Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Achievement Ceremony Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Achievement Ceremony THURSDAY, MAY 11, 2017 LEO

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Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Achievement CeremonyThursday, May 11, 2017 Leo C. Stern Auditorium, 3:00 pm

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Achievement Ceremony


THURSDAY, MAY 11, 2017

LEO C. STERN AUDITORIUM ✦ 3:00 pm

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Opening Remarks

Peter Gliatto, MD

Senior Associate Dean for Undergraduate Medical Education and Student Affairs

Welcome

Dennis S. Charney, MD

Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

President for Academic Affairs, Mount Sinai Health System



THURSDAY, MAY 11, 2017

LEO C. STERN AUDITORIUM ✦ 3:00 pm

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ALPHA OMEGA ALPHA MEDICAL HONOR SOCIETY, LAMBDA CHAPTER

Sarah Rose Abramson

Elizabeth Claire Adler

Matthew Joseph James Anderson

Yotam Arens

Annika Burnett

Holt Squires Cutler

Erin M. Duggan

Kalla A. Gervasio

Lawrence Stanley Geyman

Alexis Rebecca Karlin

Khameer Kishore Kidia

Nina Neha Kogekar

Brian D. Krawitz

Danielle Justine Lee

Joseph Buckley Lerman

Benjamin Ballard Massenburg V

Nadav Nahumi

John Tyler Nathanson

William Josiah Rubenstein

Noa Simchoni

Maximiliano Renzo Sobrero

Scott Jason Weinreb

Elizabeth Hope Weissler

Benjamin David Wooden

DELTA OMEGA HONORARY SOCIETY IN PUBLIC HEALTH, BETA OMICRON CHAPTER

Jeffrey Jan Aalberg, Jr.

Kayla Jean Dellefratte

Molly Larra Maryland Dobelle

Sarah Goodman

Wil Lieberman-Cribbin

Patricia Moscibrodzki

Sritha Reddy Rajupet

Qainat N. Shah

Shaina Rhea Sidnauth

Kevin Young Xu

STUDENT AWARDS RECOGNITION

Efe Chantal Ghanney

Carolina Miranda


Kelms Amoo-Achampong

David Shilton Anderson


Prapti Chatterjee

Harshvardhan Chawla

Brian David Cohen

James Gregory Connolly

Anna McGinty Cushing

Holt Squires Cutler

James Douglas Dieterich

Kamini Doobay

Kalla A Gervasio


Katherine Ann Hrebinko

Desmond Tuan Khai Huynh

Hillary Elhard Jenny

Sameer Ahmad Khan


Shingo Kihira

Neeraja Konuthula

Brian D. Krawitz


Lauren Rose Lisann-Goldman

Jacob Andrew Martin



Katherine Joan Arden

Maureen Elizabeth Byrne

Brian David Cohen

Ann Elizabeth Crawford-Roberts

Lara Crystal-Ornelas

Efe Chantal Ghanney

Anne Rene Hart

Amalia Ormando Kane

Varun Goel Kejriwal

Sameer Ahmad Khan

Jeremy Levenson

Ayiti-Carmel Maharaj-Best

Neil S. Patel

Phoebe Gibson Prioleau

Emily M. Schorr

Scott Jason Weinreb

Evan Michael Wiley

Eric Christopher Woods

GOLD HUMANISM HONOR SOCIETY

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DISTINCTION IN MEDICAL EDUCATION

Efe Chantal Ghanney

Carolina Miranda

Thuy-An Tran

Nancy Yimei Yang

DISTINCTION IN RESEARCH





Prapti Chatterjee

Harshvardhan Chawla

Brian David Cohen



Holt Squires Cutler


Kamini Doobay

Kalla A Gervasio




Hillary Elhard Jenny

Sameer Ahmad Khan


Shingo Kihira

Neeraja Konuthula

Brian D. Krawitz



Jacob Andrew Martin


Mary Catherine McGunigal

Shelley Xinran Mo


Ebiere Diseye Okah

Raghuram Posham


Eleanor Sherwood Roberts


Julia Skinner Sann

Dipal Vijay Savla

Julie Rachel Schoonover

Roberta Kay Sefcik

Priya Sehgal

Jeffrey William Shevach

John Inho Shin

Julie Christina Sung

Thuy-An Tran

Jonathan Chun Ming Tsang

Benjamin Nathaniel Ungar




Kira Xie

Nancy Yimei Yang

James Jun Yoon

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GRADUATE SCHOOL—DISTINCTION IN RESEARCH

Lauren Colette Aguado

Gillian Morven Belbin

Hannah M. Cates

Aleksey Chudnovskiy

Gabor Egervari

Giselle Ayanna Joseph

Megan Accursia Cummins Lancaster

Noa Simchoni

FELLOWSHIP AWARDEES

Mafalda Fernanda Cabral dos Santos Barbosa, 2011-2015

Harish Vasudevan, 2012-2015

Chaya Levovitz, 2012-2017

Timothy James Cashman, 2014-2016

Brandon Hogstad, 2014-2016

Joong-Hyuk Francis Sheen, 2014-2016

Rachel Anne Sennett, 2014-2016

Madeline Leah Pfau, 2014-2016

Lauren Colette Aguado, 2015-2017

Zulekha A. Qadeer, 2016

Bridget Alexandra Matikainen-Ankney, 2016-2017

Paul E. Leon, 2016-2017

Stacy M. Ku, 2016-2017

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Jeffrey Jan Aalberg, Jr.

STUDENT AWARDS PRESENTATION(In alphabetical order by recipient’s last name)

EXCELLENCE IN PUBLIC HEALTH PRACTICE AWARD

Jeff Aalberg came to the Graduate Program in Public Health after graduating

from Tufts University, where he majored in Cognitive Brain Science. While

in the program, he concentrated in outcomes research, served as a teaching

assistant for several courses, and is graduating as a member of the Delta Omega

honor society.

During his time at the Icahn School of Medicine, Jeff has had the privilege of

conducting research with Dr. Celia Divino in the Division of General Surgery.

He has contributed to multiple publications, but is most proud of his practicum

for which he implemented a novel risk-adjustment system for the comparison

of surgical complication rates within The Mount Sinai Hospital. This statistical

methodology allows for an accurate evaluation of physician performance by

taking into account the relative health of the patient populations served by

each surgeon.

Jeff would like to extend deep thanks to his parents for their continued support

throughout his life and academic career. Additionally, he would like to thank his

mentors for their guidance, especially Dr. Divino for providing the opportunity

to conduct an independent project within the Department of Surgery.

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DR. DAVID K. MCDONOGH AWARD FOR DIVERSITY IN MEDICAL EDUCATION

Kelms Amoo-Achampong graduated from the University of Pennsylvania,

where he majored in Health and Societies. While at the Icahn School of Medicine

at Mount Sinai, Kelms has received several recognitions. He is graduating

with Distinction in Research and was awarded an Orthopaedic Research and

Education Foundation Resident/Fellow Award at the Southern Orthopaedic

Association Annual Meeting in July 2016. He has additionally been an active

member of the Students for Equal Opportunity in Medicine student group, the

Orthopaedics Interest Group, and the Medical Discovery of Careers (MedDOCs)

afterschool mentorship program.

Kelms is very proud of the research he has been involved with during medical

school and has had the privilege of working with various mentors within the

field of orthopaedics. During his time at the Icahn School of Medicine, he

contributed to seven peer-reviewed publications and over 10 abstracts.

He would like to sincerely thank his parents for their unwavering support on

his journey through medical school. Additionally, he thanks his mentors, Dr.

Reginald Miller, Dean for Research Operations and Infrastructure at Mount

Sinai and Dr. Frank McCormick, orthopaedic faculty at Beth Israel Deaconess

Medical Center. Kelms will continue his residency training at Duke University

in Orthopaedic Surgery.

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THE JUDITH AND NATHAN KASE HUMANITIES IN MEDICINE PRIZE

At Brown University, Elie was interested not only in the biological underpinning

of health but also its social, economic, and political context. When she learned

of the Icahn School of Medicine’s Humanities in Medicine program, she was

drawn to the opportunity to connect her interest in social determinants of

health with her inclination towards patient care.

While at the School of Medicine, Elie has enjoyed approaching health at both

the systems and human level. As a Human Rights and Social Justice Scholar,

Elie has sought to put social justice into clinical practice, particularly in serving

LGBTQ patients. Elie has also pursued integrative and narrative medicine

as tools for practicing patient-centered care. Elie was inducted into Alpha

Omega Alpha, the medical honor society, will graduate with Distinction in

Research, and was awarded “The Art of Medicine” award by her peers for her

“exceptional ability to blend medical knowledge with an innate, compassionate

understanding of the human condition.”

Elie thanks her family, friends, and partner for their steady love and support

throughout the journey of medical education. Elie is moving back to her favorite

coast for Internal Medicine residency at UCSF.

