In her important roles as a clinician, teacher and researcher, Jo-Anne Shepard, MD, is making great strides in the areas of thoracic imaging and intervention.
As director of Thoracic Imaging and Intervention at Mass General, and professor of Radiology at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Shepard assumes responsibility for all clinical, teaching and research activities within the division. These include diagnostic examinations, thoracic interventions and subspecialty diagnostic consultations. In addition, Dr. Shepard provides imaging and consultation for critically ill patients on the transplant, oncology, burn, trauma, infectious disease and pulmonary services in addition to the general medical and surgical services.
Dr. Shepard teaches the art and science of radiology to Harvard Medical School students; medical, surgical and radiology interns; residents and fellows; and international visiting physicians. She is director of the Cardiothoracic Imaging Fellowship Program at Mass General and an examiner in Cardiothoracic Radiology for the American Board of Radiology. Since 2000 she has been associate editor in Radiology for the Case Records of Mass General, New England Journal of Medicine.
A focus of Dr. Shepard’s research has been the detection, diagnosis and management of pulmonary nodules. Dr. Shepard and her staff are strong proponents of an important test that can detect lung cancer. Using a low-dose CT scan, and taking only about 15 minutes, this procedure has the potential to identify lung cancer at an early stage when treatment is most beneficial. Recommended for current and former smokers, this is the only screening test for lung cancer that has been shown to decrease mortality.
