Jonathan Teyan joined AMSNY in 2011 and currently serves as President and Chief Executive Officer. As Chief Operating Officer, he spearheaded the expansion of AMSNY’s biomedical research portfolio, including the development of the New York Fund for Innovation in Research and Scientific Talent (NYFIRST), which supports the recruitment and retention of global leaders in research to New York. Jonathan also led the launch of the New York State Coalition for Biomedical Research and AMSNY’s Biosciences Advisory Council, the latter of which has focused on expanding opportunities for people from groups historically underrepresented in science. As President of AMSNY’s sister organization, the New York State Academic Dental Centers, he led the development of the NYSADC Fellowship to Address Oral Health Disparities, which provides advanced training in special care dentistry. Jonathan has an MPA in public policy and management from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.

Jennifer Tassler joined AMSNY in 2016 and is currently the Vice President for Government Relations and Strategic Affairs. In this role, Jennifer oversees AMSNY’s government relations and diversity efforts. She monitors all state and federal legislation affecting AMSNY member schools and manages AMSNY’s Diversity in Medicine Programs, including the Diversity in Medicine Scholarship Program. Jennifer also works with staff to plan advocacy day activities in Albany and Washington, DC, and works with external lobbyists and is the liaison to the Government Relations Committee at AMSNY. Prior to joining AMSNY, Jennifer worked in the Office of Legislation at the Food and Drug Administration and spent several years at the American Psychiatric Association where she handled federal regulatory policy and congressional relations. Jennifer has a longstanding interest in science and medicine, graduating with a major in neuroscience from Pomona College in Claremont, CA, and then went on to law school at The Catholic University Columbus School of Law in Washington, DC, where she specialized in health law.

Brateil Badal oversees AMSNY’s diversity in medicine portfolio. Prior to her role as Vice President for DEI, she served as AMSNY’s Director of Diversity. Brateil has more than 10 years’ experience in the design, implementation and management of DEI programs and academic support services in higher education. She is an avid advocate for diversity in STEM and her passion is in science education, research, and diversity initiative development. As an undergraduate, she experienced first-hand the critical impact a diversity program can have on a student’s academic, career, and life success. Brateil graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a major in Molecular and Cell Biology and a minor in Education, and a master’s degree in Endocrinology. She earned her PhD in Cancer Biology in 2017 from the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Her doctoral work focused on gene expression profiling of human primary and metastatic melanoma. She has taught biology courses to undergraduate, graduate, and medical students at UC Berkeley, CUNY School of Medicine/The Sophie Davis Biomedical Education Program, and Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Brateil was selected as recipient of the 2017 Miki Rifkin Outstanding Service Award, an honor that distinguishes sustained and committed service to efforts in recruitment, outreach, and education.

Stella Lau joined AMSNY in January 2023 as the Senior Director of Finance and Administration. Stella’s role is to oversee all aspects of the organization’s financial and operations. Stella brings over two decades of experience in finance, operations, human resources, and academic administration. Before coming to AMSNY, Stella was the Director of Finance and Administration for the Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, School of Engineering and Applied Science at Columbia University. She has also worked at the Research Foundation at Mental Hygiene as an Administrative Director and at the Kew-Forest School as the Director of Finance. Stella graduated from Bernard Baruch College with a Bachelor in Business Administration (BBA) and earned her Master of Public Administration (MPA) at Columbia University School of Public Affairs. Stella resides in Forest Hills, New York. She is also a co-troop leader of a local Girl Scout troop.

Sudiksha Singh joined AMSNY in 2022 and currently serves as a Health Policy Analyst. In this role, she oversees the organization of the Science Forward Symposium for underrepresented researchers in the basic sciences and supports the policy and advocacy efforts for the special needs patient population in New York State. Prior to joining AMSNY, Sudiksha worked as a Strategy Associate for Advantage Care Physicians New York (ACPNY) where she oversaw projects researching the impacts of COVID-19 on patient care at 40 ACPNY clinics in New York City. Originally from the Greater Toronto Area, Sudiksha graduated with an Honours Specialization in Animal Behaviour and a minor in Political Science from the University of Western Ontario in 2020. Having taken on public health roles in Canada and India, Sudiksha further pursued her interest in health equity and global health governance, receiving a Master of Public Health with a Certificate in Health and Human Rights from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health in 2022.

