Governor Kathy Hochul and the NYS Department of Health recently announced that the state has doubled its investment – committing more than $2.4 million – in diversity programs managed by the Associated Medical Schools of New York to help bring more traditionally unrepresented students to the physician workforce. Funded in part through the state Department of Health, these programs are designed to encourage students from backgrounds traditionally underrepresented in medicine – including those who are Black, Hispanic/Latino, Pacific Islander, or Native American – to get accepted into and complete medical school in New York. Learn more.

 

NYU Long Island School of Medicine has announced that Steven P. Shelov, MD, dean and professor in the Department of Pediatrics, is retiring on January 2, 2023. Dr. Shelov became founding dean of NYU Long Island School of Medicine in 2017. After the merging of Winthrop University Hospital and NYU Langone, Dr. Shelov took on the challenge of creating a new, independent medical school under the oversight of NYU and NYU Langone leadership, focused on the training of primary care physicians. Learn more.

 

Mark B. Taubman, M.D., URMC CEO and Dean of the School of Medicine and Dentistry, has decided not to seek reappointment upon completion of his terms as CEO and Dean. The 72-year-old URMC leader will hand over the reins on December 31, 2023 or later if a successor has not been identified, as announced by University of Rochester President Sarah Mangelsdorf at the Board of Trustees meeting. Learn more.

 

Fifteen college students who participated in a 10-week research program may each have had different interests—for example, cardiology, immunology, microbiology, neuroscience, oncology, or psychiatry. But as a group, they had one fundamental, unifying distinction. They were rising college juniors and seniors from racial or ethnic backgrounds underrepresented in biomedical science, and together, on the campus of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, they had an unparalleled opportunity to enhance their research skills and set a course for future careers. Learn more.

 

First-year Einstein medical student Riya Thomas is just a few years behind her older brother, Rony Thomas, M.D. ’21, soon to begin his residency in interventional radiology at Montefiore—but her Einstein learning experience already has been vastly different. That’s because Ms. Thomas and the other members of the Class of 2025 are the first students to be taking part in a curriculum that is in the midst of a transformation at Einstein, brought about by a rapidly evolving world of medicine. Learn more.

 

The 25th anniversary of the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences’ Research Day — A Celebration of Scholarship — honored residents, fellows and medical students for their research. “This day truly demonstrates the diverse scholarly activity of our residents, fellows and medical students at the Jacobs School,” said Allison Brashear, MD, MBA, UB’s vice president for health sciences and dean of the Jacobs School. “This annual event is the foundation from which these individuals will grow. It provides exposure to scientific inquiry and sparks curiosity for specific subjects.” Learn more.

 

The first year of medical school is probably one of the toughest challenges for any young person. For three incoming students at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, maybe not. Three members of the United States military whose careers propelled them in different ways toward medicine have joined Icahn Mount Sinai through the school’s Institutional Partnership with the U.S. Military. Learn more.

 

Several Upstate Medical University students have taken the initiative to help bridge the gap between medicine and industry. The “Upstate Innovation and Entrepreneurship Group” was created by Avishek Sanjel Chhetri, Allen Luo, Shervin Razavi, and Jack Sedaka to help students enhance their knowledge of business-related ventures in medicine. All are second-year medical students, except for Razavi who is an MD/PhD student. Learn more.

 

Freshmen and transfer students in the undergraduate biomedical education program completed a series of “Amazing Race” style tasks in order to familiarize themselves with information and resources available to them on UB’s South Campus. About 250 students participated in the second annual Undergraduate Academic Spotlight Day Aug. 26 that allows them to meet one another and get a sense of what it feels like to be a Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences student. Learn more.

 

This past August, after a two-year hiatus, Project Medical Education (PME) returned to Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC). Hosted by the Office of Government & Community Affairs, PME invites local residents, community leaders, policy makers, and others to spend the day on campus and learn about the day-to-day activities at CUIMC. The Columbia PME is part of a national effort led by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) to educate elected officials and others about academic medicine. Learn more.

