After two decades, the distinguished dean of Albany Medical College will retire effective December 31, 2021, according to an announcement by Albany Med President and CEO Dennis P. McKenna, M.D. Vincent P. Verdile, M.D., the second longest-tenured dean of an American medical college, will remain at the Medical Center as dean emeritus; a national search for his successor is underway. Learn more.

 

Spectrum News NY1 spoke with Jo Wiederhorn, AMSNY’s President and CEO, about the importance of diversity in medicine; and Akya Myrie, a SUNY Downstate graduate, talked about her journey through medical school and her participation in AMSNY’s Diversity in Medicine pipeline programs. Learn more.

 

More than 400 friends and family members of individuals who donated their bodies to furthering medical science at UB gathered on July 1 to collectively honor their generosity. The ceremony, which took place in Skinnersville Cemetery on the North Campus, recognizes those whose donations are a critical part of the education of students at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at UB and the university’s other health sciences schools. Learn more.

 

Less than eight months after unveiling its Biomedical Laureates Program, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai announced the first Laureates to join its academic faculty, delivering on an institutional commitment to drive diversity and enhance mentorship opportunities. Both Laureates will start in July. Announcements of additional Laureate appointments will be forthcoming. Icahn Mount Sinai will select a total of four Laureates per year, two in basic science and two in translational or clinical science. Learn more.

 

As all medical students know, medical school is a challenge. But for Black students and others underrepresented in medicine, racism is an additional challenge. “As a medical student, you’re learning a lot, changing a lot, and the hours and schedule are challenging, and then students who are underrepresented in medicine have to deal with racism and a system that doesn’t always see them equally,” says Jean-Marie Alves-Bradford, MD, associate clinical professor of psychiatry and director of the Office of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion in the Department of Psychiatry at the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. Learn more.

 

The Mount Sinai Health System in 2020 launched a pioneering one-year medical fellowship program specializing in LGBTQ+ health. Its mission was to create a new primary care specialty that combined expertise in disciplines such as preventive medicine, infectious diseases, gynecology, endocrinology, psychiatry, and research, and provided holistic care to this minority population. The American Medical Association (AMA) Foundation was so supportive of the idea that it provided Mount Sinai with funding to cover the fellowship for a second year—which begins in July—and develop a model program for future LGBTQ+ fellowships around the country. Learn more.

 

Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine graduated 239 new Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine last week from its two New York schools – in Harlem and Middletown.

At twin ceremonies, the graduates celebrated with classmates, family and friends on zoom and via virtual chats as they listened to speeches, recalled fond memories and were formally congratulated by Touro leadership and other well-wishers. Learn more.

 

Xueting “Hattie” Zhang, a second-year medical student at Einstein, was intrigued but nervous. She was looking for a way to help out during the pandemic, and an email announcing a new summer educational offering had just popped up on her computer screen. Called the “COVID-19 Design Challenge,” it asked students to devise innovative solutions for making healthcare workers and the public safer in a future wave of COVID-19 or another infectious disease. And it gave them just eight weeks to do it. Learn more.

 

This is She’s On Call, a weekly show hosted by NYC-based doctors ENT specialist Dr. Sujana Chandrasekhar and general surgeon Dr. Marina Kurian, speaks with three CUNY School of Medicine students about their experience at med school and any tips for summer safety. Learn more.

 

Social justice has been woven into the fabric of Albert Einstein College of Medicine since the institution opened its doors to everyone, regardless of gender, race, or creed, in 1955. I chose to pursue my M.D./Ph.D. training at Einstein because of its mission to improve health through scientific and clinical excellence and community engagement. Though I grew up in St. Thomas in the United States Virgin Islands, I was born in the Bronx, at Jacobi Medical Center. The borough has always held a special place in my heart because I spent many summers here as a child. Learn more.

 

Despite pandemic precautions, Rural Immersion Week found the North Country inviting and welcoming to a group of Upstate Medical University medical students who decided to take a closer look at health care in out of the way places. The elective brought a dozen students from the Rural Medical Scholars program from June 1 to 5 to the North Country for one week of intensive programming spotlighting rural medicine. Learn more.

 

The Office of Diversity and Inclusion and the Office of Development and Alumni Relations at New York Medical College joined together to host Celebrating Diversity: Then and Now, a virtual event on May 25. Alumni Lifetime Achievement Awards and Trailblazer Awards were presented to alumni and members of the Class of 2021 from the School of Medicine (SOM), Graduate School of Basic Medical Sciences and School of Health Sciences and Practice. Learn more.