Alyssa Alvarez assumed the position of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Program Manager at AMSNY in the spring of 2023 following her graduation from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. In this role, her primary responsibilities include orchestrating the development and execution of programs within AMSNY’s portfolio, including the Diversity in Medicine programs and the Diversity in Medicine Scholarship. Prior to Columbia, Alyssa obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Physiology with a minor in Chemistry from San Francisco State University before attending UC San Diego to pursue a Post-Baccalaureate in Pre-Medicine. During her time at UC San Diego, Alyssa worked as a research assistant in Orthopedic Surgery, where she studied the effects of cell and gene therapies in animal models. Her experience in pre-medicine and research served as a catalyst for her to decision to pursue a Master’s degree in Public Health, with the aim of addressing social determinants of health and health inequities.

Calissa McNeely joined AMSNY in July of 2023 and currently serves as Junior Chief of Staff. In this role, she oversees the Anatomical Donation Program, helps implement streamlining projects, and supports policy efforts. Calissa graduated from Manhattan College in the spring of 2023 with a degree in International Studies. While in college Calissa helped develop and implement DEI programs for the Manhattan College community. Her time as an intern at the Women and Gender Resource Center and her participation in advocacy efforts helped cement her interest in equitable access to education and healthcare.

Lawrence S. Chin, MD is the Dean of the College of Medicine and the Robert B. and Molly G. King Endowed Professor of Neurosurgery at the Alan and Marlene Norton College of Medicine at Upstate Medical University. He is a native of Michigan and received his BS and MD degrees from the University of Michigan followed by a neurosurgery residency at USC/LA County Hospital. He joined the University of Maryland in 1994 where he became Professor of Neurosurgery and was director of Neuro-Oncology and the Gamma Knife Center. In 2006, he became Chair of Neurosurgery at Boston University, and in 2011 was named Chair of Neurosurgery at Norton College of Medicine and the Neurosurgery Residency Program Director. Just prior to becoming Interim Dean he was Chair of the Governing Board of the Norton College of Medicine at Upstate Faculty Practice Plan. Dr. Chin specializes in brain tumor, skull base, and spine surgery. He  has published over 150 articles and book chapters.

Carmen Renee Green, MD is Dean of the City University of New York (CUNY) School of Medicine, the Bert Brodsky Chair, Medical Professor of Community Health and Social Medicine, and Professor in the Colin Powell School of Global and Civic Engagement. Green received her MD from Michigan State University College of Human Medicine (MSU CHM) and was elected to Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) National Honor Medical Society. She completed an Anesthesiology residency, subspecialty training in Ambulatory and Obstetrical Anesthesia, and a Pain Medicine fellowship at the University of Michigan Health System. Dr. Green was a tenured Professor of Anesthesiology, Obstetrics & Gynecology, and Health Management & Policy at the University of Michigan’s Schools of Medicine and Public Health. Dr. Green holds faculty appointments at the UM’s Institute for Social Research and Institute for Health Policy and Innovation, and is a faculty associate in the Program for Research on Black Americans. A pain medicine physician, she was a Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy fellow at the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) where she drafted the National Pain Care Policy Act. She is also an elected fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine, Gerontological Society of America, and Association of University Anesthesiologists. At the nexus of public health and healthcare quality, equity, and policy, her pioneering health services and policy research focuses on pain and the social determinants.  She authored of geminal and seminal papers poignantly revealing unequal treatment, disparities, variability in decision-making, and diminished healthcare quality; revealing suboptimal access to care across the life course for women, minorities, and low-income people.  Her federal and state board service includes NAM’s Healthcare Services Board, US Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Interagency Pain Research Coordinating Committee and HHS Oversight Committee for the National Pain Strategy (Disparities Co-Chair) as well as NIH’s Advisory Committee for the Eunice Shriver National Institute of Child and Human Development, Advisory Committee for Research on Women’s Health, and National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research as well as the American Cancer Society’s Council for Extramural Affairs.  Dr. Green has made invited presentations across the globe including US Congress and Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center (Italy). 

