Dr. Michelle O'Donoghue, MD MPH
Not yet claimedCardiologist · Physician (MD)
Boston, MA
Dr. Michelle O'Donoghue is a board-certified cardiologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. She takes part in large heart medication trials and regularly explains new research to other doctors.
About Dr. Michelle O'Donoghue, MD MPH
Updated Sep 20, 2026 · next review Dec 19, 2026Dr. Michelle L. O'Donoghue is a cardiologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. She earned her MD at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, trained in internal medicine and cardiology at Massachusetts General Hospital, and holds an MPH from Harvard. Her hospital profile lists her as board certified in cardiovascular disease.
Much of her work is in clinical research. She is a Senior Investigator with the TIMI Study Group and holds the McGillycuddy-Logue Distinguished Chair in Cardiology, a position focused on women's cardiovascular health. Her stated research interests are acute coronary syndromes, women and heart disease, and blood biomarkers used to judge heart risk.
She served as Vice Chair of the writing committee for the 2025 ACC/AHA guideline on managing acute coronary syndromes, and she was the global principal investigator for the OCEAN(a)-DOSE phase 2 trial of olpasiran, a drug that lowers lipoprotein(a). She also writes and speaks for general audiences through a Medscape column, 'Heart to Heart with Dr Michelle O'Donoghue,' and a Harvard Health author page.
CMS Open Payments records show $80,257.83 in industry payments across 49 records from 2021 to 2025. Payments from drug and device companies are common and legal for physicians who run clinical trials and speak at medical meetings.
- Board certification
- Her Mass General Brigham profile lists her as board certified in cardiovascular disease. massgeneralbrigham.org
- Guideline authorship
- She was Vice Chair of the writing committee for the 2025 ACC/AHA/ACEP/NAEMSP/SCAI Guideline for the Management of Patients With Acute Coronary Syndromes. jacc.org
- Training background
- MD from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, internal medicine residency and cardiology fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital, and an MPH from Harvard. physiciandirectory.brighamandwomens.org
- Clinical trial leadership
- She was global principal investigator of the OCEAN(a)-DOSE phase 2 trial testing olpasiran, a drug that lowers lipoprotein(a), and first author of the trial's extension results in JACC in 2024. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Research group role
- She is listed as a Senior Investigator with the TIMI Study Group, a cardiovascular clinical trials group. timi.org
- Named academic chair
- She was the inaugural recipient, in 2022, of the McGillycuddy-Logue Distinguished Chair in women's cardiovascular health at Brigham and Women's Hospital. lpaforum.org
- Areas of focus
- Her Brigham profile lists acute coronary syndromes, women and heart disease, and biomarkers and risk stratification as her research areas. physiciandirectory.brighamandwomens.org
- Editorial work
- She was appointed to the thrombosis editorial team of the European Heart Journal. academic.oup.com
- Public education writing
- She authors the Medscape column 'Heart to Heart with Dr Michelle O'Donoghue' and has an author page at Harvard Health. health.harvard.edu
- Hospital affiliations
- Listed affiliations include Brigham and Women's Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. doximity.com
Worth knowing
- CMS Open Payments records list $80,257.83 in industry payments to her across 49 records from 2021 to 2025. The largest payers were Janssen Research & Development ($36,999.14) and Amgen ($27,858.71); Amgen makes olpasiran, the drug in the OCEAN(a)-DOSE trial she led. Such payments are common and legal, and are disclosed publicly. amgen.com
- Her X (Twitter) account exists but shows no posts, so there is little direct social media content from her; her video appearances are hosted on third-party channels such as Medscape rather than her own channel. x.com
Industry payments (CMS Open Payments)
Open the CMS recordFederal law requires drug and device companies to report what they pay clinicians: meals, travel, speaking, consulting, and research. Payments are common and legal; the point is that you can see them.
2021 to 2025
$80,258
49 payments
| 2021 | $10,261 |
| 2022 | $8,178 |
| 2023 | $18,347 |
| 2024 | $19,142 |
| 2025 | $24,330 |
Top payers
- Janssen Research & Development, LLC$36,999
- Amgen Inc.$27,859
- Eli Lilly and Company$6,800
- AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP$5,298
- AstraZeneca UK Limited$3,222
Payment types
- Consulting Fee$63,102
- Compensation for services other than consulting, including serving as faculty or as a speaker at a venue other than a continuing education program$15,100
- Travel and Lodging$1,366
- Food and Beverage$690
A word of caution about these numbers
A payment does not mean your doctor is compromised or acting unethically. Most of these entries are drug samples left for patients, or lunch brought in for the office staff, and the amounts are usually small. Research funding and speaking at medical meetings are also normal parts of a clinical career.
As a rough guide, a total under $15,000 a year is usually not a concern. Much larger sums, especially from one company whose product your doctor recommends to you, are worth asking about. You are allowed to ask.
Sources: physiciandirectory.brighamandwomens.org · massgeneralbrigham.org · timi.org · x.com · linkedin.com · medscape.com · health.harvard.edu · radcliffecardiology.com. Something wrong or out of date? Tell us and we will correct it.
Summary prepared with AI assistance from the public sources linked above, reviewed every three months. It is not a review, a rating, or an endorsement.
Practice location
Brigham and Women's Hospital
55 Fruit St
Boston, MA 02114
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