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THE MIKI RIFKIN GRADUATE SCHOOL SERVICE AWARD

Brateil Badal

Brateil Badal received her undergraduate degree in Molecular and Cell Biology

with a minor in Education, and her MS degree in Endocrinology from UC

Berkeley. In 2011, Brateil moved to NYC to join the Icahn School of Medicine’s

PhD program in Biomedical Sciences. In the laboratory of Julide Celebi, Brateil

focuses on melanoma and investigates the progression of skin cancer from

normal melanocytes to abnormal but benign nevi to melanoma. Brateil has used

an integrative genomics approach to identify and characterize clinically relevant

subtypes of primary melanoma based on gene signatures, with implications on

patient prognosis and risk stratification.

Although Brateil has been very busy with her research activities, she has

nevertheless found time to pursue her lifelong passion in teaching and

mentorship. Despite the demands of her research, Brateil has taught biomedical

sciences to undergraduates at Mount Sinai and CUNY and has been actively

involved in diversity councils and student diversity organizations. Brateil has

participated in numerous Graduate School activities, most notably admissions

and recruitment fairs. Brateil explains that as an Assyrian-American, who

was born in Iran during the time of the Iranian Islamic Revolution, she could

empathize and understand what it meant to be a minority and in her case

a people without a nation. Although Brateil aspires to increase the number

of Assyrians who are pursuing higher education, her interest is in raising

awareness in careers in science among all underrepresented minorities.

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TERRY ANN KRULWICH DOCTORAL DISSERTATION PRIZE

Jeffrey M. Bernitz

Jeff Bernitz earned his BS degree in Cellular and Molecular Biology, and

Japanese at San Diego State University. During this time he began his scientific

training working with Dr. Christa Muller-Sieburg on retroviral manipulation of

blood-forming stem cells and the Sanford Burnham Medical Research Institute.

At the Icahn School of Medicine, Jeff completed his doctoral dissertation in

the laboratory of Dr. Kateri Moore. His research focused on blood stem cell

proliferation during aging, stem cell mobilization, and chemotherapeutic stress.

His work revealed that these stem cells form memories of their past divisions,

which dictate and constrain their future regenerative potential. This was

supported by a training grant in Systems and Developmental Biology and Birth

Defects from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, as well

as a Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award from the National

Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

His work has been featured in the journals Cell and Blood, as well as at several

national and international research conferences. Jeff will continue to pursue

his interests in cellular memory, and how this influences cell fate and function

during his postdoctoral work at ETH Zürich.

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MASTER OF PUBLIC HEALTH OUTSTANDING CULMINATING EXPERIENCE: THESIS

Ceciley Marie Bly

Prior to studying at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Ceciley Bly

received a degree in Biology from Rutgers University. Upon acceptance into the

Master of Public Health program at the Icahn School of Medicine, Ceciley chose

to pursue Global Health with concentrations in Epidemiology and Biostatistics.

She actively participated in volunteer opportunities with Project Sunshine and

charted the United Nations Association Chapter at the Icahn School of Medicine.

Ceciley was also a participant in the Health Research Training Program with the

NYC DOHMH where she provided data management and programmatic support

for the New York Knows HIV/AIDS initiative. She was awarded Outstanding

Culminating Experience for her thesis, “The Weaponization of Water in Syria

and the effect on Waterborne Disease” and was nominated by the Icahn School

of Medicine Chapter of Delta Omega for the chance to present her findings at the

American Public Health Association 2017 Annual Meeting.

Ceciley would like to acknowledge her family, and especially her mother for

her unwavering support on her academic journey. She would also like to thank

her mentor, Dr. Annie Sparrow, and the academic community at the School

of Medicine. She is now employed as an HIV Surveillance Data Manager at

Philadelphia Department of Public Health and has intentions of completing a

medical degree in the near future.

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JEFFREY MODELL CLINICAL IMMUNOLOGY PRIZE

Aleksey Chudnovskiy

Alex Chudnovskiy graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst

in 2008. After completing his masters, Alex worked at Massachusetts

General Hospital, where he studied the role of innate immune systems in

atherosclerosis, cancer, and bacterial infection and published his first paper,

which described the novel subset of B cells and the critical role of this B cell

subset in mediating protection against bacterial infection.

At the Icahn School of Medicine, Alex completed his PhD in Immunology and

published several papers, one of which described the novel commensal protist

and its cardinal role in infection, autoimmunity, and colon cancer.

Alex thanks his parents for their strong support throughout graduate school. In

addition, he thanks his mentor, Dr. Miriam Merad, and his colleague Dr. Arthur

Mortha for their strong support and guidance. Alex will continue to pursue the

field of Immunology at Rockefeller University.

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AWARD FOR THE PROMOTION OF SOCIAL AND RACIAL JUSTICE

IRWIN GELERNT, MD, AWARD FOR SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY

THE 2017 LEONARD TOW HUMANISM IN MEDICINE STUDENT AWARD

Kamini Doobay

Kamini Doobay came to the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai after

graduating from Barnard College and working as a clinical research coordinator

at Hospital for Special Surgery. While at the School of Medicine, Kamini

co-founded its chapter of Doctors for America (DFA) and spearheaded its

partnership with East Harlem community-based organizations to evaluate the

roll-out of the Affordable Care Act in East Harlem.

She also founded the mult-agency, DOH-supported NYC Coalition to Dismantle

Racism in the Health System. She received the Award for Activism at the Icahn

School of Medicine, and is the nominated honoree at this year’s Marshall

England Memorial Public Health Awards Gala and the Physicians for a National

Health Program Annual Gala.

Kamini is graduating with Distinction in Research and was awarded the

Blue Ribbon at Medical Student Research Day for her research on vitamin D

deficiency and sickle cell disease. She is an author on three manuscripts and

nine abstracts, four of which she presented at national meetings.

She would like to thank her parents, Guru, and community for their endless

support. Additionally, she thanks her mentors, especially Dr. Ann-Gel Palermo,

Dr. Andrea Branch, Dr. Neil Calman, and Ray Cornbill. She will continue her

residency training at NYU-Bellevue in Emergency Medicine.

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MASTER OF HEALTHCARE DELIVERY LEADERSHIP CAPSTONE AWARD

Diana Dorfman Deutsch, MD

Diana Dorfman Deutsch completed her undergraduate education at Princeton

University, after which she attended medical school at the Icahn School of

Medicine at Mount Sinai. Dr. Dorfman Deutsch went on to do her general

psychiatry residency training at Mount Sinai, followed by a fellowship at

Columbia Presbyterian in child and adolescent psychiatry. After having had a

successful private practice in Brooklyn Heights, NY, she returned to the Icahn

School of Medicine for the Masters Program in Health Care Delivery Leadership.

A lifelong New Yorker, Diana is married and has three children.

Dr. Dorfman Deutsch’s capstone involved the study of telepsychiatry in the

Mount Sinai Health System towards the development and implementation of a

strategy for improving the quality and decreasing the costs of psychiatric care.

With telepsychiatry implementation, it is expected that health systems will

achieve quality improvement in psychiatric services, better patient throughput

with decreased wait times, improved convenience and patient satisfaction,

improved provider satisfaction, and cost savings to the health system.

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MILTON C. ENGEL, MD, PRIZE IN GERIATRIC MEDICINE

Kendall Downer

Kendall is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame. She is grateful to share

the honor of accepting this award with her family here today: her mother,

father, sister, grandmother, aunt, and uncle. Kendall’s personal and academic

achievements are a reflection of her family’s unfailing inspiration and support.

Thus, any accomplishment of hers would not be complete without recognizing

their contributions.

While at the Icahn School of Medicine, Kendall worked closely with Dr. Stephen

Berns and the Geriatrics and Palliative Care Department on a research project

studying physician communication during difficult conversations with patients.

Dr. Berns has been an invaluable mentor to her and also deserves much of the

credit for her success, both now and in the future. In June, Kendall will start

residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center

(UPMC).

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MASTER OF SCIENCE IN CLINICAL RESEARCH AWARD

Nana Gegechkori, MD

Nana Gegechkori obtained her Medical Degree at Tbilisi State Medical University

in Georgia. As a medical school student she was awarded a personal scholarship

for academic excellence. She completed a medical residency and cardiology

fellowship at A.N. Bakulev Scientific Center of Cardiovascular Surgery at the

Russian Academy of Medical Sciences while pursuing a PhD in Biomedical

Sciences. Her hard work, clinical skills, and research excellence were rewarded

and she received a full scholarship for her PhD project. After completing her

fellowship and obtaining her PhD, she worked as an attending cardiologist and

was also involved in mentoring and teaching residents.

After moving to the United States, Nana trained at the Icahn School of Medicine

at Mount Sinai in the Department of General Internal Medicine for two years

as a clinical research fellow while pursuing a Master of Science in Clinical

Research. Recently, Nana was offered a residency position in the Internal

Medicine Residency Program at Maimonides Medical Center and where she

plans on continuing to pursue a career in medicine and Clinical Research.

Nana would like to extend deep thanks to her family for their continued support

throughout her life and academic career. Additionally, she would like to thank

her mentors, Dr. Jenny Lin and Dr. Natalia Egorova, as well as the leadership

of the Clinical Research Education program, Dr. Janice Gabrilove and Dr. Alan

Moskowitz for their guidance and support.

