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Mount Sinai Welcomes Action by United States to Rescind New Restrictions on Student Visas

Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Community, Featured

Mount Sinai is pleased to report that the federal government has rescinded a policy that would have stripped international students of their U.S. visas if their coursework was entirely online.

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) policy would have put international students at an unnecessary risk of COVID-19 and potentially displaced them if their home countries have closed their borders. The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai proudly joined educational institutions across the nation in opposing the policy as soon as it was announced on July 6. And on Monday Mount Sinai joined in filing an amicus brief in support of a suit that was brought by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts—calling the policy “arbitrary and capricious.” Scores of universities also supported the suit, as well as organizations representing international students.

During a short hearing Tuesday in Boston, the district judge made the sudden and welcome announcement that the new guidelines had been rescinded by the government. This reinstates a policy implemented in March amid the COVID-19 pandemic that gave international students flexibility to take all their classes online and remain legally in the United States.

“The ability of international students to study and conduct research at Mount Sinai is of great importance to us, and their contribution to our community enriches us all. Today’s battle was won, but the struggle continues. Therefore, as always, we stand in steadfast support of the rights and well-being of international students,” Kenneth L. Davis, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer, Mount Sinai Health System, and Dennis S. Charney, MD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and President for Academic Affairs, Mount Sinai Health System, said in a statement.

A Passion for Community Wellness Drives New Graduate Gavriella Hecht, MPH

Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Community, School

Gavriella Hecht, MPH, was one of 201 students receiving a master’s degree from Mount Sinai.

At a time when the world is focused on public health, the students in the Master of Public Health (MPH) program at the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai are as committed as ever to preventing disease, protecting the environment, and promoting good health at the local level and in populations around the globe.

Gavriella Hecht, who graduated from Mount Sinai’s MPH program on Friday, June 26, pursued the epidemiology track, taking on a variety of projects to gain knowledge and experience. She served as a research assistant on data management for the Integrated Care at Mount Sinai study on substance use among HIV patients. The study was conducted at outpatient HIV clinics within the Mount Sinai Health System.

In 2019, she presented research on opioids and HIV at the annual conference of the American Public Health Association. Earlier, Ms. Hecht had the opportunity to participate in county-level New York State projects that included lab work with mosquitoes and research on how certain species impact the West Nile virus.

“One of the great things about the Mount Sinai MPH program is that students have the opportunity to do significant work and really make a difference,” she says. “It allowed me to pursue my passions and to feel valued for my work. The faculty and staff are very committed to the success of their students.”

Today, Ms. Hecht is continuing her training through a two-year Centers for Disease Control and Prevention / Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists Applied Epidemiology Fellowship at the Arizona Department of Health Services. She is assigned to its Public Health Preparedness/Epidemiology and Disease Control Office of Infectious Diseases, working primarily on projects involving data management related to COVID-19, including the evaluation of electronic laboratory reporting and contact tracing.

At the Master’s Achievement Ceremony that preceded Commencement, Ms. Hecht was recognized for her accomplishments with the Excellence in Public Health Leadership and Service Award. She is also a member of the Delta Omega Honorary Society.

Ms. Hecht plans to continue her focus on epidemiology, studying patterns of zoonotic and vector-borne diseases, an emerging field she became interested in after taking a class on the topic at Mount Sinai. “My biggest passion,” she says, “is understanding how human, animal, and environmental health all impact each other.”

Mount Sinai Health System Profiles in Pride 2020

Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Community, Diversity and Inclusion

In the annual Profiles in Pride, the Mount Sinai Health System recognizes employees for their leadership and dedication to LGBTQ+ health equity. This year, we salute the following employees.

Michael Cruz, MS (they/theirs/he/his)

Program Manager, Institute for Advanced Medicine

Bringing HIV Prevention and Health Education to Diverse Communities

Michael is a first generation Latinx American, born and raised in Miami, Florida. They joined the HIV outreach team at Mount Sinai’s Institute for Advanced Medicine in 2014 and as Program Manager have used their role to expand Mount Sinai’s outreach to women, transgender and non-binary, incarcerated, and immigrant communities. As an active leader in Mount Sinai’s LGBTQ Employee Resource Group, Michael coordinates the MSHS outreach booth every year at Pridefest, the annual Pride month street fair (on hiatus this year due to COVID-19).

Patti Cuartas, PA-C, MBA, PMP (she, her, hers)

Executive Director, Information Technology, Population Health and Payer Systems

Mentoring and Supporting LGBTQ Employees and Allies

Patti is responsible for leading the development and implementation of business-aligned IT services to support Population Health activities for all populations, including commercially insured, Medicare, and Medicaid patients. She has been a tireless advocate for the inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity data across all of Mount Sinai’s patient data collection. As co-chair of the corporate Employee Resource Group, she helped to establish, and is an “out” role model in, Mount Sinai’s corporate employee mentoring program. In her spare time, Patti and her wife volunteer for Sugar Mutts Rescue, a 501(c)(3) dog rescue and farm sanctuary organization in Pennsylvania.

Leona Hess, PhD (she, her, hers)

Director of Strategy and Equity Education Programs, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Transforming Medical Education to Undo Racism and Bias

Leona brought her background and experience as an LGBT and anti-racism educator and a lesbian activist for social justice to the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai as its first Director of Strategy and Equity Education Programs, where she is leading a structured process to support complex change with a focus on the people side of change related to the School’s Racism and Bias Initiative.