 

On Monday, June 21, 2021, NYU Grossman School of Medicine held a virtual induction for 20 students into the Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS). GHHS recognizes individuals who exemplify humanistic patient care and who serve as role models, mentors, and leaders in medicine. Inductees were nominated by their peers for their outstanding interpersonal skills in the clinical setting, and were selected by a steering committee of faculty and administrators.

 

In a night dedicated to recognizing the courage and compassion of healthcare professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Arnold P. Gold Foundation presented SUNY Downstate President Dr. Wayne J. Riley with its National Humanism in Medicine Medal. In addition, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Chief COVID Advisor to President Biden and Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the NIH, and Dr. Eric Topol, Founder, and Director of the Scripps Translational Institute, Executive Vice President of Scripps Research, and Editor-in-Chief of Medscape, were co-awardees. Learn more.

 

The National Institute for Alcohol Abuse & Alcoholism (NIAAA) has awarded $1.7 million to the Clinical and Research Institute on Addictions (CRIA) and the School of Public Health and Health Professions at the University at Buffalo to expand its highly successful postdoctoral training program to include doctoral candidates as well. Learn more.

 

Building on a legacy of groundbreaking advances in medicine and science, Weill Cornell Medicine launched an ambitious $1.5 billion campaign—with more than $750 million already raised—that will harness emerging biomedical innovations to bring exemplary care to patients and create enduring change in medicine.The We’re Changing Medicine campaign is the largest in Weill Cornell Medicine’s history and its first campaign in decades to advance and synergize all three institutional missions: to care, discover and teach. Learn more.

 

Academic Medicine Scholar program, has secured a competitive Scholarship in Cardiovascular Disease from the American Heart Association (AHA). Each year, the Scientific Councils of the AHA award $2,000 scholarships to students researching cardiovascular disease topics within basic, clinical, translational, or population sciences. Learn more.

 

Mark D. Hurwitz, M.D., a widely recognized leader in the fields of thermal medicine and genitourinary oncology, has been named the chair of the Department of Radiation Medicine at New York Medical College, as well as director of radiation medicine at Westchester Medical Center. He will assume both roles on July 1. Learn more.

 

Susan Y. Lee, MD, Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine, was elected Governor of the New York Long Island Chapter of the American College of Physicians (ACP), the largest medical specialty organization and second largest physician group in the U.S. consisting of more than 160,000 members. Learn more.

 

Steven E. Rosenberg, MD, an expert in the field of pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus (crossed eyes) and a graduate of Columbia’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, joined Columbia on June 1 as director of pediatric ophthalmology in the Department of Ophthalmology and the Anne S. Cohen Endowed Professor of Pediatric Ophthalmology at VP&S. Learn more.

 

Years ago, Alexandra Friedman saw a T-shirt bearing a message she never forgot: “Become the doctor your mother always wanted you to marry.” It seemed like an impossible goal for a Hasidic woman in Monsey, N.Y., a predominantly Orthodox Jewish enclave some 30 minutes north of the city that is home to some of the strictest Orthodox communities. Learn more.

 

Stony Brook Medicine is gearing up to administer the first LGBTQ+ community health needs assessment survey on Long Island. The LGBTQ+ Community Health Needs Assessment Survey is a landmark study seeking vital data that will shape the future of LGBTQ+ healthcare in Nassau and Suffolk Counties. It represents the collaborative efforts of Stony Brook Medicine, in partnership with more than 20 Long Island-based organizations and community leaders who, combined, reach all sectors of the LGBTQ+ community through advocacy programming and services. Learn more.

 

The Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell has nabbed five coveted Press Club of Long Island’s (PCLI) media awards for the school’s health education radio talk show, Well Said with Dr. Ira Nash. The Press Club of Long Island’s Annual Media Awards Competition recognizes outstanding work in print, broadcast, and online journalism. Learn more.

 

Onovu Otitigbe-Dangerfield is the first African-American valedictorian in Albany High School’s 152-year history—a story that’s been capturing a lot of attention lately, with coverage from “Good Morning America” and other national news outlets. When asked the secret of her success, she said, “There’s an African proverb I really like: ‘If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.’ People ask me, how do you do it all? I don’t. I have so much support. My family. My teachers. My friends.” Learn more.