David L. Battinelli, MD is Dean and Betsey Cushing Whitney Professor of Medicine at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell and is Physician-in-Chief of the Northwell Health System. A founding member of the Zucker School of Medicine, he previously served as vice dean and earlier as the dean for medical education and chaired the committee charged with developing the new medical school’s curriculum. Dr. Battinelli joined Northwell in 2007, as the health system’s chief academic officer and senior vice president of academic affairs and then served as the health system’s chief medical officer. He also served as the Chief Operating Officer of the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research. Dr. Battinelli earned his degree from Rutgers School of Biomedical and Health Sciences along with a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Scranton. A board-certified internist, Dr. Battinelli came to Northwell Health from Boston Medical Center (BMC), where he served as vice chair for education, program director for the internal medicine residency program, and professor of medicine at Boston University School of Medicine. He was also an active staff physician at BMC and the Boston Veterans Administration. Dr. Battinelli is a past president of the Association of Program Directors in Internal Medicine. He has worked closely with and served on numerous committees for a variety of national medical organizations including the Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine, American Board of Internal Medicine, American College of Physicians and the Accreditation Committee on Graduate Medical Education. He has lectured extensively on clinical education, faculty development of teaching skills and internal medicine, and is a noted speaker and author on these subjects.

Katrina Armstrong, MD, leads Columbia University’s medical campus as the Chief Executive Officer of CUIMC, which includes the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons (VP&S), the School of Nursing, the College of Dental Medicine, and the Mailman School of Public Health. She also is Executive Vice President for Health and Biomedical Sciences for Columbia University and Dean of the Faculties of Health Sciences and the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. As VP&S dean, Dr. Armstrong leads the nation’s second oldest medical school and the first to award an MD degree. Trained as an epidemiologist, she is an internationally recognized investigator in health disparities, quality of care, and cancer prevention and outcomes, an award-winning teacher, and a practicing general internist. She has served on multiple advisory panels for academic and federal organizations and has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Association of American Physicians, and the American Society for Clinical Investigation. Before joining Columbia, Dr. Armstrong was the Jackson Professor of Clinical Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Chair of the Department of Medicine and Physician-in-Chief of Massachusetts General Hospital, and Professor of Epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Before joining Harvard, she was Chief of the Division of General Internal Medicine, Associate Director of the Abramson Cancer Center, and Co-Director of the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program at the University of Pennsylvania. She is a graduate of Yale University (BA degree in architecture), Johns Hopkins (MD degree), and the University of Pennsylvania (MS degree in clinical epidemiology). She completed her residency training in internal medicine at Johns Hopkins.

Gladys M. Ayala, MD, MPH, is the Dean and Chief Academic Officer at NYU Long Island School of Medicine. Dr. Ayala became dean of the medical school on January 3, 2023, taking over from its founding dean, Dr. Steven P. Shelov. Dr. Ayala joined what was then a newly established medical school in 2018, overseeing its curriculum development, admissions and diversity initiatives. The undergraduate education platform emphasizes primary care, population health, and health systems sciences in an accelerated three-year M.D. degree-granting program and provides directed pathways into the school’s residency programs in the primary care fields of internal medicine, pediatrics and obstetrics & gynecology. Dr. Ayala initially served as the school’s senior associate dean for medical education and in 2020 assumed the role of vice dean. In her time at NYU Long Island School of Medicine, she led the school’s provisional and full LCME- accreditation processes, as well as the school’s recent strategic planning process that focuses on advancing medical education through innovation, developing a diverse workforce and addressing disparities in the access to high-quality health care. Dr. Ayala brings to her role as dean over twenty-five years of leadership experiences in the areas academic affairs, accreditation, diversity, education, and student affairs and is passionate about building and teaching in diverse and collaborative learning, working and patient care environments. She is a primary care general internist by training and a professor of medicine. She has worked with, and trained countless medical students and residents in the principles of primary care, clinical skills development, and teaching cultural competency and humility in the delivery of patient care.

