International Yoga Day

On International Yoga Day, June 21, Mount Sinai Heart faculty and staff began their day by participating in multiple yoga sessions starting at 6:30 am.

“It is important that we all make sure that we are active and heart healthy. Yoga is an amazing way to relieve stress and is valuable for everyone, regardless of physical ability,” says Annapoorna S. Kini, MD, Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory at The Mount Sinai Hospital, and the Zena and Michael A. Wiener Professor of Medicine.

The four, 30-minute sessions in the GP 7 Atrium were taught by Maria Salvatore and Penni Feiner from Kula for Karma; Tova Edelstein from Yoga to the People; and Monica Jain from the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, who taught a session on mindfulness.

There are many benefits to yoga, and Dr. Kini’s vision is to make these sessions more frequent for the fellows and staff.

At Reunion, Alumni Celebrate 50th Anniversary of Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Alumni toured the Innovators in Science and Medicine display at Guggenheim Pavilion.

More than 200 alumni gathered recently to celebrate 50 years of education at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai’s annual Alumni Reunion and Awards Ceremony.

Eleven distinguished alumni of the Icahn School of Medicine and St. Luke’s-Roosevelt (SLR) received awards at the event on Wednesday, May 16, at the New York Academy of Medicine. The event also included a keynote discussion by two panelists on the diverse communities cared for by the Mount Sinai Health System: Theresa A. Soriano, MD, MPH, ISMMS 2001, Professor of Medicine, and Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, spoke about patients’ social and economic challenges, and Scott Jelinek, MD, ISMMS 2018, focused on Mount Sinai’s leadership in caring for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender patients.

Both physicians represent the future of medical care, said David Muller, MD, Dean for Medical Education, and the Marietta and Charles C. Morchand Chair for Medical Education, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. “People like Scott and Theresa make us better. They make us a better school, better people, better doctors,” Dr. Muller said.

Before the ceremony, current medical students presented research projects to alumni and led a tour of the School of Medicine. The anatomy lab and the library were familiar to all, but alumni were intrigued by some newer aspects of student life. For example, students who do not attend lectures in person can watch later on videos—sometimes playing them at double speed to save time. And most exams can be taken online. “The tests are timed, but you can take them in your bedroom, or wherever you have Wi-Fi,” said tour guide Evan Garden, Class of 2021. “There are so many initiatives to improve student wellness, and this is definitely one of the more popular ones.”

The tour ended at Guggenheim Pavilion, site of a major exhibition of Innovators in Science and Medicine. The display focuses on the work of 48 physicians and scientists at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai who have made advances in fields as diverse as genomics, immunology, orthopedics, transplant surgery, environmental health, and equity in health care. The innovators all have a common goal, the exhibition states: “Striving to generate better scientific understanding and treatments that will change lives.”

The alumni award winners were:

The Saul Horowitz, Jr. Memorial Award: Mitchell B. Cohen, MD, MSSM ’77

The J. Lester Gabrilove Award: Bonnie M. Davis, MD, MSSM, ’73

The Mount Sinai Alumni Special Recognition Award: Richard R.P. Warner, MD, MSH ’61

The Mount Sinai Alumni Award for Achievement in Medical Education: Claude Bloch, MD, FACR, MSH ’60

The Mount Sinai Alumni Award for Achievement in Medical Education: Rainier P. Soriano, MD, MSH ’99

The Dr. Sidney Grossman Distinguished Humanitarian Award: Ann Marie Beddoe, MD, MPH

The Mount Sinai Alumni Student Leadership Award: Benjamin M. Laitman, PhD, MD, ISMMS ’18

The Terry Ann Krulwich Physician-Scientist Alumni Award: Ayotunde Dokun, MD, PhD, MSSM ’03

The Mount Sinai Alumni Award for Achievement in Graduate Education: Ana Fernandez-Sesma, PhD, MSSM ’98

St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Distinguished Alumnus Award: George Todd, MD

St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Distinguished Young Physician of the Year: Shanna K. Patterson, MD

 

 

Wall Street Run and Heart Walk

More than 400 faculty and staff at the Mount Sinai Health System participated in the annual three-mile Wall Street Run and Heart Walk on Thursday, May 17, in Lower Manhattan, and raised $66,144 for the event, which is sponsored by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. For the fourth consecutive year, the Mount Sinai Health System took home the “hospital cup” for raising the most money among participating health systems. Participants included, (front row, from left) Eileen Hughes, MA, RN, Clinical Director, Cardiothoracic Services; Claudia Colgan, Vice President for Quality Initiatives; and (far right) Beth Oliver, DNP, RN, Senior Vice President of Cardiac Services.

Ear Institute Celebrates a Decade of Making a Difference

The Ear Institute at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai (NYEE) recently celebrated its 10th anniversary of delivering safe, quality care to its patients. Leadership and staff enjoyed cake and cookies and took note of how the Ear Institute has continued to enhance its services. Recently, NYEE’s Hearing Aid Dispensary, and Hearing and Balance Testing departments were relocated to the Ear Institute.

The Ear Institute was created in 2008 when NYEE and Mount Sinai Beth Israel merged their Otology, Neurotology, and Cochlear Implant Centers to form a multispecialty institute. “The hospitals saw an opportunity to enhance their multispecialty and integrative care model by providing a place where physicians, audiologists, and other related professionals could collaborate and offer patients superior care,” James C. Tsai, MD, MBA, President of NYEE, said at the event.

From left: Maura K. Cosetti, MD, Director, Cochlear Implant Center, Ear Institute; George B. Wanna, MD, Director, Ear Institute; James C. Tsai, MD, MBA; Bryan Hujsak, PT, DPT, NCS, Administrative Director, Ear Institute; and Ronald A. Hoffman, MD, Professor, Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai.

Raising Awareness About Brain Science

New York City schoolchildren at the Sixth Annual Brain Awareness Fair.

The Friedman Brain Institute recently joined the Dana Foundation in its global efforts to increase public knowledge of the progress and benefits of brain research by hosting and supporting a number of activities aimed at educating students and the community about brain science in fun, interactive ways.

The Sixth Annual Brain Awareness Fair, held in Guggenheim Pavilion, delighted more than 450 New York City schoolchildren and residents of the East Harlem community, an effort that was organized by the Center for Excellence in Youth Education with the support of 100 Mount Sinai volunteers. Attendees interacted with top scientists and clinicians at

At the “Art of the Brain” exhibition, Prashanth Rajarajan, an MD/PhD candidate in neuroscience at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, explained his photograph that depicts astrocytes, an important cell type in the brain.

The Fifth Annual “Art of the Brain” exhibition, which was held in an East Harlem gallery, drew several hundred visitors over a six-week period and featured 39 works of art that showcased photographs, images, paintings, medical illustrations, and sculptures that celebrate the beauty of the brain as seen through the eyes of Mount Sinai researchers, physicians, and staff.

Health System Receives Leadership Award

Gary C. Butts, MD, left, and Dennis S. Charney, MD, at the Champions of Health Awards event, where the Mount Sinai Health System was honored.

The Mount Sinai Health System has received the National Medical Fellowships (NMF) Leadership in Diversity Award. 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, accepted the award on Wednesday, May 9, at NMF’s Champions of Health Awards event in Manhattan.

“It is important that we continue to support NMF and continue to build on its mission to change the face of medicine,” Dr. Charney said. NMF is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing scholarships and support to students in minority groups underrepresented in health care. Gary C. Butts, MD, Mount Sinai Health System, has a distinguished history with the group. He received a fellowship as a young medical student and accepted a lifetime achievement award in 2016.

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