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PATRICIA LEVINSON AWARD FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF WOMEN IN MEDICINE

Efe Chantal Ghanney

Efe Chantal Ghanney graduated in 2013 from Yale University, where she double-

majored in Chemistry and French. While at the Icahn School of Medicine at

Mount Sinai, Chantal founded several global health projects, including an

international palliative care research project in her home country of Ghana,

which earned her a “Blue Ribbon” at Medical Student Research Day.

Through her work with the African Research Academies for Women, Chantal

established fully funded research internships for women in African universities,

which led to her sharing a stage with President Bill Clinton at the Clinton

Global Initiative and earned her the President’s Volunteer Service Award under

President Obama. She is currently a MasterCard Foundation Advisor for Clinton

Global Initiative University Alumni. Chantal also serves on the Mount Sinai

team at the Arnhold Institute for Global Health, partnering with Professor

Jeffrey Sachs to advise the Ghana Ministry of Health on the establishment of the

first national electronic health system in all of Africa.

Chantal would like to thank her mother, her family, and Hillsong Church

community for being her cornerstone, and her mentors, Drs. Posada, Parkas,

and Mehrazin for their support. Chantal is graduating with membership in the

Gold Humanism Honor Society and the Distinction in Medical Education. She

will continue her training at UCLA in Urology.

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DR. M. RALPH KAUFMAN PSYCHIATRY PRIZE

Anne Rene Hart

A graduate of the Juilliard School, Annie was an accomplished cellist before

transitioning to medicine. She has performed worldwide in venues including

Carnegie Hall, Davies Symphony Hall, and the Berliner Philharmoniker. As an

undergraduate, she established an educational program to provide training and

musical instruments to young musicians in Brazil and regularly performed for

patients in medical facilities throughout New York.

Her interest in service led her to pursue a career in medicine, and she came

to the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai through the Humanities and

Medicine program. In her first year, she organized Music and Medicine, a lecture

series exploring music therapy, history and music cognition. She volunteered

as a doula, a peer mentor and with “Music for Autism.” This year, through

her leadership role in the Gold Humanism Honor Society, she developed the

resilience curriculum, a series of structured therapeutic sessions to foster peer

relationships and cultivate resilience among medical students.

She would like to thank her parents for their unconditional love and support

throughout medical school, as well her many mentors at the School of Medicine,

especially Dr. Stork and Dr. Kellner. She will continue her residency training at

The Mount Sinai Hospital in Psychiatry.

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MRS. DAVID A. DREILING SURGERY PRIZE IN MEMORY OF HER MOTHER, FLORENCE L. OPPENHEIMER


Katie Hrebinko graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown University in

2011 with a degree in Finance and International Business, receiving the George

Houston Award and Scholarship for the highest achievement in her field. Before

coming to the Icahn School of Medicine, she completed a post-baccalaureate

program at the University of Pennsylvania, where she also worked as a research

assistant and contributed to manuscripts on benign prostatic hyperplasia and

kidney cancer.

While at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Katie was heavily

involved in teaching activities, serving as a teaching assistant, peer tutor, senior

tutor, and specialty focused mentor. She also served as the manager of the East

Harlem Health Outreach Partnership (EHHOP) Women’s Health Clinic. She

developed an interest in global surgery, and was instrumental in coordinating

and carrying out surgical missions to Bolivia and Liberia under the direction

of Dr. Jeffrey Freed. She had the privilege of conducting research focused on

minimally invasive surgical techniques for patients with inflammatory bowel

diseases and has been awarded with Distinction in Research.

She would like to thank her wonderful friends and family for their love and

support. She is particularly grateful to her father for providing an example of

what it means to be a skilled surgeon and compassionate physician and to her

mother for her selfless dedication to her children. She would also like to thank

her mentors and advisors, especially Dr. Daniel Popowich and Dr. Susan Lerner.

Katie will begin her residency training in General Surgery at the University of

Pittsburgh Medical Center this fall.

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EXCELLENCE IN BIOSTATISTICS AWARD

Sekou Kante

Sekou Kante is originally from the Ivory Coast in West Africa and currently

works as a taxi driver in New York City while pursuing his Masters degree in

Biostatistics. Sekou studied economics and maritime administration before

enrolling at City College of New York (CUNY) to earn a BA in Economics, with

a minor in Finance, in 2016. The MS in Biostatistics degree will provide Sekou

with the necessary quantitative skills to pursue a career in which he can help to

improve healthcare policies in Africa.

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DR. JOSEPH R. JAGUST ANESTHESIOLOGY AWARD

Shradha Devi Khadge

Shradha Khadge graduated summa cum laude in 2012 from Northeastern

University, where she majored in Behavioral Neuroscience and was named one

of Northeastern University’s “100 Most Influential Seniors” out of a graduating

class of 3,200. Before matriculating at the Icahn School of Medicine, Shradha

worked in research at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brookhaven National

Laboratory. At the School of Medicine, Shradha was nominated by her peers

for the Award for Outstanding Service to Fellow Students for her work on the

executive boards of the Peer Tutoring and Students for Students’ Mentoring.

She led the Senior Tutors program as a coordinator, and founded a new student

group, Sinai Sibs, dedicated to mentoring third-year medical students. Shradha

had the privilege of working with Dr. Daniel Katz on a double blind clinical trial

investigating the use of ketofol during induction on obese patients undergoing

upper endoscopy.

Shradha would like to thank her parents and husband, Erick Mendoza, for

their unwavering support throughout medical school. Additionally, she thanks

Dr. Katz, Dr. Chietero, and Dr. Levine in the Department of Anesthesiology.

Shradha and Erick are excited to stay at Mount Sinai for residency training in

Anesthesiology.

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MOUNT SINAI ALUMNI STUDENT LEADERSHIP AWARD

Ian Brennan Kwok

Ian Kwok studied Neuroscience and Art History at Columbia University, then

worked as a photographer and in medical communications before joining the

Mount Sinai community. As a medical student, he co-led SinaiArts, Primary

Care Progress, and the Palliative Care Interest group, and represented his

classmates as a member of the Student Council Executive Steering Committee.

He also had the opportunity to study globally, connecting with fellow medical

students in Haiti, implemented mobile health intervention for sex workers in

South Africa, and worked with palliative care volunteers in Kerala, India. This

summer, Ian will begin a residency in Internal Medicine at Mount Sinai Beth

Israel —the hospital where he first volunteered as a pre-med and where he was

once treated as a patient from a hockey-related injury.

Ian is extremely grateful to his parents for their endless support and open-

mindedness. He would also like to thank his many inspirational mentors,

especially Rachel Adams, Lindsay Dow, Sarah Yazdian, and Diane Meier. Finally,

Ian would like to thank his fellow classmates for being great friends, community

builders, and now, incredible doctors.

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PATRICIA LEVINSON AWARD FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF WOMEN IN MEDICINE

STEVEN B. TAMARIN, MD, MEMORIAL AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN FAMILY MEDICINE


Born in Trinidad and Tobago, Ayiti Maharaj-Best moved to the United States

to attend Trinity College, where she designed her major, Health and Society,

and graduated in 2013. She was accepted into the Icahn School of Medicine’s

Humanities and Medicine program in 2010. At the School of Medicine, Ayiti

served on the boards of both the American Medical Women’s Association and

Medical Students for Choice. She also volunteered as an advocate for the Sexual

Assault and Violence Intervention Program. As a senior medical student, Ayiti

led the East Harlem Health Outreach Partnership (EHHOP) Women’s Health

Clinic team as the Chief Teaching Senior, sat on the Admissions Committee, and

was an elected class representative.

Ayiti embraced every opportunity to mentor junior medical students to help

others achieve their full potential. Her contributions have been recognized

with the award for Dedication to Women’s Health and induction into the Gold

Humanism Honor Society.

Ayiti would like to thank her parents for modeling what it means to live with

integrity and care for others, her sister for her immeasurable love, and her

husband for his unwavering support and partnership every day. She also thanks

her mentors, especially Drs. Valerie Parkas, Peter Gliatto, and Linda Prine, and

her incredible classmates for being a constant inspiration. Ayiti will continue

her training at the University of Pennsylvania in the Department of Family

Medicine.

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THE ADVANCEMENT OF WOMEN IN SCIENCE AWARD

Bridget Alexandra Matikainen-Ankney

Bridget Matikainen-Ankney completed her undergraduate degree in Biomedical

Engineering at Stony Brook University. She went on to receive a masters degree

from Columbia University, also in Biomedical Engineering, and then to work

as a research technician for the Macromolecular Therapeutics Development

Facility at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She returned to graduate

school at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai to study neuroscience in

the lab of Dr. Deanna Benson, where her thesis work has focused on elucidating

how a Parkinson’s-linked mutation disrupts neural circuitry at early ages.

Bridget is a recipient of several awards and distinction, including a Ruth L.

Kirschstein Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Award and the

Phillip Hausfeld Memorial Scholarship Award in the Neurosciences. Despite

her limited free time, Bridget is committed to increasing mentorship and

networking opportunities available to women in the sciences. In her role,

initially as Mentorship Chair, then Vice President, and since 2016, as President

for the Women in Science at the Icahn School of Medicine, Bridget has been a

role model to the young female investigators in the basic sciences.