 

NYU Grossman School of Medicine welcomed its newest class of future physicians during the annual White Coat Ceremony on Thursday, September 29. The ceremony, which took place in the newly renovated Murphy Auditorium in Manhattan, is a rite of passage for first-year medical students as they are “cloaked” in their first white coat. The ceremony signifies the beginning of their formal medical training. Learn more.

 

Dr. Gunisha Kaur, an assistant professor of anesthesiology at Weill Cornell Medicine and medical director of the Weill Cornell Center for Human Rights, has been selected as an Emerging Leaders in Health and Medicine (ELHM) Scholar by the National Academy of Medicine. Dr. Kaur, a respected human rights researcher, was one of 10 ELHM Scholars chosen this year. Established in 2016, the ELHM program annually selects early- and mid-career professionals with demonstrated leadership and professional achievement in biomedical science, population health, health care and related fields. Learn more.

 

Esther L. Sabban, Ph.D., professor of biochemistry and molecular biology and of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at New York Medical College (NYMC), has been appointed the Sidney E. Frank Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. The Sidney E. Frank Distinguished Professorship was established in 2005 with a $5 million endowment to support a variety of educational programs and research aimed at understanding what triggers certain forms of psychiatric illness, including medical conditions, depression and stress related to trauma, disaster or terrorism. Learn more.

 

Garfield Clunie, MD, a leading expert in health equity and maternal–fetal medicine, has joined NYU Langone Health as the first vice chair for diversity, equity, and inclusion and a clinical associate professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. Learn more.

 

New York Medical College has welcomed four new faculty members to the Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, who bring expertise in cardiovascular, cancer and cellular stress response research: Malik Bisserier, Ph.D., Julie DiMartino, Ph.D., Shuai Gao, and Jian Li, Ph.D. Learn more.

 

Dr. Lisa M. Auerbach, MD, MS, HPEd, who serves as the Associate Dean for Clinical Medical Education at the CUNY School of Medicine, was recently named a fellow by The Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Medicine (ELAM) Program for Women at Drexel University College of Medicine and for its new initiative, Executive Leadership in Health Care (ELH). According to ELAM, it “is the only longitudinal program in North America dedicated to preparing women for senior leadership roles in schools of medicine, dentistry, public health, and pharmacy. Learn more.

 

As part of the Biden Administration’s Cancer Moonshot initiative, First Lady Jill Biden and Queen Letizia of Spain, Honorary President of the Spanish Association Against Cancer, visited Columbia University Irving Medical Center to learn how the University’s cancer center serves patients in the local community, collaborates with international partners on cancer research, and is working to improve the diversity of cancer researchers. Learn more.

 

Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine Middletown held a “swabbing drive” to support the efforts of the Gift of Life Marrow Registry. With Hudson Valley volunteers from other colleges, special events and gyms throughout Orange and Ulster County, hundreds of potential donors have been added to the registry. The team is especially interested in donors of with genetic heritage underrepresented in the registry. These include Blacks, Latinos and Hispanics, Asian Americans and multi-racial individuals. Learn more.

 

On Friday, September 23, 2022, first-year medical students at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine tested their disaster response skills at Nassau County’s Fire Service Academy in Old Bethpage, NY. The future physicians were immersed in simulated mass-casualty events, including a terrorist bus bombing, train derailment, car crash, active shooter and chemical disaster. The all-day Mass Casualty Incident (MCI) training is the culmination of nine weeks of Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) training, which the students began on the first day of medical school. Learn more.

 

A long-running community health event to support medically underserved populations in Albany returned last month. And in keeping with tradition, Albany Medical College medical students were a highly recognizable fixture. More than 60 med students from the Family Medicine Interest Group (FMIG) volunteered on Sept. 10 at the 19th annual Community Block Party at the corner of Sheridan Avenue and S. Swan Street in Albany. Learn more.