Three faculty members from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have been elected to the National Academy of Medicine (NAM). Election to the NAM is considered one of the highest honors in health and medicine, recognizing individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service. The Icahn School of Medicine faculty members who were elected this year are:
- Neil S. Calman, MD, MMS, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Institute for Family Health and Professor and System Chair of the Alfred and Gail Engelberg Department of Family Medicine and Community Health
- Yasmin L. Hurd, PhD, Director of the Addiction Institute, Ward-Coleman Chair in Translational Research, and Professor of Psychiatry, Neuroscience, and Pharmacological Sciences
- Ramon E. Parsons, MD, PhD, Director of The Tisch Cancer Institute, Ward-Coleman Chair in Cancer Research, and Professor and Chair of the Department of Oncological Sciences
“These newly elected members represent the most exceptional researchers and leaders in science, health, and medicine,” says Dennis S. Charney, MD, the Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. “The election of Drs. Calman, Hurd, and Parsons is a distinguished achievement and well-deserved recognition of each of their leadership efforts and significant contributions to their particular fields of study.”
Neil S. Calman, MD, MMS
Dr. Calman is a nationally recognized leader in the field of family medicine and co-founder of the Institute for Family Health, a network of 31 federally qualified community health centers providing access to high-quality, fully integrated primary health care, behavioral health services, and oral health care targeted to the needs of medically underserved communities. In 2012, through an affiliation between the Institute and Mount Sinai, Dr. Calman became Professor and Chair of the new Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, where family physicians now practice and teach with full clinical privileges in the Mount Sinai Health System and its seven affiliated hospitals. Since 1983, Dr. Calman has led the Institute in developing family health centers in the Bronx, Manhattan, Brooklyn, and the Hudson Valley as well as three community-based family medicine residency training programs now part of Mount Sinai’s graduate medical education consortium. Dr. Calman is a leader in the national effort to eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in health outcomes, leading to the Institute’s designation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as a National Center of Excellence in the Elimination of Disparities. This work has been supported by funding from the CDC, the National Institutes of Health, and the Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health, as well as the New York State and New York City health departments.
Yasmin L. Hurd, PhD
Dr. Hurd is a recognized expert in translational neuroscience and addictive disorders. Her multidisciplinary research investigates the neurobiology underlying addiction disorders and related psychiatric illnesses. Dr. Hurd has been a leader in the field through her translational approaches to examine molecular and neurochemical events in the human brain and animal models to ascertain neurobiological correlates of behavior. She conducted pioneering studies of gene expression and epigenetic modifications in the postmortem human brain, research that has provided significant molecular insights about neuropsychiatric disorders. Already at early stages of her career, she helped to develop the in vivo microdialysis technique that enabled extracellular concentrations of neurotransmitters to be measured in live, active animals and is now used in many fields. Dr. Hurd has been a leading researcher regarding the developmental effects of cannabis and her innovative studies revealing cross-generational effects of cannabis have had broad implications. Her basic science research is complemented by human clinical studies with significant focus on the development of novel therapies. She is frequently published, serves on many national scientific boards, and has been a prominent scientific voice to the public regarding addiction and its health impact.
Ramon E. Parsons, MD, PhD
Dr. Parsons is a highly acclaimed researcher in cancer genetics who brings an interdisciplinary, holistic approach to The Tisch Cancer Institute. His research goals include identifying the genetic and biochemical changes that lead normal cells to develop into aggressive cancer cells. He discovered a tumor suppressor gene often mutated in cancer called PTEN, which provided a critical therapeutic target in a variety of cancers including breast, brain, prostate, and endometrial cancers. He favors organ-based studies that rely on human tissues, which he feels are essential to understanding the biochemistry of disease. The author of more than 90 original peer-reviewed articles, Dr. Parsons also has served as an editor on several journals, including Cancer Research.
New members are elected by current, active members through a selective process that recognizes people who have made major contributions to the advancement of the medical sciences, health care, and public health. Established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences, NAM is a national resource that provides independent, objective analysis and advice on health issues.
The new NAM members bring Mount Sinai’s total membership in the prestigious group to 24 present and past faculty members. The distinguished Mount Sinai faculty members whom Drs. Calman, Hurd and Parsons join in earning this honor are: • Joseph D. Buxbaum, PhD • Dennis S. Charney, MD • Kenneth L. Davis, MD • Robert J. Desnick, MD, PhD • Kurt W. Deuschle, MD •Angela Diaz, MD, MPH • Valentin Fuster, MD, PhD • Bruce Gelb, MD • Alison M. Goate, DPhil • E. Cuyler Hammond, DSc • Kurt Hirschhorn, MD • Philip J. Landrigan, MD, MSc • Diane E. Meier, MD • Eric J. Nestler, MD, PhD • Maria Iandolo New, MD • Peter Palese, PhD • Lynn D. Richardson, MD • Hugh A. Sampson, MD • Irving J. Selikoff, MD • Pamela Sklar, MD, PhD • Barbara G. Vickrey, MD, MPH.