Alan S. Boulos, MD ’94, is the Dean of the College of Medicine, chair of the Department of Neurosurgery, co-director of the Neurosciences Institute, and Professor of Neurosurgery and Radiology. He specializes in the surgical and endovascular management of cerebrovascular disorders of the brain and spine. His expertise includes skull-base surgery for brain tumors, such as meningiomas and acoustic neuromas. Dr. Boulos received his medical degree from Albany Medical College. He completed his neurosurgery residency at Albany Medical Center Hospital and then completed a fellowship in neuroendovascular surgery at Millard Filmore Hospital in Buffalo, New York. During his education and training, he received numerous awards and distinctions from medical school and national neurosurgical societies, authored numerous publications and is the recipient of a prestigious grant from the American Health Association to examine medications that protect the brain from stroke.  Dr. Boulos holds membership in the American College of Surgeons, The American Heart Association, The American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS), the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS), the Cerebrovascular Section of the AANS and CNS and the Society of Neurointerventional Surgery.

Dr. Allison Brashear, MD, MBA, a renowned neurologist and researcher, is a trailblazer reshaping academic medicine at the University at Buffalo. Appointed vice president for health sciences at UB and dean of the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences in 2021, Brashear brings her expertise and commitment to excellence to every facet of health care education and research. As vice president and dean, her strategic vision transcends campus boundaries. She fosters collaboration between UB’s health schools and affiliates, driving innovation and shaping the future of health care locally and nationally. Leading with expertise and a commitment to inclusivity, she seamlessly integrates education, research, and clinical programs across the university’s schools of health sciences — the Jacobs School, dental medicine, nursing, pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences, public health and health professions — as well as programs among our hospital and clinical affiliates. As a key member of UB’s senior leadership team, Brashear plays a crucial role in shaping the university’s future. Her strategic thinking and collaborative spirit contribute to UB’s mission of academic excellence, driving innovation in education, research, and community engagement. A passionate advocate for diversity, she recognizes the strength in inclusivity, she spearheaded a national leadership program in neurology specifically for women, paving the way for a more equitable future in health care. Her dedication to advancing health care is evident in her roles as a trustee of the McKnight Brain Research Foundation and vice chair of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. Additionally, her election to the Association of American Medical Colleges Council of Deans Administrative Board allows her to shape national strategies for medical education, research, and workforce development.

F. Charles Brunicardi, M.D. FACS, the Medical College of Ohio (MCO) Alumni Endowed Professor and Chair of the Department of Surgery at the University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences was named as Senior Vice President, Dean of the College of Medicine and Professor of Surgery in 2019 at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University. Dr. Brunicardi joined the University of Toledo in 2016 as Chair of Surgery and Academic Chief of Surgery for the ProMedica Health System. Additionally, he has served as Director of the UTMC Cancer Program from 2017-2019 and was named the John Howard Endowed Professor of Pancreatic Cancer Research in 2018. From 2018-2019, he served as a medical director of the Ebeid Social Determinants of Health Institute at ProMedica and the Department of Cancer Biology Interim Chair from 2018-19, as well as the Department of Cancer Biology Professor in 2018. Dr. Brunicardi brings more than three decades of experience in academic medicine and patient care, serving on the faculty at three medical schools and as Chair of two departments of Surgery and Vice-Chair of another. Dr. Brunicardi earned his undergraduate degree in Chemistry with Honors at the Johns Hopkins University and his medical degree at Rutgers University School of Medicine. Before joining the University of Toledo, Dr. Brunicardi was the Jerry Moss Professor of Personalized Gastrointestinal Surgery and Vice-Chair of Surgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. His other notable past appointments include serving as the DeBakey-Bard Professor and Chair of the Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery for 12 years, George Jordan Professor and the Founding Chief of the Division of General Surgery, Founder and Director of Elkins Pancreas Center at the Baylor College of Medicine, and as Chief of Surgical Services, Methodist Hospital, Houston, Texas. Dr. Brunicardi has 320 publications and 10 patents and has been the Editor-in-Chief of Schwartz’s Principles of Surgery Textbook since 2000.

