Antoinette Schoenthaler, Ed.D, FAACH is an Associate Professor of Population Health at NYU School of Medicine. Her research focuses on examining the reasons for patients’ decision to adhere to prescribed treatment recommendations, with emphasis on interpersonal and psychosocial factors such as depression, self-efficacy, motivation and the patient-physician relationship. Dr. Schoenthaler has extensive experience in development and implementation of clinic and community-based interventions targeted at cardiovascular risk reduction in diverse settings such as faith-based organizations, senior centers, and primary care practices. Given her expertise, Dr. Schoenthaler is recognized as a Motivational Interviewing Trainer by the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers, Inc.

Danielle Ofri is associate professor of medicine at NYU and an internist at Bellevue Hospital. She’s editor-in-chief of the Bellevue Literary Review, and writes about doctor-patient connection for the New York Times. Her fifth book, “What Patients Say; What Doctors Hear,” will be published in February 2017.

Debra Roter is a University Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Health, Behavior and Society at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health with Joint Appointments in the Schools of Medicine, Nursing and the Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center. She has studied the nature and consequences of medical communication for the past four decades and is the author of the Roter Interaction Analysis System (RIAS), the most widely used system for coding medical interaction worldwide. She was recognized by the Web of Science in 2001 as among the most highly cited authors in the Social Sciences and has published over 250 peer reviewed articles.

Mary Catherine Beach, MD, MPH, is Professor of Medicine in the School of Medicine with a joint appointment in the Bloomberg of Public Health, at Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Beach is a core faculty member of the Berman Bioethics Institute and Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology, and Clinical Research. She conducts research on the theoretical foundations of respect and the impact of physician attitudes and communication on patients in the primary care setting, in the treatment of HIV and substance abuse, and in the treatment of sickle cell disease.

Leonor Fernandez, MD, is an educator and internist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Her work focuses on patient centered care and health equity. At OpenNotes she is studying the effect of sharing clinician notes with patients and exploring the effect on trust and engagement. Dr. Fernandez co-founded the Latino Clinic at Boston Medical Center, served as an Associate Firm Chief (Tullis) at BIDMC and currently directs Patient Engagement at Health Care Associates, the hospital’s principal primary care practice. She leads BIDMC Schwartz Rounds.

Kevin Fiscella MD, MPH is Deans Professor of Family Medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center. He is Associate Director of the Rochester Center for Communication and Disparities Research. Much of his research has focused on improving health equity through improved communication with underserved patients.