Core Exercises

Mallika Marshall, MD, is an Emmy-award winning journalist and physician who serves as the regular Health Reporter at WBZ-TV in Boston. A practicing physician who is Board Certified in both internal medicine and pediatrics, Marshall serves on staff at Harvard Medical School and practices at the Massachusetts General Hospital's (MGH) Chelsea Urgent Care Clinic and MGH Revere Health Center. Marshall is currently a Contributing Editor for Harvard Health Publications, the publishing division of Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Marshall also has served as the host of Dr. Mallika Marshall, a series of health news reports that was nationally syndicated and aired in more than 70 markets, including major cities such as San Francisco, Atlanta, St. Louis, Cleveland, and Houston. A cum laude graduate of Harvard College, Marshall received her medical degree with honors at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine. She completed her medical residency at Harvard in internal medicine and pediatrics.

Dr. Lauren Elson is board-certified in sports medicine and physical medicine and rehabilitation, and works at the Harvard-affiliated Spaulding Rehabilitation Network in Boston. She attended Tufts University School of Medicine and did her residency at New York Presbyterian Hospital Columbia/Cornell. She then completed a fellowship in Sports Medicine at Stanford University.

Besides her experience with Division I athletes, Dr. Elson has covered multiple endurance races and marathons, including the Racing the Planet series in Chile and Egypt, the World’s Strongest Man Competition, and United Football League Games.

With more than 25 years of experience as a dancer with training in ballet, jazz, tap, hip-hop, African dance, modern, Pilates, and yoga, Dr. Elson understands the goals and challenges of the physically active population. She's interested in developing dance health and education programs in the Boston area as well as uniting the dance medicine community to provide dancers better access to specialized care.

Michele Stanten is Harvard Health Publishing's fitness expert. As former fitness director of Prevention magazine, she created a marathon walking program and coached thousands of readers to walk full and half marathons across the country. She also has created training programs for leading brands and organizations including Avon and the American Council on Exercise.

Stanten has walked countless distance events, including a three-day, 60-mile walk, full marathon, and many half-marathons. She's the author of Firm Up in 3 Weeks, Walk Off Weight, and Walk Your Way to Better Health. She's also co-author of Walk Your Butt Off! and her work has appeared in a wide range of publications, including Self, Shape, More, Real Simple, and Weight Watchers. Her media appearances include The Today Show, Good Morning America, The Biggest Loser, and NPR. She also has produced and appeared in more than a dozen exercise DVDs and created numerous audio workouts.

Stanten serves on the Board of Directors for the American Council on Exercise (ACE), the largest certification, education, and training organization in the world. She also has presented on the topic of walking at the American Council on Exercise Symposium and the American College of Sports Medicine’s Health & Fitness Summit.