Ellis Luka Katz, RN, MSN, CCRN, CMC (they, them, theirs)

RN, Neurosurgical ICU, Mount Sinai West

Promoting LGBTQ Affirmative Inpatient Care

El has been instrumental in advocating for and bringing educational resources to providers and staff within inpatient settings at Mount Sinai West on best practices in LGBTQ-sensitive and culturally competent care. They were able to get the inpatient whiteboards to accurately reflect each patient’s name and pronoun, which has become a model for the rest of the Health System. Their courage in coming out to colleagues as non-binary has also inspired efforts to increase colleague-to-colleague sensitivity and respect.

John Henry Pang, MD (he, him, his)

Department of Surgery/Division of Plastic Surgery, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Leading Research in Transgender Medicine and Surgery

John completed Mount Sinai Health System’s Transgender Surgery Fellowship two years ago, and today he specializes in the care of transgender and gender-nonconforming people. As a native of Hawaii and a longtime LGBTQ activist, he has a special interest in ensuring that medical education is inclusive of the needs of his community. He has published and lectured broadly on both plastic surgery and transgender care. He is the Research Group Lead for the Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, is an active member of the World Professional Association of Transgender Health, and has received multiple awards for his leadership and research in this area.

Julio C. Ramos (he, him, his)

MD Student, Class of 2021, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Engaging Student Activism for LGBTQ Equity and Inclusion

Julio is an active member in the Stonewall Alliance and oSTEM, the two LGBTQ student organizations at the Icahn School of Medicine. He participated in raising more than $7,000 during the Second Annual Mount Sinai Charity Drag Race and appeared in the contest in his drag persona, “Penelope.” During the pandemic, he led the PPE distribution task force at The Mount Sinai Hospital and Mount Sinai West.

Pamela Abner Receives Seed to Bloom Award for Corporate Community Service at Mount Sinai

Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Community, Diversity and Inclusion

Pamela Y. Abner, MPA

Pamela Y. Abner, MPA, Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer, Office for Diversity and Inclusion, has received the 2020 Corporate Community Award from the nonprofit group Seeds of Fortune Inc. The award, which Ms. Abner accepted at a virtual gala on Saturday, June 13, recognizes “a corporate employee or company that leverages their resources, expertise, and talent to make a positive impact.”

The group praised Ms. Abner for her thought leadership and strategic management, saying that she “continuously seeks to implement initiatives to identify disparities and eliminate barriers to medical care, employment, and education for underserved and underrepresented groups as well as foster relationships with community partners.” The honor was one of several Seed to Bloom Awards, which celebrate women who are inspiring the next generation of women in finance, entrepreneurship, and community activism. The awards are an initiative of Seeds of Fortune, a scholars program that aims to financially empower young women of color—helping them apply for college scholarships and build financial and career skill sets during their college years and beyond.

A Stirring Musical Performance Lifts Spirits at The Mount Sinai Hospital

May 21, 2020 | Community, COVID-19, Featured

Actor, singer, and Broadway performer Ciarán Sheehan thanked health care workers at The Mount Sinai Hospital with a repertoire of emotional, uplifting Broadway tunes on Tuesday, May 19. Mr. Sheehan completed the stirring musical performance before dozens of socially distanced patients, staff, and onlookers in the Guggenheim Pavilion with the hopes that his voice would echo throughout the Hospital.

“Mount Sinai holds a special place in my heart because my first son was born here,” said Mr. Sheehan of his desire to perform at the Hospital. “I wanted to say thank you for all that they are doing. I hope they enjoy it.”

Mr. Sheehan, who starred in Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera on Broadway, performed various theatre standards including “Bring Him Home” and “Music of the Night” from the respective productions. He also performed “You’ll Never Walk Alone” from Carousel—a musical drama about love and loss—which may resonate with the difficulty faced by both patients and health care workers, many of whom have been compelled to distance themselves from friends and family during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It is my favorite Rogers and Hammerstein song about overcoming adversity in life and being guided and cared for by those who love you, whether you can see them or not.”

Watch a short clip of Mr. Sheehan's performance

From left: David L. Reich, MD, President, The Mount Sinai Hospital; Ciarán Sheehan; and Erica Rubinstein, LCSW, CPXP, Vice President, Patient Experience, Mount Sinai Health System, prior to the performance.

Staff look on as Mr. Sheehan performs.

Mone Zaidi, MD, PhD, Receives a Lifetime Honor

Mar 31, 2020 | Community, Research

Mone Zaidi, MD, PhD, left, accepting the honor in February from Steven Chu, PhD, President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and Nobel laureate in Physics.

Mone Zaidi, MD, PhD, Director of the Mount Sinai Bone Program, and Professor of Medicine (Endocrinology, Diabetes and Bone Disease) at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, has been named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world’s largest general scientific society. Dr. Zaidi, who accepted the award on Saturday, February 15, at the AAAS conference in Seattle, Washington, was selected for his seminal contributions to endocrinology and skeletal biology, particularly the discovery of pituitary-metabolic circuits that regulate body fat, bone mass, and metabolism.

The lifetime honor was awarded to 443 scientists, of whom 35, including Dr. Zaidi, are in medical sciences. He says, “I am grateful that the research conducted by my laboratory colleagues is appreciated as having an impact on the scientific community.”