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OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO THE MISSION OF THE MASTER OF HEALTHCARE DELIVERY LEADERSHIP PROGRAM

Yvonne B. Meyers

Yvonne Meyers graduated from St. John’s University magna cum laude with a

BS degree in Business Administration. As an SJU graduate she is a member of

Alpha Sigma Lambda National Honor Society for Non-Traditional Students. In

addition, she has an Associate Degree from SJU in Media and Communication.

Upon graduation, she was presented with a Silver Award of Achievement from

the SJU College of Professional Studies. Her earlier career flourished with Saint

Vincent Catholic Medical Centers, where over the years she held administrative

posts in departments such as Special Events, Development, Communications,

and Materials Management.

For the last 10 years Yvonne has been part of the Mount Sinai Dermatology

administrative team. Her current role is the Director of Dermatology

Faculty and HR Affairs. She is also the Managing Editor of the Mount Sinai

Dermatology Skin Health Newsletter. Her professional accomplishments have

been complemented by the joy of being a mother and a life partner. She values

honesty, tenacity, and creativity, which are the foundation of her lifelong

motivation. Yvonne’s professional aspirations are parallel to the Mount Sinai

mission and the vision of the Dermatology Department.

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AWARD FOR THE PROMOTION OF SOCIAL AND RACIAL JUSTICE

Carolina Miranda

Originally from Peru, CA, Miranda graduated from the University of

Pennsylvania in 2010 with a major in Biology and minor in Chemistry. She

came to the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai after working in clinical

research at the University of Pennsylvania. While at the School of Medicine,

Carolina was a critical member of the Anti-Racism Coalition, spearheading

social justice efforts within the school and hospital system, such as installing

multilingual signage throughout the hospital. As a curriculum contributor for

the Art and Science of Medicine course, course leader for the Deconstructing

Race in Medicine and Health course, Senior Tutor, and mentor for students

underrepresented in medicine, Carolina has engaged the larger Mount Sinai

community by incorporating social change into formal medical education.

She was recognized for her contributions with the School of Medicine’s peer-

nominated Award for Activism and Award of Excellence, and she is graduating

with a Distinction in Medical Education.

Carolina would like to thank her parents for their many sacrifices and

unwavering commitment to those less fortunate. She also thanks her husband

for his loving support and sister for her encouragement. Additionally, she

thanks the community of medical students without whom her work would not

be possible, and her mentors, especially Drs. Palermo and Washington.

Carolina will complete her residency training in Family Medicine at Montefiore

Medical Center.

26

MASTER OF SCIENCE IN BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES THESIS AWARD

Rasmus Moeller

Rasmus Moeller was born and raised in Denmark. He enrolled at the University

of Copenhagen where he earned a BS in Molecular Biomedicine and served

as Teaching Assistant in the Comparative Anatomy course. Following his

graduation, Rasmus joined Immudex, a biotech company based in Copenhagen

where he worked on the development of a diagnostic tool for detecting

tuberculosis-specific T-cells in patients with active and latent tuberculosis. In

2015 Rasmus was accepted at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai’s

Masters Program in Biomedical Sciences.

For the research component of his educational training, Rasmus joined the

tenOever lab where he has focused on two different projects: the first has

dealt with non-canonical mechanisms to induce cellular antiviral responses,

generating some interesting results, the second a more involved project, focuses

on developing a new technique to study the biology of herpes viruses. Rasmus

engineered miRNA targeting cassettes and began manipulating bacterial

artificial chromosomes to elicit cell-specific control of human cytomegalovirus

(HCMV) and herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1). Rasmus is currently preparing to

submit this work to the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. While

a student at the School of Medicine, Rasmus has served as mentor to first-year

MSBS students. Upon graduation from the MS Program in May 2017, he will join

the PhD program in Biomedical Sciences.

27

MASTER OF SCIENCE IN GENETIC COUNSELING PROGRAM AWARD

Kelly Michelle Morgan

Kelly Morgan came to the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai after

graduating from the University of Wisconsin—Madison, where she majored

in Genetics. While here, Kelly was chosen for the Myriad Genetic Counselor

Student Internship and received the National Society of Genetic Counselors Jane

Engelberg Memorial Student Fellowship Award in Clinical Research.

In addition to her academic and clinical achievements, Kelly’s thesis project

compared the efficacy of cancer genetic counseling models, including a model

that utilized a novel educational video. This type of research is necessary as we

continue to expand into population-based genetic cancer screening programs

and the need for genetic counseling services further increases.

Kelly feels lucky to have pursued her graduate education at an institution

with such a strong foundation in service. During her time at the Icahn School

of Medicine, Kelly was involved with Prenatal Partners, and founded Chemo

Companions, a program that pairs students with patients currently receiving

cancer treatment.

Kelly had the privilege of learning from excellent mentors who fostered growth

and independence throughout her graduate education. She would like to

especially thank all of her clinical rotation supervisors, her program director,

Randi Zinberg, MS, CGC, her assistant program director, Sabrina Suckiel, MS,

CGC, her family, friends, and wonderful classmates for their endless support

and guidance.

28

THE BARRY COLLER AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN CLINICAL MEDICINE


John Nathanson grew up in Scarsdale, NY, and graduated from Amherst

College in 2013 with a degree in Neuroscience. At the Icahn School of Medicine,

John conducted research regarding the environmental factors that contribute

to concussions in the NFL and outcomes after cervical spine surgery. He

participated in the development of a novel metric to more accurately determine

concussion rates in professional football.

Throughout his time at the Icahn School of Medicine, John was heavily involved

in youth science education outreach. He volunteered for MedDocs, Health

Education Initiative, Sinai Neuroscience Outreach Program, and served as

co-director of MedStart, an organization that provides year-round science and

health education to East Harlem middle school students. John has been an

active member of the Admissions Committee, a Peer Advisor, and an anatomy

teaching assistant.

John is a member of Alpha Omega Alpha, the medical honor society, and

Sigma Xi, and is graduating with Distinction in Research. He thanks his family

and friends for their constant support. Additionally, John is grateful for the

unparalleled mentorship from his physician role models, especially Dr. Gliatto,

Dr. Choudhri, Dr. Simon, and Dr. Mirels. John will complete his residency in

Internal Medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

29

MASTER OF PUBLIC HEALTH OUTSTANDING CULMINATING EXPERIENCE: CAPSTONE

Heather Noelami Omdal

Heather Omdal graduated from Wheaton College in Illinois, where she majored

in Biology. During her first year at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai,

Heather worked full-time as the manager for a pediatric gastroenterologist

private practice on the Upper East Side while taking on a full course load in

the Global Health track, Epidemiology and Biostatistics concentration. She left

this position after she was selected as one of two interns for the Gender Section

at the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund where she participated in a

team conducting evaluations of gender-based programming in UNICEF country

offices and researched the best-practice interventions for Adolescent Sexual

Reproductive Health in low and middle income countries. Throughout her

time here, Heather served as the MPH representative on the Student Council

and, during her second year, as the Masters representative on the Steering

Committee for all master programs.

She is incredibly thankful to all her friends within the MPH program and

faculty mentors who have shaped her graduate experience. She recognizes that

many of the opportunities given to her were made possible by the people who

encouraged her to use her voice and academic pursuits to speak up and advocate

for issues of inequity and opportunities to serve communities through Public

Health research.

Heather would like to thank her parents, who have always encouraged her love

of learning, compassion, and professional aspirations. She would also like

to thank Andrea Rothenberg for providing the support and mentorship she

needed during her culminating experience. After completing her MPH, Heather

intends to pursue a career in International Health in program monitoring and

evaluation.

30

EXCELLENCE IN BIOSTATISTICS AWARD

David Joseph Paulucci

David Paulucci is a Clinical Research Coordinator in the Department of Urology

at Mount Sinai. The primary function of his job is statistical analysis and data

management which have been introduced to him or refined by the courses in the

MS in Biostatistics Program. The coursework in the program has strengthened

David’s skills in the management and analysis of data, leading to publication

of several peer reviewed publications in the field of urologic oncology. Prior to

entering the MS in Biostatistics Program, David earned a BA in Economics and

Psychology from Baruch College (CUNY).

31

MASTER OF PUBLIC HEALTH OUTSTANDING CULMINATING EXPERIENCE: MANUSCRIPT

Rosalyn Plotzker

Rosalyn Plotzker came to the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai to train

in General Preventive Medicine within the Department of Environmental

Medicine and Public Health. While at the School of Medicine, Rosalyn focused

her work on HIV prevention, tobacco cessation, and health communication. She

had the privilege to work with the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

Bureau of HIV, the ABC News Medical Unit, the AIDS Community Research

Initiative of America, the Jack Martin Fund Clinic at Mount Sinai, The Thai

Red Cross AIDS Research Centre, the Bronx VA Medical Center, and the CDC

Zika response team in San Juan, Puerto Rico. This year she presented her work

at the Unite for Sight Global Health Conference, and will also present at the

International AIDS Conference in July.

