine through the conduct of meta-analyses on the prevention and treatment of kidney diseases. He has mentored and supervised scores of trainees through the conduct of quality improvement initiatives and research projects.

Since 2015, Dr. Jaber has been featured annually in the Top Doctors list of the Boston Magazine. Dr. Jaber is a Professor of Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine and an Adjunct Professor of Medicine at Boston University School of Medicine.

Claudia Nader, MD

Program Director

Dr. Nader is the Internal Medicine Residency Program Director and serves as Vice Chair for Educational Affairs in the Department of Medicine. She is board-certified in internal medicine and infectious disease. Dr. Nader received her medical degree from the Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon, and completed a residency in internal medicine at the Hospital of Saint Raphael, New Haven, CT, followed by a fellowship in infectious disease at Yale University, New Haven, CT. In 2012, she joined St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center as a faculty member of the Division of Infectious Diseases and was appointed as Assistant Director of the Internal Medicine Residency Program, and in 2015, became the Program Director.

Dr. Nader is a consummate clinician-educator and has an unwavering commitment to graduate medical education. Over the past 6 years, under her steady leadership, Dr. Nader has launched several initiatives to enhance the educational experience and well-being of medical residents, including the implementation of an Academic Enrichment Program, the creation of a Health & Wellness Program, and the establishment of a robust Quality Improvement Curriculum for the residency program. In addition to the launching of monthly medical jeopardy sessions with residents to reinforce key learning points provided by the Academic Enrichment Program, Dr. Nader coached a medical resident team to represent St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center annually at the American College of Physicians’ Massachusetts Chapter Doctor Dilemma competition. The St. Elizabeth’s team was the 2019 champion of the Doctor Dilemma state competition. Dr. Nader has a genuine interest in medical education and has been recognized through numerous teaching awards since her arrival at St. Elizabeth’s. As Program Director, Dr Nader is devoted to assisting each resident reach their full potential and career goals, and she strives to provide a supportive and nurturing environment for their professional and spiritual growth.

Dr. Nader maintains a busy outpatient clinical practice in infectious disease, focusing on the management of viral hepatitis and HIV, the prevention and management of STDs, and the care of the immunocompromised host. She enjoys her time teaching residents rotating on the infectious disease inpatient consult service and in the infectious disease clinic. Dr. Nader’s research focuses on medical education and infectious disease related topics. Dr. Nader is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine and an Adjunct Associate Professor of Medicine at Boston University School of Medicine. Outside work, Dr Nader enjoys spending time with family and friends, traveling and exploring different cuisines.

Sajid Y. Saraf, MD

Associate Program Director

Dr. Saraf joined St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in March 2020. He is board-certified in internal medicine and serves as Chief, Division of Hospital Medicine and Associate Director, Internal Medicine Residency Program, with a focus on the inpatient internal medicine service rotations. Dr. Saraf completed his MBBS degree from Army Medical College, Pakistan and a residency and fellowship training in Otolaryngology, and Head & Neck Surgery at College of Physicians and Surgeons, Pakistan. He practiced as an otolaryngologist before moving to the United States to complete a residency in Internal Medicine at Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island, Pawtucket, RI. Dr. Saraf previously served as Director, Internal Medicine Residency Program of the Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island, and as Associate Director, Internal Medicine Residency Program at Kent Hospital in Warwick, RI. During his tenure at both hospitals, Dr. Saraf also served as Site Director for the Medicine Clerkship for medical students from Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Dr. Saraf’s commitment to excellence in teaching has been recognized by several awards from the medical school and the residency programs.

His interests focus on enhancing the clinical learning environment for medical students and residents and providing high-quality, value based cost-effective care in the hospital settings. Dr. Saraf is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine & Boston University School of Medicine. In his free time, Dr. Saraf enjoys reading, gardening, and hiking.

Lisa Bajpayee, MD

Associate Program Director

Dr Bajpayee is a faculty member of the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine. She obtained her undergraduate degree at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA, followed by her medical degree at Marshall University School of Medicine in her home state of West Virginia. Following medical school, Dr Bajpayee moved to Boston to complete her Internal Medicine residency and Pulmonary/Critical Care fellowship at Boston University Medical Center. Dr Bajpayee worked at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center before moving to St Elizabeth Medical Center. She is board-certified in Internal Medicine, Pulmonary Disease, and Critical Care Medicine. She currently serves as the Associate Director for the Internal Medicine Residency Program and the Director of the Pulmonary/Critical Care Fellowship.

