Mount Sinai Staff Members March in Two Pride Parades

Updated on Nov 14, 2025 | Community, Engagement

The Mount Sinai contingent at the New York City Pride Parade in Manhattan.

The Mount Sinai Health System recently took part in two festive Pride Month events. In the Queens Pride Parade, held on Sunday, June 3, in Jackson Heights, dozens of employees walked behind a Mount Sinai banner wearing T-shirts that read, “We Take Pride in Your Health.”

A group of 75 employees were among the 40,000 marchers in the 49th annual New York City Pride Parade on Sunday, June 24, in Manhattan. During the march, the Health System also participated in the 25th annual PrideFest street fair in Greenwich Village. Staff of Mount Sinai’s LGBT Health Services and Institute for Advanced Medicine distributed free condoms, pamphlets, and Mount Sinai favors.

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From left: Carla Moscoso, Director, Practice Operations, Mount Sinai Queens; Diana Rosario, Population Health Care Coordinator; and Richard Cancio, MPH, Program Manager for LGBT Health Services, Mount Sinai Health System, at the Queens Pride Parade.

Playing Softball for Neurosurgery Charity

Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Community

Faculty, residents, and fellows from the Department of Neurosurgery flexed their competitive muscles at the 15th Annual Neurosurgery Charity Softball Tournament in Central Park. More than 40 teams from academic medical centers in the United States and Canada turned out for the friendly competition in June, which was hosted by Columbia University’s Department of Neurological Surgery. The event
helps support the Neurosurgery Research and Education Foundation of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, and pediatric brain tumor research.

Paul Singh, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery, and Neurology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, took home the team’s Most Valuable Player award, thanks to a game-winning triple. The team from Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Arizona, won the competition.

The Department of Neurosurgery’s players and their families at the tournament in Central Park.

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Public Health Students’ Research in Spotlight

Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Community, School

More than 50 Master of Public Health (MPH) students from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai recently delivered poster presentations on high-quality and timely research during Public Health Research Day at Guggenheim Pavilion. Three students were selected to present their research in detail to their classmates and mentors. Molly Libou, MPH, studied barriers to treatment for opioid addiction; Lauren Esposito, MPH, located areas in New York City with the greatest risk of Zika virus transmission; and Chi Wen, MPH, examined the risks of exposure to mercury.

“This event demonstrates the excellence and diversity of our program and gives our students the opportunity to share the results of their scholarly work with the entire Mount Sinai community,” said Nils Hennig, MD, PhD, MPH, Director of the Graduate Program in Public Health. A keynote address was delivered by Ariel Pablos-Méndez, MD, MPH, former Assistant Administrator for Global Health, United States Agency for International Development.

Dominique Peters, MPH, presents a poster on the use of insecticidal mosquito nets to control malaria in Uganda.

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Paying Tribute to a Giant in Medicine

Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Community, Featured, Research

Dr. Holland’s children, from left: David Holland; Diane Holland; Sally Holland; Peter Holland; Mary Holland; and Steven Holland, MD.

Family, friends, and colleagues of the late James F. Holland, MD, Distinguished Professor of Neoplastic Diseases at The Tisch Cancer Institute, gathered in May at the Mount Sinai Health System to celebrate his work as a renowned physician-scientist who helped cure acute lymphoblastic leukemia in children.

Dr. Holland’s work helped establish oncology as a medical discipline. In the 1950s, when chemotherapy was a relatively new treatment, he and his colleagues began treating seemingly incurable patients with drug combinations rather than administering each one sequentially. Nine out of 10 patients successfully responded to the therapy. Combination chemotherapy remains the standard of care today.  Dr. Holland encouraged physicians to share data and create common protocols. In 1972, he received the prestigious Albert Lasker Clinical Medical Research Award.

James F. Holland, MD

Speakers at Mount Sinai’s Celebration of Life event included many esteemed physicians from around the country whom Dr. Holland influenced and once mentored, as well as Mount Sinai leaders in academic affairs and cancer research. Dr. Holland’s six adult children attended the event, with several sharing their thoughts and memories.

In his opening remarks, William K. Oh, MD, Deputy Director of The Tisch Cancer Institute and Chief of Hematology and Medical Oncology, said Dr. Holland “was absolutely committed to changing the poor outcomes of patients with leukemia, breast cancer, and other devastating cancers by investing in translational research and clinical trials, principles that drive our work at The Tisch Cancer Institute today.”

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Supporting Vital Research on Ovarian Cancer

Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Community

From left, Abigail Shaw, Patient Care Associate, and Irena Durkovic, RN, Clinical Nurse, at the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition Run/Walk.

Staff members of the Women’s Health Unit at The Mount Sinai Hospital (Klingenstein Pavilion 4) recently braved the rainy weather to participate in the New York City chapter of the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition’s Run/Walk to Break the Silence on Ovarian Cancer, which was held on Roosevelt Island.

Led by team captain Irena Durkovic, RN, the staff raised $5,095 for the 5k fundraiser—the second highest amount of any participating group. In total, the event collected $86,920 that will be used by the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition to promote awareness, provide support, and fund vital research on ovarian cancer.

“As health care providers, we were grateful to be able to take a moment to commemorate the lives of the brave women we have lost and celebrate the lives of our incredible survivors,” said Godsfavour Guillet, RN, Clinical Nurse Manager, Women’s Health Unit, who participated in the event.

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Two Honors for a Leader in Emergency Medicine Education

Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Community

Saadia Akhtar, MD, and Thomas J. Nasca, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer, Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.

Saadia Akhtar, MD, Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and Program Director for the Emergency Medicine Residency training program at Mount Sinai Beth Israel, has received two national awards for educators who foster innovation in graduate medical and emergency medicine education and who demonstrate a deep love of teaching. Dr. Akhtar received the Michael P. Wainscott Program Director Award from the Council of Emergency Medicine Residency Directors.

She also received the 2018 Parker J. Palmer Courage to Teach Award, which was given by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education to only nine Program Directors nationwide.

“Dr. Akhtar continues to exemplify excellence in our teaching mission at Mount Sinai,” says I. Michael Leitman, MD, Dean for Graduate Medical Education, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

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