Rosalyn is incredibly grateful for the loving support and mentorship she

received during her training. She would like to thank her family—Irene,

Richard, and Alan Plotzker; her mentors Drs. Phanuphak, Brown, Gelman,

Rodriguez-Caprio, and Edelstein; her preventive medicine gurus (a.k.a.

residency leadership)—Drs. Garland and Oliver, and Ms. Lopez; and her co-

residents Drs. Rajupet, Milbank, Thanik, Frawley, Matthei, Tannis, and Metta.

She also thanks Drs. Karpiak, Ghandi, Thomas, Earle-Richardson, Taylor,

Landesman, and Silak.

32

BURTON DRAYER PRIZE IN RADIOLOGY AND BIOMEDICAL IMAGING

Raghuram Posham

Raghuram graduated magna cum laude from New York University in 2009

with a BA in Economics and a minor in Biochemistry. He then spent four years

expanding on his interests in healthcare delivery. He received a Master’s degree

in Health Policy in Management from NYU while working at the New York City

Department of Health monitoring influenza incidence rates. He subsequently

spent two years at PricewaterhouseCoopers as a management consultant in its

health industries practice.

Raghuram joined the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in 2013 as a

Mount Sinai Scholars and Leaders Merit Scholar, and has maintained a strong

commitment to medical research. He has presented his findings at national

conferences, and was awarded the JVIR Editor’s Top Award for Outstanding

Clinical Research at the Society of Interventional Radiology’s 2017 Annual

Meeting. Raghuram will be continuing his training at Mount Sinai as part of the

inaugural Integrated Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology residency.

33

MOUNT SINAI AUXILIARY BOARD PRIZE FOR EXCELLENCE IN THE STUDY OF HEALTH CARE DELIVERY SERVICES


Phoebe Prioleau came to the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai to pursue

a dual MD/MPH degree after graduating with Honors and Distinction from

Stanford University in 2006. At Stanford, she majored in French Literature and

German Studies, and also received an MA in French Literature. She pursued

additional graduate studies in Art History at Columbia University and received

an MA and an MPhil.

Phoebe has received several awards during her time at the Icahn School of

Medicine. She won first prize in the William Carlos Williams national poetry

competition and has published her poetry in three medical journals. She

is graduating with Distinction in Research, was awarded a Blue Ribbon for

her poster at Medical Student Research Day, and was inducted into the Gold

Humanism Honor Society and the public health honor society Delta Omega.

She has been involved with research projects in multiple disciples and has

contributed to four papers, with two first-author publications.

She would like to thank her parents and boyfriend, David, for their endless

support. Additionally, she thanks her mentors, especially Drs. Meah, Wajnberg,

Gault, Katz, Yanagisawa, and Reid-Adam. Phoebe will complete her residency

training in Pediatrics at Case Western.

34

MOUNT SINAI ALUMNI STUDENT LEADERSHIP AWARD

Alison P. Sanders, PhD

Alison P. Sanders, PhD, is a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of

Environmental Medicine and Public Health specializing in maternal and

children’s environmental health, molecular epidemiology, and epigenetics. She

received her doctorate in Environmental Sciences and Engineering from the

University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill in 2013, her MS in Environmental

Engineering from the University of Wisconsin—Madison in 2009 and her BS

in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Virginia in 2006. She has

authored 16 publications and delivered invited presentations to the CDC and

NIEHS among others.

Dr. Sanders served as co-chair of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount

Sinai Postdoc Executive Committee 2015-2016, and is a lead of the Mindich

Child Health and Development Institute’s Trainee Leadership Committee.

She is also a founding member of the NYC Postdoc Coalition, a group that

represents postdoctoral leadership from the seven major NYC institutes and

advocates on behalf over 4,000 NYC postdoctoral constituents. Additionally,

Dr. Sanders directs a science communication and teaching program funded

by the Burroughs Wellcome Fund that develops skills in lay and scientific

communications for postdoctoral fellows, and serves fifth-grade students at

the Boys and Girls Harbor Afterschool Program in East Harlem. Her program

has successfully trained 25 top postdoctoral scientists in communication with

lay audiences and over 20 percent of the program’s participants have already

obtained their next jobs or received promotions.

Alison is privileged to have worked with a team of outstanding, driven, and

professional postdoctoral scientists at the Icahn School of Medicine. She is

thankful for the mentorship and guidance of Drs. Robert Wright, Lisa Satlin,

Chris Gennings, Basil Hanss, and many other postdoctoral advocates and

mentors across the School of Medicine. She will be pursuing science policy and

academic careers in the fall.

35

DR. MORRIS B. BENDER AWARD IN CLINICAL NEUROLOGY

Emily M. Schorr

Emily Schorr came to the Icahn School of Medicine after graduating in 2012

from the Clark Honors College of University of Oregon. She majored in

Biology and graduated Phi Beta Kappa with highest distinctions in research

after presenting a thesis on auditory neurodevelopment. While at the School

of Medicine, she has been engaged with neurology since her first year. She

led the student neurology interest group and served as neurology clerkship

representative. Emily delved into a wide range of research throughout medical

school in the fields of neurology and oncology, and has co-authored several

published papers. She was honored to be inducted into the Gold Humanism

Honor Society and selected to be student commencement speaker.

Emily would like to thank her father, mother, and brother, her family in New

York, her friends, and her partner, Brian, for their unwavering support. She

also thanks her phenomenal mentors, particularly Dr. Krieger, Dr. Green, and

Dr. Motiwala. She is deeply grateful to have had the opportunity to do clinical

research with outstanding Sinai faculty such as Dr. Mascarenhas and Dr. Fields.

For her preliminary year and Neurology residency, Emily will to continue to

train at The Mount Sinai Hospital.

36

MASTER OF HEALTHCARE DELIVERY LEADERSHIP CAPSTONE AWARD

Neomi Ashwin Shah, MD

Neomi Shah, MD, completed her clinical fellowship and MPH at Yale University

School of Medicine where she received the Ruth L. Kirschstein National

Research Service Award. After completing her fellowship, Dr. Shah was a

faculty member at Albert Einstein College of Medicine/Montefiore prior to

joining Mount Sinai. Dr. Shah leads a multidisciplinary translational study

that investigates the effect of sleep apnea. Additionally, Dr. Shah is the Medical

Director of Bronx Clinic for the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of

Latinos (HCHS/SOL), a landmark population-based study of health outcomes

in the U.S. Latino population. Dr. Shah is board-certified in Internal Medicine,

Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine. Dr. Shah serves on the editorial

board of CHEST and Journal of Epidemiological Research. Additionally, she

serves on CHEST’s Sleep Steering Committee, American Thoracic Society’s

Sleep and Respiratory Neurobiology Assembly’s Education Committee. She has

published her research in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care

Medicine, Sleep and Breathing, Arteriosclerosis and Thrombosis Vascular Biology

and The Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine.

Dr. Shah’s capstone project for the Masters in Health Care Delivery Leadership

Program involves a digital communications campaign centered on a

comprehensive mobile app for patients and providers, interoperable with

existing HER (EPIC) and involving an educational pilot of the initiative to

patients within the Mount Sinai Health System. The scope of the digital portfolio

includes website, patient portal, social media, telehealth, and wearable (home

monitoring) towards the central aim of building a model of patient engagement

within a population health framework.

37

MASTER OF SCIENCE IN BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES THESIS AWARD

Giulia Victoria Taccheri

Giulia Taccheri grew up in Indiana and attended the University of Notre Dame,

graduating with a dual degree in Pre-professional Science and French. Upon

graduation, she was hired as a Chief Research Associate in the Emergency

Department of St. Vincent’s Hospital in Connecticut, where she led a team

of undergraduates in an interventional cervical and breast cancer screening

research study. Inspired by the ability of research to endow an analytical lens

with which to foster the improvement of patient care, she came to the Masters

Program at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

At the School of Medicine, Giulia joined the Morishita lab in the Department of

Psychiatry, Neuroscience, and Ophthalmology, where her main research focus

has been the role of structural and behavioral changes during the adolescent

critical period in the development of adult visual attention. She has served

on Student Council, mentored at the Adolescent Health Center, and served

on the Community Outreach Committee of the East Harlem Health Outreach

Partnership (EHHOP). In the fall, Giulia will matriculate into Medical School

at the Medical College of Wisconsin, where she plans to pursue her MD while

working in translational research to facilitate the discovery and implementation

of early diagnostic tools that can be used in disease detection.

38

DR. ALAN F. GUTTMACHER OBSTETRICS AND GYNECOLOGY PRIZE

Juliana Brier Taney

Juliana Taney graduated in 2011 from Brown University, where she majored in

Community Health, and completed a post-baccalaureate program at Bryn Mawr

College in 2012.

While at the Icahn School of Medicine, she became an active volunteer at the

East Harlem Health Outreach Partnership (EHHOP), the student-run free clinic

for uninsured patients in East Harlem. She served as the Chief Clinic Manager,

sitting on both the Executive and Steering Committees, and later moved into a

clinical teaching role during her fourth year as a Head Teaching Senior. She was

additionally involved with multiple community and global health initiatives,

including the organization of World Aids Week and teaching Basic Life Support

to medical students in Haiti.