Dr. Butts is currently Executive Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, Mount Sinai Health System and Dean for Multicultural and Community Affairs, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. He is a visionary leader with over 25 years’ experience in designing, developing, implementing and managing DEI programs and strategies in executive level academic healthcare. Dr. Butts has overseen the development of one of the nation’s (if not world’s) most comprehensive, full thickness and impactful DEI programs for an academic health care system. In these roles, Dr. Butts is responsible for oversight, management and integration of all aspects of diversity and equity programs and policies for the Mount Sinai Health System, including the medical and graduate schools (over 3,800 faculty and 650 students), graduate medical education (nearly 3,000 trainees) and the Mount Sinai Health System hospitals (42,000+ employees). In 2019, as Principle Founder, he co founded the Diversity Innovation Hub (DIH): A Mount Sinai Venture. A first for a health care system, the DIH intentionally intersects priorities of diversity and inclusion with innovation and technology, addressing the lack of inclusion of women and people of color in the health innovation and technology space by expanding the diversity and capacity of entrepreneurs with tech and innovation pathways targeting high school, college and medical students and resident trainees. In 2020, Dr. Butts chaired the MSHS Task Force to Address Racism across the health system and is a key lead implementing its strategies. Under his tenure, the medical school and health system have been recognized annually by Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED), the Human Rights Campaign for LGBTQ inclusion and quality care and by DiversityInc for the Top 10 Hospitals and Health Systems for 4 consecutive years, achieving #1 ranking in 2017 and 2018. In addition, MSHS has achieved status as Forbes Top 20 employers for Diversity in the nation in 2018 and 2019 and the Diversity Innovation Hub was awarded the Rock Health Diversity Innovations award in 2020. Dr. Butts has been the leading senior representative and voice for diversity deans and leaders in New York State through Associated Medical Schools of New York as Chair for the Committee on Diversity and Multicultural Affairs since 2006 and has mentored dozens of leaders in D&I for medical schools and health systems. Dr. Butts completed his training in pediatrics at Mount Sinai Hospital after graduating from Cornell Medical College. He holds joint appointments as Professor with tenure in the Departments of Pediatrics, Medical Education, and Environmental Medicine/Public Health.

