Jacobs School of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences at University at Buffalo: Baizer Recognized With Teaching, Mentoring Award

Joan S. Baizer, PhD, professor of physiology and biophysics, has been named a recipient of a 2024-25 President Emeritus and Mrs. Meyerson Award for Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching and Mentoring at the University at Buffalo. The Meyerson Award was established through a generous gift from the late UB President Emeritus Martin Meyerson and his wife, Margy Ellen, to recognize exceptional teaching and mentoring at the university. It is the highest university award given specifically for undergraduate mentoring. Learn more.

Weill Cornell Medicine Wins Seventh Straight HEED Award for Diversity and Inclusion

Weill Cornell Medicine has been awarded the Health Professions Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award by INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, for the seventh consecutive year. The HEED award recognizes institutions that show an outstanding commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion across campus programs and constituencies. Weill Cornell Medicine will be featured in the November/December 2024 issue of the magazine. Learn more.

Diversity in Medicine

Zucker School of Medicine Students Awarded 2024 AMSNY Diversity in Medicine Scholarship

The Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell is proud to announce that Jordan Genece and John Alvarez, are recipients of the AMSNY Diversity in Medicine Scholarship. This one-year $45,000 award seeks to reduce financial barriers to attending medical school and to develop a diverse physician workforce who commit to practicing in underserved areas in New York State upon completion of their medical education. Learn more.

Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons: Bridging the Language Gap: Cultivating Spanish-Speaking Mental Health Practitioners

With 40 million people—13% of the U.S. population—speaking Spanish as their primary language, the demand for Spanish-speaking mental health practitioners has never been greater. Yet, a significant gap remains between those who need Spanish-language care and the number of professionals available to provide it. Learn more.

Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University: Black Men in White Coats Youth Summit Inspires the Next Generation of Healthcare Leaders

Although Black men represented 2.7 percent of physicians in 1940, that number decreased to 2.6 by 2018, despite the fact that Black Americans comprise 12 percent of the U.S. population. The organization Black Men In White Coats was founded in 2013 to address this disparity, with a goal to increase the number of black men in the field of medicine by exposure, inspiration and mentoring. Learn more.

New York Medical College Students Inspire Youth During Black Men in White Coats Summit

New York Medical College medical students and faculty made a great showing during the annual Black Men in White Coats Youth Summit, which took place on November 16. The Summit, hosted by White Plains Hospital and held in partnership with the national organization Black Men in White Coats brings health care professionals together to inspire the next generation of diverse health care professionals through mentorship, networking, and interactive hands-on activities. Learn more.

Touro College Of Osteopathic Medicine Student Wins Scholarship Honoring Black And Hispanic/Latinx Students

Gloria Okafor, M.S. is determined to serve the underserved, as she prepares to provide culturally Sensitive Care. Gloria Okafor, M.S., OMS-II at TouroCOM Middletown, graduated from U.C.L.A. with a B.S. in Biology. She hails from the rural and medically underserved town of Taft, California, which at one time was a sundown town. Recently Okafor was awarded the “Rebecca Lee Crumpler, M.D. Scholarship” from the Association of Black Women Physicians (ABWP). Learn more.

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai to Offer Joint PhD Program in Health Sciences Engineering

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai will offer a joint PhD program in health sciences engineering beginning in the fall semester of 2025. RPI is a world-renowned technological research university known for its engineering, technology, and science programs. Icahn Mount Sinai is the academic arm of the Mount Sinai Health System, which includes eight hospitals and a vast network of ambulatory practices throughout the greater New York City region. Learn more.

Zucker School of Medicine Students Team Up with Law School Students for National Mock Trial Competition

Students from the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell served as expert medical witnesses during the seventh National Medical-Legal Trial Competition on November 8-10, 2024. The event, hosted annually by the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University and the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, is the only trial competition in the country where a medical school and a law school collaborate to simulate real-life expert testimony by doctors. Learn more.

Student News

Weill Cornell Medicine Graduate Students Showcase Science Communication Skills with Three-Minute Talks

With just one slide and three minutes, fourth-year graduate student Erin Keblish described how she is developing a carbon nanotube-based sensor that could act like a “smoke detector” for early signs of deadly sepsis, during Weill Cornell Medicine’s ninth annual Three-Minute Thesis (3MT®) competition on November 13. Keblish, who is a graduate student in physiology, biophysics and systems biology, explained how the excess production of inflammatory molecules called cytokines in response to an infection can trigger a life-threatening complication called sepsis. Learn more.

Albert Einstein College of Medicine: Learning From People With Disabilities Through Service

Third-year medical student Alexandra Hoffman discovered Achilles International as part of a new required service-learning course at Einstein. The nonprofit group provides athletic programs for people with disabilities and has chapters across the United States and in 17 other countries. But until 2023, there was no chapter in the Bronx. Learn more.

University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry Student Spotlight: Evan Newbold

Evan Newbold is a fifth-year neuroscience graduate student at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. He received his undergraduate degree in neuroscience from Lafayette College where he was also a Division I swimmer. Newbold is currently in the Nedergaard lab where his research focuses on the glymphatic system, the brain’s waste removal system, and whether it could be used as a delivery system for therapeutics. Learn more.

University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry: Nathan Smith Fills New Role at SMD: Associate Dean for Research Mentorship

As a PhD graduate and now principal investigator of a research lab at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry (SMD), Nathan A. Smith, MS, PhD, understands the importance of mentorship and what it takes to set trainees up for success. He will use his experience on both sides of the coin—as a student and a faculty member—to guide his work as the inaugural associate dean for Research Mentorship at SMD. Learn more.

Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons: CUIMC Election Forum Tackles Health Policy Issues

Columbia University Irving Medical Center hosted the CUIMC Election Forum last month to help educate the community about important health-related issues at stake in the upcoming presidential election. Hosted by the Office of Government Affairs, the forum featured a panel of three speakers who are experts in policy and politics: Gustavo Rivera, New York State senator, Danielle Turnipseed, chief public policy officer at the Association of American Medical Colleges, and Thomas Barker, who is a partner in the law firm of Foley Hoag, former general counsel of the United States Department of Health and Human Services under Pres. George W. Bush, and an adjunct professor of law and public health at George Washington University. Television producer Inara De Leon served as the moderator. Learn more.

Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University: Stony Brook University Hospital and Stony Brook Southampton Hospital Earn ‘A’ Hospital Safety Grade

Stony Brook University Hospital (SBUH) and Stony Brook Southampton Hospital (SBSH) have both earned an ‘A’ Hospital Safety Grade for fall 2024 from The Leapfrog Group, an independent national nonprofit watchdog focused on patient safety. Leapfrog assigns letter grades to general hospitals across the country based on over 30 performance measures reflecting errors, accidents, injuries and infections, as well as the systems hospitals have in place to prevent them. Learn more.

New York Medical College: Medical Students Run for Charity at the 2024 TCS New York City Marathon

Five medical students from New York Medical College took their marks at the iconic TCS New York City Marathon. Over the course of the 26.2 miles, across the five boroughs, they ran to support charities for sexual assault survivors, Holocaust survivors, climate change, and diversity and inclusion. Learn more.

Jacobs School of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences at University at Buffalo: Maternal Health in Focus at Indigenous Health Symposium

The inaugural Indigenous Health Symposium brought together Indigenous community members, academics, physicians, students and others to discuss “Perspectives on Reproductive Justice and Maternal Health.” Taking place Nov. 12 at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, the event featured speakers, panelists and audience discussion while seeking to highlight Native people’s unique challenges, outlooks and qualities in terms of maternal health and community care. Learn more.