Juliana would like to thank her family for their unwavering support throughout

medical school. She also thanks her mentors, especially Dr. Katherine Chen in

the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, for her guidance and support,

as well as Dr. Charles Ascher-Walsh in the Department of Obstetrics and

Gynecology, for helping to cultivate her strong interest in gynecologic surgery.

Juliana will continue her training as a resident at the University of Chicago in

Obstetrics and Gynecology.

39

DR. HAROLD LAMPORT BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH PRIZE


Benjamin graduated in 2009 from Harvard University, where he majored

in History and Science. For two years prior to starting medical school, he

participated in Orthopedic spine research at the Hospital for Joint Diseases.

During medical school, Benjamin’s area of interest shifted to Dermatology,

and he will graduate with Distinction in Research for projects in the field. He

has been a TA in multiple courses, as well as a Peer Tutor and Senior Tutor.

During his two Scholarly Years, Benjamin, a former NCAA champion, National

Champion, and World Championship Team Silver Medalist in fencing, continued

to train and compete in national and international tournaments.

Benjamin has had the privilege of working with an outstanding mentor,

Dr. Emma Guttman, Vice Chair of Research in the Department of Dermatology,

and during his time in medical school has contributed to 11 papers and eight

abstracts in several areas of Dermatology, including atopic dermatitis, alopecia

areata, contact dermatitis, and ichthyosis. He would like to thank Dr. Guttman

for all her help, support, and encouragement. He also thanks his additional

mentors, Dr. Mark Lebwohl, Chair of the Department of Dermatology, and

Dr. James Krueger, Head of the Laboratory of Investigative Dermatology at

Rockefeller University. Finally, he would like to thank his family for all their

loving support. Benjamin will pursue the next step of his training as a resident

at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in Dermatology.

40

DR. HOWARD RAPPAPORT PEDIATRIC AWARD

Scott Jason Weinreb

Scott Weinreb graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania

in 2012 with a BS in Economics. He completed post-baccalaureate pre-medical

studies at Bryn Mawr College prior to matriculating at the Icahn School of

Medicine at Mount Sinai.

While at the Icahn School of Medicine, Scott promoted advocacy in leadership

roles at the East Harlem Health Outreach Partnership (EHHOP), serving as the

Referrals Chair, Chronic Care Senior, and Chief Cardiology Teaching Senior.

Scott has participated in global health fieldwork in Lima, Peru, and conducted

obesity-focused research in patients with congenital heart disease, which was

presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies Meeting. In his fourth year, Scott

was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society and the Gold

Humanism Honor Society.

Scott sends heartfelt thanks to Mom, Dad, David, Matthew and Lori, who have

supported him from pediatric patient to budding pediatrician. He is grateful

to his fellow graduates, to his mentors in the Mount Sinai Departments of

Pediatrics and Internal Medicine, and to the inspiring patients and families

who have introduced him to clinical medicine. Scott will continue his residency

training in Pediatrics at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

41

JAMES FELT MEMORIAL PRIZE FOR HIGHEST OVERALL STANDING


Hope Weissler graduated from Yale College, from which she earned a degree

in English. She is most proud of her research during her time at the Icahn

School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. With the mentorship of Dr. Taub, in the

Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Hope has presented at regional

and national plastic surgery conferences and has had articles accepted for

publication in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Annals of Plastic Surgery, The

Breast Journal, and Journal of Craniofacial Surgery. Hope is graduating with a

Distinction in Research for this work.

At the Icahn School of Medicine, Hope has also focused on education and

mentorship. She coordinated the MedStart extracurricular program for at-risk

youth, for which she received a Gold Presidential Service Award. She founded

and ran the Plastic Surgery Interest Group. Hope has served as a Senior Tutor

Coordinator for two years and created tutor training sessions for the Senior and

Peer Tutoring programs. She also contributed to specialty- and USMLE board-

focused mentoring.

Hope thanks her family, roommates, and friends for their support and good

humor throughout medical school and the residency process. Additionally, she

is grateful to Dr. Taub for his mentorship. She will continue her training at

Duke University in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

42

HAROLD ELSTER MEMORIAL PRIZE FOR HIGHEST ACADEMIC STANDING


Ben obtained his undergraduate degree in Anthropology from the University of

Maine, graduating summa cum laude in 2010. After working for two years in

Orono, ME, and Philadelphia (and dreaming of living in New York), Ben arrived

at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in 2012. His research in medical

school was conducted in the Liver Division of the Department of Medicine,

where he pursued a dedicated research year from 2015-2016 and learned the

fundamentals of laboratory and computational science.

In addition to receiving the Harold Elster Memorial Prize, Ben will be

graduating with Distinction in Research and as a member of the Alpha Omega

Alpha medical honor society. He will continue his training as an Internal

Medicine resident at Columbia University.

Ben thanks his parents, Paul and Maridith, for their incredible patience,

support, and wisdom. He would also like to thank his mentor, Scott Friedman,

for introducing him to the joys of research and providing an inspirational

example of what it means to be a physician-scientist. Most of all, Ben would like

to thank his wife, Mandy, for all of her love, strength, and encouragement over

the years.

43

FACULTY AWARDS PRESENTATION

44

45

DR. SOLOMON SILVER AWARD IN CLINICAL MEDICINE

Deena Altman, MD

Deena Altman, MD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine,

Division of Infectious Diseases, with a secondary appointment in the

Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences. Dr. Altman first joined the

Icahn School of Medicine as a fellow in Infectious Diseases after obtaining her

medical degree at the Medical School for International Health at Ben Gurion

University and completing her Internal Medicine residency at NYU. During her

ID fellowship she performed translational molecular epidemiology work on

methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), which extended to a third

year of fellowship, through support of a T-32.

Her primary research focuses on the within-host adaptation and virulence

of S. aureus. During her third year of fellowship, Dr. Altman performed an

observership with Professor Derrick Crook in Oxford, UK, a leader in genomic

approaches to Infectious Diseases and Microbiology. Inspired by his work, she

returned to Mount Sinai and initiated the collaborative Pathogen Surveillance

Program (PSP), alongside leaders from Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Clinical

Microbiology, Infection Prevention and Infectious Diseases, around the common

goal of using genomics to define bacterial diversity in order to detect, define,

and stem outbreaks at the Mount Sinai Health System. The PSP has assisted

in Infection Prevention and DOH efforts, produced several publications and

enabled funding from the NIH and the DOH, providing research and salary

support for numerous students, post docs, and fellow-to-faculty transitions.

Dr. Altman was the recipient of the institution’s CTSA-funded KL2 Scholars

Award and is a current Lead Academy fellow. She will also be attending the

2017 Masters Commencement Ceremony, where she will obtain her Masters in

Clinical Research.

46

THE DR. HAROLD AND GOLDEN LAMPORT RESEARCH AWARD

Dusan Bogunovic, PhD

Dusan Bogunovic, PhD, is a tenure-track Assistant Professor in the Microbiology

Department of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. He also holds

appointments in the Department of Pediatrics and the Mindich Child Health

and Development Institute. He completed his PhD thesis in Molecular Oncology

and Immunology at New York University Medical School and his postdoctoral

fellowship in Genetics and Immunology at The Rockefeller University.

He was awarded the 2015 Milstein Award for Young Investigators by the

International Cytokine and Interferon Society, 2016 Young Investigator

Award by American Society for Microbiology and in 2016 Scientific American

included his work on first broad spectrum antiviral drug discovery in the top 10

innovations “with the potential to change the world.”

The Bogunovic lab focuses on the study of human immunogenetics, aiming

to improve the understanding of the human immune system by studying:

1) individuals with rare auto-inflammatory syndromes; 2) individuals with

severe clinical presentations of infections usually causing mild or no clinical

disease; and 3) genetic basis of immune response in neoplasm. To dissect these

phenotypes they use genomic, genetic, molecular biology, cellular biology,

immunology and clinical tools. By illuminating the elusive pathogenesis of

these diseases, they are laying the foundation for a novel and paradigm-shifting

approach to the rational design of both preventative medicine (vaccines and

genetic counseling) and treatments beyond current standards.

47


Emily Jane Gallagher, MD, PhD

Emily Jane Gallagher, MD, PhD, received her medical degree from the

University College Dublin (UCD), Ireland, and her PhD in Physiology and

Medical Physics from the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland (RCSI). She is a

Member of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland and is Board Certified in

Internal Medicine and Endocrinology.

Dr. Gallagher completed her internal medicine residency in Dublin and

became a Specialist Registrar (fellow) in Endocrinology in Dublin. In 2007,

Dr. Gallagher moved to Mount Sinai Hospital and completed a Research Track

Internal Medicine Residency, and a three-year Endocrinology Fellowship at

Mount Sinai, where she was Chief Fellow and performed research into the links

between diabetes, obesity and cancer with Dr. Derek LeRoith. She received an

Endocrine Fellows Foundation Fellowship Development Research Grant.