Dennis S. Charney, MD, is a preeminent expert in neurobiology who has made fundamental contributions to the understanding of human anxiety, fear, depression, and resilience. He has played a key role in the discovery of new treatments for mood and anxiety disorders, and remains a continual champion of rigorous, translational scientific efforts to improve patient care. Dr. Charney is Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and President for Academic Affairs for the Mount Sinai Health System. By recruiting exceptional faculty across the biomedical sciences, as well as in computational biology, genetics, artificial intelligence, information technology, and entrepreneurship, Dr. Charney has cultivated a supercharged, Silicon Valley-style atmosphere at Icahn Mount Sinai. Under his leadership, the School has emerged as a global leader in medical education. Dr. Charney’s commitment to hiring faculty who are innovative and ambitious researchers—as well as dedicated educators—is reflected by the fact that Icahn Mount Sinai is consistently among the nation’s top recipients of National Institute of Health funding. Early in his tenure as Dean, Dr. Charney unveiled a strategic plan that laid the foundation for the dozens of research institutes that Mount Sinai is known for today. Within and across these hubs of scientific and clinical enterprise, renowned scientists and physicians facilitate the development of effective treatments for the most serious medical conditions. By welcoming students into these institutes to work and study with such faculty, Icahn Mount Sinai prepares future researchers and clinicians to continually challenge the limits of science and medicine. This strategic plan is updated every year. Most recently, there have been major investments in genetics, including the Mount Sinai Million project, Immunology, including the establishment of a new department of Immunology and Artificial Intelligence (AI), including the establishment of the first department of AI and Human Health. Dr. Charney is considered one of the most innovative researchers in psychiatry. His research with colleagues at Yale, the National Institute of Mental Health, and Mount Sinai has led to more rapid treatments for treatment resistant depression (lithium augmentation; ketamine), Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (Ketamine), Rapid treatment for opioid withdrawal (clonidine and naloxone), rapid treatment of panic disorder (clonazepam and sertraline), and the first digital treatment for depression (emotional face memory task). His research on resilience has led to approaches to enhance human resilience to stress and trauma. The work demonstrating that ketamine is a rapidly acting antidepressant has been hailed as one of the most exciting developments in antidepressant therapy in more than half a century. A prolific author, Dr. Charney has written or co-authored more than 800 publications, including groundbreaking scientific papers, chapters, and books. His studies on human resilience, which identified ten key resilience factors for building the strength to bounce back from stress and trauma, are summarized in the celebrated Resilience: The Science of Mastering Life’s Greatest Challenges (3rd ed.). Co-authored with Steven Southwick and Jonathan DePierro, the newest edition was published by Cambridge University Press, September 2023.

Dr. Robert A. Harrington is a cardiologist and serves as the Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean of Weill Cornell Medicine and Provost for Medical Affairs of Cornell University. His research areas of focus include evaluating antithrombotic therapies to treat acute ischemic heart disease and to minimize the acute complications of percutaneous coronary procedures and trying to better understand and improve upon the methodology of clinical research, including the use of technologies to facilitate the conduct of clinical trials. A previous American Heart Association (AHA) president, Dr. Harrington remains a member of AHA’s Board of Directors. He is also an elected member of the Association of American Physicians, the Association of University Cardiologists, and the National Academy of Medicine / Institute of Medicine. In addition, he has served as a chair and member of the US Food and Drug Administration Cardiovascular and Renal Drugs Advisory Committee. Among his numerous awards and recognition, Dr. Harrington was named a Master of the American College of Cardiology in 2016, was awarded the AHA’s Clinical Research Prize in 2017, and earned the AHA Council on Clinical Cardiology (CLCD) Distinguished Achievement Award in 2022. In 2022, he was awarded the Stokes Medal, and in 2023, Honorary Fellowship in the Irish Cardiac Society.

Peter Igarashi, MD, is a Professor of Medicine and Knapp Dean of the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University. Born in Los Angeles, California, Dr. Igarashi earned his BS in Biomedical Sciences from the University of California, Riverside, and his MD from the UCLA School of Medicine. Upon completing his Internal Medicine Residency at the University of California Davis Medical Center, Dr. Igarashi completed his Nephrology Fellowship at Yale University School of Medicine, where he also began his career in academic medicine as a member of the university faculty from 1987 until 1999. In 1999, Dr. Igarashi was recruited to the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, as Professor of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics and Chief of the Division of Nephrology. While there, he held the Robert Tucker Hayes Distinguished Chair in Nephrology, in Honor of Dr. Floyd C. Rector, Jr., and became the founding director of UT Southwestern’s O’Brien Kidney Research Core Center. In 2014, Dr. Igarashi joined the University of Minnesota Medical School, where he served as Nesbitt Chair, Professor, and Head of the Department of Medicine before coming to Stony Brook University in September 2022 and assuming his position as Dean of the Renaissance School of Medicine. A nationally recognized nephrologist and an active NIH-funded physician-scientist with research interests in polycystic kidney disease (PKD), Dr. Igarashi is the recipient of more than $25 million in NIH grant support. He has published more than 130 articles and chapters, and he has served on numerous editorial and scientific advisory boards and study sections. In addition to being elected to the American Society for Clinical Investigation and the Association of American Physicians, Dr. Igarashi is the recipient of an Established Investigator Award from the American Heart Association, an NIH MERIT Award, and the Lillian Jean Kaplan International Prize for Advancement in the Understanding of Polycystic Kidney Disease, the highest honor for PKD research.

