Vice Chairman, Educational Affairs

John N. Unterborn, MD

Current Appointments

• Vice Chairman for Educational Affairs, Department of Medicine
• Program Director, Internal Medicine Residency, Caritas St Elizabeth’s Medical Center
• Assistant Professor of Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine

Education and Training

• University of Maryland School of Medicine, 1989
• Internal Medicine Residency: Tufts-New England Medical Center, 1989 – 1992
• Chief Medical Resident: Tufts New England Medical Center, 1993-1994
• Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Fellowship: Tufts-New England Medical Center, 1992-1996

Awards and Honors

• AOA
• Tufts-New England Medical Center House staff Teaching Award
• Recognized as a Top Doctor in Pulmonary Medicine by Boston Magazine

Clinical and Research Interests

Dr. John Unterborn is currently the Vice Chairman for Educational Affairs in the Department of Medicine at Caritas St Elizabeth’s Medical Center and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine. His is also the Program Director for the Internal Medicine Residency and the Clerkship Director for both the third- and fourth-year medical students who rotate through the Medicine Service.

Dr. Unterborn graduated from the University of Maryland School of Medicine and completed his Internal Medicine Residency and Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellowship at Tufts-New England Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts. He also served as Chief Medical Resident at the same institution. He subsequently spent two years on the faculty at East Carolina University School of Medicine in the Pulmonary and Critical Care Division, and then returned to Tufts-New England Medical Center in 1998. During his nine-year tenure at Tufts-New England Medical Center, he became the Fellowship Program Director in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine.

At Tufts University School of Medicine, Dr. Unterborn has been a member of the curriculum committee for five years and has helped coordinate the medical school curriculum in Evidence Based Medicine. He also has served as leader for the Pulmonary Section of the Pathophysiology Course.

Dr. Unterborn’s main clinical interests include pulmonary physiology and lung infections as well as pulmonary complications from obesity and neuromuscular disease. He also cares for patients with airway disease (asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and bronchiectasis) and interstitial lung disease. He has conducted research and published in the areas of pulmonary physiology in obesity and in outcomes of community-acquired pneumonia and sepsis.

Recent Publications

1. Unterborn JN, “ Pulmonary Function Tests in Obesity, Pregnancy and other extremes of body habitus,” Clinics in Chest Medicine, 22(4): 759-767, Dec 2001
2. Bahhady IJ and Unterborn, JN, “What Pulmonary Function Tests Can and Cannot Tell You”, The Journal of Respiratory Diseases, 24(4):170-176, April 2003. Reprinted in Consultant, 43(7) 813-820, June 2003
3. Perrin C, Unterborn JN, Dambrosio C, Hill NS, “Pulmonary Complications of Chronic Neuromuscular Diseases and Their Management,” Muscle and Nerve, 29: 5-27, Jan 2004
4. Epstein SK, Freeman RB, Khayat A, Unterborn JN, Pratt DS, Kaplan MM. Aerobic capacity is associated with 100-day outcome after hepatic transplantation. Liver Transpl 2004;10:418-424
5. El-Gamal H, Khayat A, Shikora S and Unterborn JN, "Relationship of Dyspnea to Respiratory Drive and Pulmonary Function Tests (PFT’s) in Obese Patients Before and After Weight Loss," Chest 128: 3870 – 3874, Dec 2005
6. Fong JJ, Cecere K, Unterborn J, Garpestad E, Klee M and Devlin JW, “Factors Influencing Variability in Compliance Rates and Clinical Outcomes Among Three Different Sepsis Bundles,” Ann Pharmacother 41: June 2007

Contact Information

Phone: 617-562-7502
Fax: 617-562-7797
E-mail: john.unterborn@caritaschristi.org