She was appointed Assistant Professor in the Division of Endocrinology in

2012, and subsequently received a K08 from the National Cancer Institute to

study the role of hyperlipidemia in breast cancer progression in pre-clinical

models. She received a Tisch Cancer Institute Junior Scientist Award to study

the role of oxysterols and inflammation in breast cancer models in 2016, and a

Department of Medicine Junior Faculty Translational Collaborative Research

Pilot Award in 2017.

Dr. Gallagher’s research publications include: pre-clinical studies examining the

metabolic effects of certain targeted cancer therapies; studies on the potential

mitogenic effects of insulin analogs; the mechanisms through which insulin

and insulin receptor signaling in cancer cells promote cancer metastasis;

and the mechanisms through which hypercholesterolemia promote breast

cancer progression. Her ongoing research is uncovering novel mechanisms

linking lipids and breast cancer progression. She is involved in a number of

collaborative basic science and translational research studies within Mount

Sinai, nationally and internationally. She has translated her research to her

clinical practice where she is spearheading the OncoEndocrinology clinic.

48


Susmita A. Sahoo, PhD

Susmita A. Sahoo, PhD, is an Assistant Professor at the Cardiovascular Research

Center (CVRC), Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Dr. Roger Hajjar

recruited her in October 2014. She completed her education at the Indian

Institute of Technology, Mumbai, India, and her postdoctoral fellowship at

Northwestern University.

She established a new line of research in the field of stem cells and cardio-

vascular regenerative medicine: the study of miniature biological nanovesicles

secreted by cells called “exosomes” and their role in cardiac regeneration.

Currently, her laboratory is developing two other novel research areas:

epitranscriptomic mRNA modifications in heart failure and AAV-exosomes as

a vector for myocardial gene delivery. Her research offers the possibility of

developing innovative cell-free therapeutic agents and gene delivery vehicles for

the heart. Her research is supported by funding from NIH, AHA, and NYSTEM.

Dr. Sahoo is the recipient of numerous awards. She received a gold medal for

securing the highest rank in Utkal University, India, and was the winner of

AHA-BCVS Outstanding Early Career Investigator Award, 2013, and ISEV2013

Young Investigator Award for Outstanding Oral Presentation. She has also

mentored award-winning abstracts and grants (AHA, K01 and F30 postdoctoral

and predoctoral fellowships), and has 26 high-impact publications to her name.

Dr. Sahoo is the current Chair of the International Organizing Committee for

the annual meeting of International Society of Extracellular Vesicles (ISEV2017)

being held in Toronto, Canada from May18-21. She is an Ad Hoc Reviewer for

NIH study sections and special emphasis panels, a reviewer for AHA grants and

AHA meetings and for several notable journals in the cardiovascular field. She

mentors five postdoctoral fellows.

Dr. Sahoo would like to express sincere gratitude to her mentors, Dr. Roger J.

Hajjar and Dr. Valentin Fuster, the Award Committee, the Dean, Dr. Dennis S.

Charney, and Dr. Harold and Golden Lamport Foundation for this very special

recognition.

49


Junqian (Gordon) Xu, PhD

Junqian Xu, PhD, is Assistant Professor of Radiology and Neuroscience

in the Translational and Molecular Imaging Institute (TMII) at the Icahn

School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Dr. Xu joined Mount Sinai in 2012 to

apply his neuroimaging research in neurological and psychiatric disorders

using advanced magnetic resonance imaging techniques. He was named the

Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) scholar (2013) and the Richard

and Susan Friedman research scholar from the Friedman Brain Institute

(2015) because of his innovative approaches in imaging neurodegeneration

in the human spinal cord and optic nerve, with applications in multiple

sclerosis, spinal cord injury, cervical spondylotic myelopathy, optic neuritis

and glaucoma. He received the Brain and Behavior Foundation NARSAD Young

Investigator Award (2014) for his research in imaging the function and structure

of the small midbrain and brainstem nuclei, with applications in depression,

addiction, movement disorders, and Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Xu’s research

program is currently funded by the National Eye Institute (NEI), National

Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), National Institute of

Mental Health (NIMH), and the Department of Defense (DoD).

Dr. Xu graduated from Peking University in Beijing, China, with a BS in

Chemistry. He obtained his PhD degree in Physical Chemistry from Washington

University in St. Louis with a Department of Defense predoctoral fellowship.

After completing his National Multiple Sclerosis Society postdoctoral fellowship

at Washington University School of Medicine, Dr. Xu joined the Human

Connectome Project (HCP) at the Center for Magnetic Resonance Research,

University of Minnesota. During his time within the Human Connectome

project, Dr. Xu had made significant contribution to the HCP-style high-

resolution multimodal neuroimaging data acquisition and analyses, which have

been used as a reference for other large-scale human neuroimaging projects

funded by NIH and have seen widespread adoption in the neuroimaging field.

50

51

Closing Remarks

David Muller, MD, FACP

Dean for Medical Education

Marietta and Charles C. Morchand Chair Department of Medical Education

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

52

Jeffrey Jan Aalberg Jr.

Clara Abena Abbey

Mariangela Agovino

Afsana Alam

Warisha S. Amin

Ame John Anteyi

Salman Anwar

Marie Angeline C. Aquino

Faven Araya

Shahryar Moiz Baig

Ronald Bangiyev

Martine Alexandra Baptiste

Krishna Baumet

Travis-John H Bergmann

Minakshi Bhardwaj

Deepika Bhasin

Ceciley Marie Bly

Menyel A. Brooks

Austin Michael Brown

Jordonna Brown

Charlot Cantave

Mario Cassará

Kinsuk Natvarlal Chauhan

Melody Stephanie D’Alessandro

Pooja Asutosh Dave

Kayla Jean Dellefratte

Jean Bernard Noel Denis

Vimi J. Desai

Richa A. Deshpande

Rhoena Bente Vanessa Desir

Samriddhi Dhakal

Jose Carlos Diarte Ortiz

Molly Laura Maryland Dobelle

Aletheia S. Donahue

Somayeh Fahim Nia

Michelle L. Falcon

Rhea C. Farquhar

Carl Daniel Ferri

Kimberly L. Fischer

Jose Carlos Flores Rodarte*

Adairro Dravon Fuller

Cristina L Gallo

Alycia Yvonne Gardner

Jessica Garzon

Sarah Goodman

Ruchir Goswami

Esha Gupta

Radeyah Hack

Yaaseen Aziz Hossen

Ya-Ching Hsieh

Haider Ali Hussain

Hillary Elhard Jenny*

Crystal Howard Johnson

Muthumeena Kannappan

Prerna Khetan

Angad Singh Kochar*

Nathaniel Krispin

Elizabeth A. LaRosa

Alina S LaTouche

Mario Emmanuel Lavelanet

Tung Ming Leung

Shao Ye Li

Yaqi Li

Alex Lieberman-Cribbin

Wil Lieberman-Cribbin

Jasmine Renee Major

Lucia R. Mannini

Uvesh Mohomed Hanif Mansuri

James Vincent Masullo

Pamela B. Matthew

Daniel Meller

Natasha Tina Mody

Patricia Moscibrodzki

Chiaki Nakata*

Preeya Nandkumar

Haroun Babajide Ogun

Ayodele Gabriel Ogunmola

Selassie Joasline Ogyaadu

Chidinma Okezue

Ibeawuchi Alexander Okoroafor

Heather Noelami Omdal

Hinaben J. Panchal

Dharit Rasikbhai Patel

Steven Ravendra Persaud

Rosalyn Plotzker

Priti R. Poojary

Lindsay Pauline Poulakos

Susan Preziotti

Phoebe Gibson Prioleau*

Sritha Reddy Rajupet

Rachel Michele Reece

Nicole Reeves

Taylor Ann Robbins

Brittany Noel Robles

Gabriella Safyer*

Jashan Preet Sandhu

MASTER OF PUBLIC HEALTH

2017 CANDIDATES FOR DEGREES

53

Bradley Benjamin

Farhan Chaudhry

Angela Choi

Evan Cody

Lizette M. Couto

Andrew Delgado

Thomas Evashwick-Rogler

Ahmed Rafic Farhat

Riddhi D. Gundani

Usman Y. Hameedi

John Robinson Heard

Rosmel Enrique Hernandez

Margaret Hung

Rosa S. Kim

David Todd Melnekoff

Rupa Mirmira

Rasmus Moeller

Sonali Narang

Y. Tram Nguyen

Kelly Nicol

Roland P. Pene

Tanni Rahman

Rohana Ramalingam

Naomi Shakerdge

Chloe J. Solomon

Sankalp Suresh Sonar

Shahtaz N. Sruty

Giulia Victoria Taccheri

Marina Tadros

Aaron Topol

Miguel Angel Vizarreta Sandoval

Maureen E. Wentling

Robert Jordan Wiener

Akshitha Yarrabothula

Jimeen Yoo

Ze Zhang

MASTER OF SCIENCE IN BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES

Sekou Kante Olga Lukatskaya David Joseph Paulucci

MASTER OF SCIENCE IN BIOSTATISTICS

Chankrit Sethi

Qainat N. Shah

Tara Z. Sheikh

Shaina Rhea Sidnauth

Asha Singh

Laura Ann Singh

Tara Mandy Singh

Michael J. Smith

Bernardo Gawan Solomon, Jr.