Dr. Linehan is CEO of the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC), dean of the School of Medicine and Dentistry (SMD), and senior vice president for Health Sciences at the University of Rochester. Before that, he chaired URMC’s Department of Surgery for 10 years. A surgical oncologist and an accomplished researcher, Dr. Linehan is recognized for bringing new therapies to patients with difficult-to-treat cancers, and for his compassionate approach to care. He is also internationally renowned for his research into new immunotherapy treatments for pancreatic cancer; his laboratory has been continuously funded by the National Cancer Institute for nearly two decades. He specializes in treating cancers and benign surgical conditions of the liver, pancreas, gallbladder, and bile ducts.

Dr. Linehan attended Dartmouth College, graduated from the University of Massachusetts Medical School, then completed his internship and residency at Deaconess-Harvard Surgical Service. He was a research fellow at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Kristin Ann Carr Fellow in Surgical Oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. He went on to become a professor of Surgery at Washington University and chief of Hepatobiliary, Pancreatic and Gastrointestinal Surgery.

New York Medical College (NYMC) appoints its very own Neil W. Schluger, M.D., Barbara and William Rosenthal Chair of the Department of Medicine and professor of medicine, as the dean of the School of Medicine (SOM). The search comes to an end as the faculty/student search committee spent eight months interviewing prospective candidates from across the country to succeed Jerry L. Nadler, M.D., who stepped down as dean in January 2023 following the death of his beloved wife and supporter of the SOM, Mary Latona Nadler. Dr. Schluger assumes his new duties on August 15. Recently recognized by Crain’s New York Business as a 2023 Notable Health Care Leader for his exceptional work and dedication to health care, Dr. Schluger is an international renowned pulmonologist. His leadership on the NYMC campus and at Westchester Medical Center, as the director of medicine, began in 2020. He distinguished himself as a clinician, researcher and educator, leading a department of more than 425 faculty members and teaching more than 800 medical students and residents. In 2021, he took on the additional role of associate dean for clinical and translational research for the SOM. Dr. Schluger’s influence expands well beyond the U.S., as he is a founder of the East Africa Training Initiative (EATI) in Pulmonary Medicine. The two-year fellowship training program in pulmonary and critical care medicine, which marked its tenth anniversary in 2023, is the first training program of its kind in Ethiopia and the broader East African region. Before the launch of EATI, Ethiopia had only one pulmonologist for its 110 million people. Thus far, the initiative graduated 18 specialists, including two pediatric pulmonologists and two physicians from Rwanda and Tanzania, who have assumed leadership roles at hospitals across East Africa. He has been a principal investigator in the Tuberculosis Trials Consortium, an international collaboration sponsored by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for 25 years and was the chair of the consortium from 2000-2016. Dr. Schluger has been an author or editor of several editions of the Tobacco Atlas, the definitive work describing the extent and consequences of the global epidemic of tobacco use, published by Vital Strategies and the American Cancer Society. Dr. Schluger also serves as a member of the board of trustees at Vital Strategies, a global not-for-profit organization devoted to public health issues.