Dr Bajpayee is dedicated to medical education. She regularly leads PGY2 workshops, morning reports, and point-of-care ultrasound sessions. Additionally, she serves as a preceptor for residents and fellows in the pulmonary clinic. Her academic interests include improving medical education, developing a robust curriculum for becoming an effective Code Blue/Rapid Response Team Leader, facilitating transitions of care, and improving patient and trainee experiences in the ambulatory setting. Dr Bajpayee is the recipient of the 2024 Hospital Teaching Faculty Award in recognition of her commitment to hospital-based teaching and academic excellence.

Dr Bajpayee is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Medicine for Boston University. Outside of work, Dr Bajpayee enjoys spending time with friends and family, including her young daughter, exploring new restaurants, traveling, and photography.

Abbas S. Zaidi, MD, MS, Associate Program Director

Dr. Zaidi is a board-certified internist and a faculty member of the Division of Internal Medicine. He serves as Associate Director of the Internal Medicine Residency Program, with a focus on the ambulatory rotations and primary care continuity clinics. A graduate of the Rawalpindi Medical University in Punjab, Pakistan, Dr Zaidi, completed a residency in internal medicine at the Rawalpindi General Hospital in Punjab, Pakistan, followed by a Master of Science in Microbiology at Boston University. Subsequently, he completed a second residency in internal medicine at St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center where he served as chief medical resident.

Dr. Zaidi is a practicing internist and a consummate clinician educator. Dr. Zaidi champions several initiatives in the residency program. He directs the MKSAP review sessions for the ABIM internal medicine certification exam and the ambulatory care curriculum PEAC (Physician Education and Assessment Center) modules. He also oversees the residents’ longitudinal continuity experience to fulfill the Practice-based Learning and Improvement (PBLI) core competency, with the development and monitoring of resident performance on their patient panels with a focus on chronic disease management and preventive care. He is the recipient of numerous teaching awards, including the Ambulatory Teaching Faculty Award (2005-2020), Tufts University School of Medicine 3rd year clinical clerkship’s excellence in teaching citation and the prestigious St. Luke’s Award in recognition of his outstanding achievements in medical education.

Dr. Zaidi is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine. In his free time, he enjoys swimming and bicycling.

Mayssam El Najjar, MD

Chief Resident

Dr. Mayssam El Najjar, originally from Lebanon, earned her medical degree from American University of Beirut. She completed her residency at St. Elizabeth's Medical Center and is currently the chief medical resident for the 2024-2025 academic year. Mayssam plans is education with a fellowship in Endocrinology. In her free time, Mayssam enjoys working out, cooking, sitting in nature, as well as exploring new restaurants with her friends.

Juliano Alhaddad, MD

Chief Resident

Dr Juliano Alhaddad was born and raised in Beirut, Lebanon, where he obtained his medical degree from the Lebanese University. He completed his residency at St. Elizabeth's Medical Center where he is currently serving as one of the chief medical residents. His career goal is to become a clinical educator in the field of nephrology and transplant medicine. He enjoys basketball, running, reading and Mediterranean food.

Susan Lacroix

Program Coordinator

Susan Lacroix is the Internal Medicine Residency Program’s Coordinator, joining in June of 2020. She is a devoted wife, loving mother and grandmother whose passion for health care began at the age of 19, serving as a unit coordinator on a med/surg floor at Lawrence General Hospital for many years. Her career path veered down the Executive Assistant track in Boston at several health care institutions serving two prominent Chiefs of Cardiothoracic Surgery and a CFO along the way before being recruited into academic medicine in 2003. As the Cardiology Fellowship Coordinator at a prominent Boston Institution, she thrived for several years. An opportunity arose to join the team of the Edward P. Lawrence Center for Quality and Patient Safety at MGH in an Executive Assistant role and while not an academic medicine role, it was too good to pass up. Her passion for academic medicine however, never wavered, and so was thrilled to join a Partners research team studying the effects of webinar training to prepare for surgical residency and measuring its efficacy in achieving Joint Commission imperatives, resulting in a 2012 TJC publication. After many years of home caregiving a beloved family member, she was impassioned to return to metro Boston and academic medicine where she was elated to join the Anesthesiology/Critical Care Team as their Fellowships Coordinator for Pain Medicine and Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology in 2019 before being recruited into Internal Medicine during the peak of the pandemic.

Susan is an avid knitter and crocheter in her spare time and enjoyed amateur and professional singing once upon a time.