Kenneth Spencer

Aradhana Nallur Srinagesh

Jennilea Steffens

Natalie L. Stephen

Tyler Daniel Strickland

Sharifah Suleiman

Chaturon Tangsangwornthamma

Sumaiya Tasneem

Erin Thanik

Ronald Coury Tisdale*

Luis Alberto Torres

Chengcheng Tu

Katharina Ute Turcios-Wiswe

Joshua Usani*

Tom Ziniu Wang

Jonathan Daniel Weber

Kristina Barcelona Wong

Kevin Young Xu

*MD/MPH Program

MASTER OF PUBLIC HEALTH continued

54

Yusuf Beebeejaun

Collin E.M. Brathwaite

Abigail R. Chen

Diana Dorfman Deutsch

Umesh K. Gidwani

Lou-Ann London

Reymundo Lozano

Michael P. Lucchesi

Yvonne B. Meyers

Jermaine Jay Molina-Powell

Ruslan Moncada

Syed Ali Sajjad Naqvi

Anroy Keston Ottley

Erica B. Peltz

Sarah Ann Pesce

Ramon Rivera

Maureen Ruga

Mary Joy C. Santillan

Neomi Ashwin Shah

Takeko Takeshige

Samantha Nicole Violante

Stefanie Brecker Zalasin

MASTER OF SCIENCE IN HEALTHCARE DELIVERY LEADERSHIP

Mingshu Dong

Amy Virginia Killie

Melissa Mae LaRocca

Rachelle Manookian

Kelly Michelle Morgan

Jacqueline Anne Odgis

Nancy Elizabeth Pinnell

Meredith Jane Ross

Shruti Shenbagam

MASTER OF SCIENCE IN GENETIC COUNSELING

Doaa Sharif Alsaleh

Deena Altman

Lili Chan

Phapichaya Chaoprang Herrera

Kamini Doobay*

Malika Garg

Nana Gegechkori

Robert H. Gross

Jacob Andrew Martin*

Kusum Sara Mathews

Jessica Reid-Adam

John Michael Rozehnal*

Roberta Kay Sefcik*

Maximiliano Renzo Sobrero*

Nadine Hyacinth Spring

Mahlet Yishak

Ji Yoon Yoon

*MD/MSCR Program

MASTER OF SCIENCE IN CLINICAL RESEARCH

55

DOCTOR OF MEDICINE

Uloma Nino Olamipo Abii

Sarah Rose Abramson


Daniel Antonio Alicea Delgado

Yasmin Amir




Katherine Joan Arden

Yotam Arens

Kimbia Lois Jacqueline Arno

Preston James Mebane Atteberry

Danielle Elizabeth Barcak

Derrick Boakye Bremang

Annika Burnett

Timothy James Cashman^

Prapti Chatterjee

Harshvardhan Chawla

Sophie Georgina Clarke

Brian David Cohen


Lara Crystal-Ornelas


Holt Squires Cutler

Samuel Louis Cytryn

Natalie Fischer Davis


Kamini Doobay+

Kendall Downer

Erin M. Duggan

Stephanie E. Ellis

Cheyenne Falat

Kalla A. Gervasio


Efe Chantal Ghanney

Nathaniel Joseph Glasser

Peter Goff^

Gabrielle Gettenberg Goldberg

Alexander Gomez

Krupa Sarah Harishankar

Anne Rene Hart

Mitra Heshmati^


Karen Hu

Kevin Shawn Chen Hu*


Asif Javed

Hillary Elhard Jenny*

Ian Fisher Jones

Amalia Ormando Kane

Alexis Rebecca Karlin

Guy Katz

Varun Goel Kejriwal

Justin Carlyle Key

Shradha Devi Khadge

Sameer Ahmad Khan


Shingo Kihira

Angad Singh Kochar*

Nina Neha Kogekar

Neeraja Konuthula

Brian D. Krawitz

Lawrence Chihyung Ku

Ian Brennan Kwok

Megan Accursia Cummins Lancaster^

Joseph Leanza

Danielle Justine Lee

Jason Jihoon Lee


Chaya Levovitz^



Sonya Makhni

Jacob Andrew Martin+


David Masuck

Mary Catherine McGunigal

Anthony Lester Melendez

Erick Mendoza

Robert Kent Merrill

Carolina Miranda

Shelley Xinran Mo

Gregory Mullokandov^

Nadav Nahumi*

Chiaki Nakata*

Aneesh Nandam

Emma Diamond Nathaniel


Dac Anh Nguyen^

Ebiere Diseye Okah

Olufolarin Oluremi Oke

Maximiliano Renzo Sobrero*

Nadine Hyacinth Spring

Mahlet Yishak

Ji Yoon Yoon

*MD/MSCR Program

56

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN CLINICAL RESEARCH

Morgan C. Osmond

Brian Lim Park

Neil S. Patel

Vir Patel

Raghuram Posham

Phoebe Gibson Prioleau*

Amreen Savanna Rahman

Eleanor Sherwood Roberts

Edward Samuel Rothenberg

John Michael Rozehnal+


Gabriella Safyer*

Eliana Brailovsky Saltzman

Julia Skinner Sann

Janelle Santos

Dipal Vijay Savla

Daniella Michelle Schocken

Julie Rachel Schoonover

Emily M. Schorr

Roberta Kay Sefcik+

Priya Sehgal

Rachel Anne Sennett^

Jeffrey William Shevach

John Inho Shin

Noa Simchoni^

Maximiliano Renzo Sobrero+

Kathryn Anne Stascavage

Julie Christina Sung

Juliana Brier Taney

Ronald Coury Tisdale*

Thuy-An Tran

Jonathan Chun Ming Tsang


Joshua Usani*

Sarah Elise Utz

Harish Vasudevan^

Luke David Wandrey

Scott Jason Weinreb


Evan Michael Wiley

John Michael Williamson



Vernon Wu

Kira Xie

Nancy Yimei Yang

James Jun Yoon

David Yannan Zhang^

*MD/MPH Program+MD/MSCR Program^MD/PhD Program

DOCTOR OF MEDICINE continued

57

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN CLINICAL RESEARCH

Aryan Esmaeili

Ya-El Mandel-Portnoy

Kimberly McClinch

James Warren Murrough

Keith Sigel

Justine D. Witzke

Lauren Colette Aguado

Brateil Badal

Neeta Bala

Mafalda Fernanda Cabral dos Santos Barbosa

Shannon Beaty

Noam D. Beckmann

Gillian Morven Belbin

Jeffrey M. Bernitz

Mehdi Bouhaddou

Timothy James Cashman*

Hannah M. Cates

Alexander William Charney**

Aleksey Chudnovskiy

Chi-Yeh Chung

Neil Dhawan

Aslihan Dincer

Aparna Agrawal Divaraniya

Amanda Dobbyn

Qiaonan Duan

Gabor Egervari

Rana S. Elkholi

Antonio Frasca

Brian E. Fulton-Howard

Thomas Jamison Gardner

Stephanie Gillespie

Benjamin S. Glicksberg

Peter Goff*

Kalpana Gopalakrishnan

Alesha Grant

Yael S. Grossman

Wenqian He

Mitra Heshmati*

Brandon Hogstad

Miyoun Hong

Maryam Jahanshahi

Giselle Ayanna Joseph

Barbara Juarez

Suzanna Alexandra Katz

Lindsay K. Kelly

Stacy M. Ku

Megan Accursia Cummins Lancaster*

Kenneth M. Law

Paul E. Leon

Michael Colin Letko

Sarah Elizabeth Levinson

Chaya Levovitz*

Hongru Li

Jialiang Liang

Rose Giroux Long

John Nicholas Mariani

Bridget Alexandra Matikainen-Ankney

Gregory Mullokandov*

Matthew Ryan Pendleton

Lauren Andrea Peters

Madeline Leah Pfau

Zulekha A. Qadeer

Theresa A. Reimels

Arven Saunders

Joseph Scarpa, Jr.*

Adam Schaffner

Rachel Anne Sennett*

Joong Hyuk Francis Sheen

Noa Simchoni*

Steven Glenn Smith

Yifei Sun

Yukie Takabatake

Harish Vasudevan*

Huan Wang

Zichen Wang

Mitchell Scott Wold

Benjamin Chih-Hao Yen

Zara Zelenko

David Yannan Zhang*

*MD/PhD Program

** PhD/Residency Psychiatry

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES AND NEUROSCIENCE

To all the graduates,

On behalf of the Department of Medical Education and

the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences of the Icahn

School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, we wish you the best

of luck in your future endeavors.

Congratulations on all your accomplishments and on

completing this momentous milestone.

One Gustave L. Levy Place ♦ New York, NY 10029

http://icahn.mssm.edu

ICAHN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT MOUNT SINAI

Documents

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Achievement Ceremony Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Achievement Ceremony THURSDAY, MAY 11, 2017 LEO