Dr. Steier is the Executive Dean and a Professor of Medicine at the Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine Campuses in Middletown and New York City. He is Board Certified in Internal, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine. He formerly served as Associate Dean and Chair of the Department of Medicine at the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences, as well as a Clinical Assistant Dean at the New York College of Osteopathic Medicine. He holds master’s degrees in business administration, public health, geriatric health, and health administration. Dr. Steier is an accreditation surveyor for the American Osteopathic Association (AOA), a grant reviewer for the Health Resources Services Administration and a consultant for the Food and Drug Administration. He received a bachelor of science in biology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, and his doctor of osteopathic medicine degree from the New York College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Jonathan Teyan joined AMSNY in 2011 and currently serves as President and Chief Executive Officer. As Chief Operating Officer, he spearheaded the expansion of AMSNY’s biomedical research portfolio, including the development of the New York Fund for Innovation in Research and Scientific Talent (NYFIRST), which supports the recruitment and retention of global leaders in research to New York. Jonathan also led the launch of the New York State Coalition for Biomedical Research and AMSNY’s Biosciences Advisory Council, the latter of which has focused on expanding opportunities for people from groups historically underrepresented in science. As President of AMSNY’s sister organization, the New York State Academic Dental Centers, he led the development of the NYSADC Fellowship to Address Oral Health Disparities, which provides advanced training in special care dentistry. Jonathan has an MPA in public policy and management from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.

Dr. Tomer was appointed as the Marilyn and Stanley M. Katz Dean of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in October 2023. Dr. Tomer received his M.D. degree from the Sackler School of Medicine. He is a board-certified endocrinologist, and previously served as Chief of Endocrinology at Mount Sinai. Dr. Tomer joined Montefiore Einstein in 2016 as Chair of the Department of medicine. Dr. Tomer has an active research lab studying the immunogenetic, epigenetic, and environmental mechanisms causing thyroid autoimmunity, and type 1 diabetes. His lab made several important discoveries including: discovery that CD40 is a major gene for autoimmune thyroid disease; identification of an HLA-DR amino acid signature that is associated with both autoimmune diabetes and thyroiditis; and more recently discovery of a compound that can block antigen presentation and prevent autoimmune thyroiditis in mouse models. Dr. Tomer published over 200 manuscripts and book chapters; he is frequently invited nationally and internationally to give lectures about his research; and he served on the editorial boards of several journals. Dr. Tomer is a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation and a Fellow of the American College of Physicians. He is the recipient of several awards recognizing his research accomplishments. Most recently, the American Thyroid Association presented Dr. Tomer with the 2023 Sidney H. Ingbar Distinguished Lectureship Award in recognition of his major contributions to thyroid-related research over many years.

Nicole Wadsworth is the dean of New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine (NYITCOM). Previously, she served as site dean for NYITCOM on the Long Island campus, and prior to that as senior associate dean at NYITCOM. Before arriving at NYITCOM in 2018, she served as associate dean of academic affairs at Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine. While there for 17 years, she served in various faculty and administrative roles. Wadsworth’s educational interests include board preparation of medical students who struggle with academic success; interprofessional education; simulation in medical education; and curriculum development. Wadsworth was the administrative lead of the Pathways to Health and Wellness Curriculum at the Heritage College, leading faculty teams in review and revision of the current curriculum. She previously presented to the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine on the topic of multicultural medical school curricula; to the Committee on College Accreditation Training on standard six; and to the Committee on College Accreditation Training on the issue of “Compliance: Meeting and Exceeding the Standards.” She currently serves on the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM) Ethics and Professionalism Task Force and works with the National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners (NBOME) in developing cases for the Level 3 COMLEX-USA exam. Wadsworth is a 1997 graduate of the Heritage College and completed her training in emergency medicine at South Pointe Hospital in Warrensville Heights, Ohio, serving as chief resident there in 2001. She was involved in clinical medicine at several hospitals in the southeastern region of Ohio. She has been awarded Outstanding Clinical Science Faculty, Heritage College Standard of Excellence, and Outstanding Mentor from Heritage College student classes.